Tuol Sleng and Cambodia National Museum: Week 11 / Day 68 / March 19
Phnom Penh, Cambodia: To characterize this morning as being depressing would be a monumental understatement. We started our day with a visit to Tuol Sleng, a notorious torture center used by the Khmer Rouge during the reign of Pol Pot. Also known as S-21, this building complex used to be a secondary school. In total, about 20,000 people were brought into Tuol Sleng for their “crimes” against the Khmer Rouge with only 12 known survivors.
We began our tour of the facility by engaging a guide to explain to us the buildings and grounds. She had lived in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975 and was thirteen years old when they rode into the city as conquering heroes welcomed by the populace. However, within three hours the population of the city was told to begin to evacuate under threat of US bombings. However, this was merely a pretext to get the people out of the city and into the countryside in the Khmer Rouge’s pursuit of extreme, radical autarky (economic sufficiency). She and her family marched for weeks and months across the countryside to the village where they were assigned to work. Ultimately, her brother and father were killed by the Khmer Rouge and she related to us her experiences watching the deaths of the very young and very old during the forced march.
The first area we saw at the compound was a small section of 14 graves for the bodies found on torture beds at the complex when the Vietnamese arrived in 1979.
We then entered a building in which there were multiple rooms holding beds which had been used to torture the prisoners.
Shown in the picture is such a bed, along with the shackles used to secure the prisoner, and the metal box that served as a toilet. Often there would be a desk and chair nearby where the interrogator would sit. Prisoners were typically tortured briefly each day and prisoners only lived in the prison for a period of weeks or months.
I had always thought that this facility was used as a death camp in the manner of those used by the Germans in the Holocaust. However, this was mainly intended as a torture / interrogation facility from which the prisoners would be sent to the killing fields for execution after completion of interrogation. It made no difference if the prisoner confessed the crimes with which they were accused or not, they were sent to the countryside for execution. Of course, none of this is meant to minimize the monstrousness of what was done here, only to state that I had misunderstood the functional use of the facility within the killing machine that was the Khmer Rouge. Practically speaking, it must also be noted that a great many prisoners did die due to the torture administered during the interrogation sessions.
Immediately outside the first building we visited was a recreation of the rules posted for prisoners (original in Khmer as posted on black boards in rooms – translations provided here for visitors) and a gallows used for torturing prisoners.
The ground floors of the buildings were reserved for interrogation rooms or the housing of high level prisoners (often Khmer Rouge officers accused of betrayal of the party) and other men in small, solitary cells, while the upper floors were used to house large numbers of prisoners shackled together in large common rooms (typically women, children, and less prominent men).
Entering the building again we saw exhibits of clothes that were taken from the prisoners and pictures of the Khmer Rouge leadership.
Looking at the picture of Pol Pot (leader of the Khmer Rouge), I was struck by the fact that the vast majority of Americans could not describe what he and his party did to the Cambodian people (killed roughly 25% of the country’s population, ~2,000,000 people), much less have any idea of who he was if shown a picture of him. Surprisingly, he was never captured, and lived out his life on the Thai – Cambodian border following the invasion by Vietnam.
In this same area were a series of pictures of Khmer Rouge members who worked at the prison.
Further on were the first of many pictures of those who were brought to this facility for torture and eventual death.
As shown in the second picture, entire families were brought in together due to accusations against a single family member. The last picture is that of the wife of a high ranking official who had been accused of crimes against the party. In other pictures of her , she can be seen cradling her infant child.
Nearby were stacks of the long, gang shackles that were used to hold several prisoners together at the same time, the rings on the floor to which shackles would be attached, and the busts of Pol Pot that prisoners would be assigned to work on.
On the walls of the next building we could see the barbed wire which was affixed to the building to keep prisoners from jumping out in an attempt to kill themselves.
Within this building were the small cells in which male prisoners were held on the first floor.
The size of the cells, the stifling nature of the heat, and the fact that all windows and doors were closed to create total darkness, would have combined to make existence in such a place horrific. In the second picture is shown the cell that was occupied by Chum Mey, one of the handful of survivors.
Those who survived their stay at the prison typically had some sort of skill that made them valuable to the guards – two were painters, one was able to fix typewriters and other small machines. One of the painters produced a number of works showing what he witnessed during his stay.
Among the many methods used, prisoners were tortured by application of scorpions, electric shock, removal of finger and toe nails under application of alcohol, partial drowning, and many more. Due to these methods many prisoners did die at the prison, and multiple bodies have been recovered from mass graves onsite.
As we left the complex, we passed by Bou Meng and two other survivors of S-21.
In sum, visiting this place was a very moving, but heart wrenching experience. I cannot say it is a great place to visit, but should definitely be on the itinerary for any traveler to Cambodia. The level of evil that the Cambodian people were able to inflict upon each other is truly remarkable.
One last thought on this topic is the recency of the events that took place (1975 – 1979). As Linda and I walked down the streets we realized that every person our age or older would have their own story to tell about time under the Khmer Rouge. Of course, some of those stories would include the perspectives of the perpetrators of the crimes. Only five members of the Khmer Rouge were ever called to account for their activities during that time and, of them, only three were convicted – the other two dying in prison while awaiting trial.
Leaving Tuol Sleng, we went to the Cambodian National Museum. While we had hoped for some air conditioning, it was not to be. Housed within this building is a large collection of artifacts from various temples and other structures around the country.
The images depicted ranged from the familiar (Ganesh – the elephant headed Hindu god) to the unusual (I leave it to the reader to decide what is depicted in the last picture).
The skill and detail in many of the images was impressive.
Among the images displayed was a prior version of the emblem of the royal family.
Within the center of the museum is a courtyard with ponds and plants.
On our way out, we walked past my favorite garuda and headed back to the hotel.
On our way to the hotel, we passed a restaurant that makes no mistake about what they are selling.
After resting a bit at the hotel, we headed out for dinner. We walked through the park near our hotel again and then through a larger park.
There is a walkway that goes around the perimeter of the park. As shown in the last picture, all of the pedestrian traffic on this walkway goes in a single direction.
For dinner went to a restaurant called Mok Mony. The owner of this restaurant was remarkably friendly and personable. The restaurant has a no questions asked return policy – too spicy, not to your liking, or any other reason, simply return the food. The food is not wasted as it is donated at the end of the night to the local homeless. He was also a very entertaining man to talk to off and on during our meal. He shared with us the recipe for a delicious sauce that was used in one of the dishes and is supposed to be great as a marinade for beef as well. Overall, a definite 5 out of 5 stars restaurant and one I highly recommend, should you find yourself in Phnom Penh.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel and were done for the night.
