Tuol Sleng Prison And Genocide Museum

It doesn't matter, but we did the reverse trip that the nearly 9,000 people who were murdered by the Khmer Rouge at the Choeung Ek killing field did.  

We went to the Choeung Ek first, and then to the Toul Sleng prison where the eventually murdered were tortured for information.  Toul Sleng means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees."  It was one of approximately 150 to 200 torture centers created by the Khmer Rouge, and was also designated S-21, for Security Prison 21. 

Toul Sleng was converted from a school into a prison/torture factory by the Khmer Rouge because they needed a place near Choeung Ek to keep the prisoners while they were interrogated.  It is now a museum with chilling artifacts from that time.

There's photos of those killed.  There's the leg irons used to ensure no one could escape.  There are photos by journalists when they found the last prisoners who were shot in the prison before the Khmer Rouge fled to the jungle.  There's blood on the ceiling of one of the cells, from the shooting of the last prisoners. There's lunch box that prisoners could pee/defecate into and they could empty once a week.  If the box spilled its contents, the offending prisoner had to lick up the floor.  

(Read that again so that the disgusting inhumane way they treated these people sinks in.  It's hard to comprehend.  And, when you comprehend, it's hard not to cry.)

Prisoners had to sleep on the floor of their tiny brick cells, whilst wearing leg irons.  They had to ask permission from the guards (who were trained to be vicious) to do as little as turn over on the floor to try and sleep in a different position.  They were strip-searched every morning and were forbidden to talk to one another.

Only seven men imprisoned there were not killed by the Khmer Rouge before the prison was liberated.  Those seven are celebrated with pictures and stories at the museum.  Only two are still alive.

Sadly (to me and others in the group), one of the two surviving prisoners has dementia and is age 93.  He comes to the prison frequently and sits at a table that his family uses to sell books and information about the prison.  A man in his condition should not be sitting there, seemingly with no idea where or who he is.  I'm sorry, but I just don't think it is right to parade him like that in front of visitors to the prison. 

The torture was to get the prisoners to give up names of family members and friends, as they were also presumed guilty and often were arrested (unless they fled).  The Khmer Rouge was paranoid and imprisoned (and then killed) even many party members.  Pol Pot had many of his closest advisers tortured and killed because he was afraid they would lead a coup against him.  Some tried, but those efforts all failed.

The head of the prison was sentenced to life in jail for crimes against humanity in 2010 (you ask what took so long?  I'm not sure) and  he died in 2020.  By the way, crimes against humanity is more than just a game.

After a break at a local cafe to hydrate, we got back on the bus a pretty silent and thoughtful group.