Surviving the Horrors of S-21 Prison
Last modified: September 20, 2019
“They murdered my father and both my siblings during the genocide,” she told us matter-of-factly. She paused and noticed our shock. Seven Westerners listening in silence, tears flowing. Our tour guide was taken aback.
“I host this tour every day…”, she trailed off. Seeing our tears resulted in tears welling up in her own eyes. She took a moment; In Cambodia no one was left untouched by the Khmer Rouge. She smiled, and we smiled back. We all wiped our tears and began the tour of S-21 Prison.
Blood stains on the classroom floors are still red
In the mid-1970’s, the Khmer Rouge converted a Phnom Penh high school into S-21 prison. The classrooms were now large jail cells and torture chambers. This didn’t happen a long time ago in a place far, far away –the bloodstains on the classroom floors are still red. It’s estimated 20,000 people were imprisoned here before being taken to a killing field… and this was only one prison. There were about 150 to 200 of these torture centres throughout Cambodia.
Click or tap to expand the gallery below:
Security regulations from S-21 prison outlining the expectations for prisoners 
Mugshots of S-21 victims taken upon entering the prison 
These young adults were not the victims, but the prison guards and torturers of S-21
In one classroom there were pictures of all these teenagers, we felt a sense of sadness for them, and then our guide clarified—these young adults were not the victims, but the prison guards and torturers. The Khmer Rouge drew recruits from young people in the rural areas of the country. We noticed other pictures that showed the prisoners, mostly older educated Cambodians ageing from their 20s to 50s.
At the end of the tour, our guide introduced us to Bou Meng, one of only seven survivors of S-21. His children starved to death in a detention centre, while they tortured his wife at S-21 before being killed.
He has a gentle smile that disguises the horrors he suffered
After purchasing his book, they motioned me to shake his hand and take a picture. He has a gentle smile that disguises the horrors he has suffered. His book details his harrowing tale of survival and testifying at the UN backed Khmer Rouge tribunal. Coming face to face with his torturer in court, he asked one question: where was his wife killed, so he could go to that spot and pray for her soul. They gave him no answer.
I knew next to nothing about S-21, the killing fields, and the genocide before I entered Cambodia. Months later, safe at home in a western democracy, S-21 still haunts me. I am compelled to share this terrible tragedy so we do not forget it to history.
For more history on the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, see my supplemental post: A Complicated History of the Khmer Rouge
– amo
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly Security Prison 21 (S-21)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Visited Tuesday, April 23, 2019
http://tuolsleng.gov.kh/en/
*All images are my own, other than those used with permission and credited.
