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After visiting the Killing Fields, on the way back to the hotel, I went to Tuol Sleng, the highschool converted into a concentration camp by the Khmer Rouge. It was codenamed S-21 by the regime at that time. I have to be honest, this place had a profound effect on me and really depressed me. The Khmer Rouge documented and photographed every person that came through here, was tortured and murdered. The faces of many of the victims are on display, but I couldn't bring myself to take photos of them. There are places on the web where you can see these photos, if you really want to and I'll put up a link.
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Tuol Sleng - S-21 Concentration Camp, Cambodia The first shock, for me, was how much like the schools where I live this place was; it could have been the one from a hundred yards down the road from my house. For your reference: Block "A" is the one on the left, Block "B" the one on the right. Block "B" is more museum style, housing displays of torture instruments and hundreds, if not thousands of photographs of the victims. For me this was the most disturbing place, seeing the victims looking out from passport style photographs and imagining the horrors they must have gone through. As I said above I couldn't bring myself to take photos in here, but I did find this link on the web http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/phnompenh/tuolslengindex.htm |
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Block "A" - Tuol Sleng - S-21 The classrooms on the ground floor of this block had been converted into interrogation cells (torture chambers) with steel bed frames and manackles (photo below). The upper floors were used to detain prisoners. |
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Interrogation Cell These cells were used to torture and exctract confessions from important people. You can see a photo, on the wall behind, of one of the last victims to be tortured and killed. These photos were taken by the Vietnamese soldiers when they liberated the concentration camp. The Vietnamese soldiers took the final victims and buried them in graves just outside Block A (see photo further down page) |
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The second Floor Detention Cells of Classrooms converted into large holding cells. |
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The Gallows These were originally used for students to exercise, but the Khmer Rouge found a more sinister use for them. Prisoners had their hands tied behind their back and were hung upside down until they passed out. They were then revived by having their heads submerged in filthy water( which was often used as fertilizer) in the clay pots shown in the photo. |
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The Last 14 Victims The sign relates to the last 14 victims who were found and buried by the Vietnamese soldiers (see photo below) |
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Graves of the Last 14 Victims of S-21 The building on the left is Block "A" as shown in the photos above. The bodies of the last victims were brought out and buried here by the Vietnamese soldiers |
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Block "C" - Tuol Sleng - S-21 The ground floor (1st floor) classrooms were partitioned into tiny brick built cells. The 1st floor(2nd floor) classrooms were sectioned with wooden partitions to make equally small cells (pictures below). The balconies were covered with wire mesh to prevent suicides; after seeing this I can understand why anyone would want to commit suicide. |
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A Closer Look at the Wire Mesh Covering Block "c" - Tuol Sleng - S-21 |
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Ground Floor (1st Floor) Brick Built Cells |
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They Knocked Holes in the Walls and Converted all the Classrooms into Cells |
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The 1st (2nd) Floor Wooden Cells Just as nasty as the brick cells; why they used wood here, I don't know. |
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Next we're going to visit the Boeng Kak Lake area in Phnom Penh. This is the place were all the backpackers stay.
Boeng Kak Lake area in Phnom Penh Cambodia Here are some quick links to the other Cambodia Pages |
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