Tuol Sleng

[zyzyly]

Tuol Sleng was a high school in a residential area of Phnom Penh, when, in 1975, the Khmer Rouge converted it into a detention and torture center. Security Prison 21. S-21.

It still looks a little like a school, at least from the outside.



Inside it is a different story. The school rooms were turned into interrogation and torture rooms. Many of the rooms were left as they were.



Other rooms were converted into holding cells.



It is estimated that there were over 17000 people detained here during the years 1975-1979. There were only seven known survivors.



It is now a genocide museum. A document of what happened. It happened in my lifetime--I was old enought to be able to know about it, but I didn't. Not until I saw a movie called "The Killing Fields". If you haven't seen it, you should.

Some of the rooms house pictures of the people who were tortured here. The Khmer Rouge were known for keeping meticulous records.



Some are stoic, others look terrified.



There are rooms and rooms of these faces. Men, women, children, babies.



As I looked at the faces, particularly those of the children, I thought of all the kids I have been photographing in the past few weeks, and tried to imagine. I couldn't.

I was doing ok until I saw this picture. I broke down and started sobbing in the gallery. I was alone. 29 has significance for me.



In other rooms are pictures with the stories of the relatives of some of the victims.


"I think my brother is dead
because 20 years have gone by,
and he still hasn't come home.
I haven't seen him in all this time,
even in my dreams."


"All seven of her children were killed."

There is grafitti on some of the stairwell walls, placed by visitors.



Rwanda.

Darfur.

If only we would listen.

Comments

[ruralrob.livejournal.com]

Wow. Powerful stuff!

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

Stunning photos and text.

[brendamom.livejournal.com]

Thanks for walking us through and letting us see what some of us would never see.

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

wow.

you've used your gift for simple, powerful writing and photography well.

you've done homage to all of the people you've photographed.

thank you.

...

[pasticcio.livejournal.com]

So moving .. thank you for sharing this .. this shouldn't be happening in 2007 and yet it still does... :(

[weaktwos.livejournal.com]

What is it about some humans who can decide that certain people are worthless and must die due to ideology? It appears to be fear. A case for a grievous threat is made, and suddenly a number of people believe that others are the enemy, and therefore must be eliminated.

This was a very thought provoking post. Thank you.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Wow. This is beautiful and heartbreaking. There is a powerful op-ed lurking in these words. It still happens, and we should know so much better.

[i.livejournal.com]

i avoided all war museums when i was there. everyone i spoke to said i should go to them, but i didn't.

[fried-pearl.livejournal.com]

Absolutely heart breaking. I knew about the genocide, but didn't know about the children and babies. My mind can't grasp the mindset that would harm a child.

[amicablebitch.livejournal.com]

for whatever reason, a topic that was somehow related to this (i.e. made me think of this post) came up at work, and so now we are all reading the wikipedia article on the museum and trying to fathom how this type of thing happened. what an eye opener.

[daily-in-la.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like commenting. You know what I mean.

[kolafac.livejournal.com]

This happened in my lifetime as well. I was graduating high school (1975)when it began & getting married (1979) when it was ending, and yet I knew nothing. As with you, Mike, the movie "The Killing Fields" brought me out of my ignorance. As a home schooling parent, it was a movie I had my 2 daughters watch with me (when they were old enough). Most young adults do not know of this, things can only change if they are acknowledged. Your pictures & words brought back many of the strong emotions I remember feeling while learning of this and brought me to tears again. I can only imagine what it would feel like to be in the presence of where it occurred.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow Mike truely powerfull and haunting. I can feel your emotion through your words and picture.

[zeppo-marx.livejournal.com]

While having not been to Cambodia, I've been to Auschwitz and through the Holocost Museum in Washington, and to a speech here in Ottawa by Romeo Dallaire. I left all these things feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.

The fact that we seem, as a species, incapable of learning from these sorts of events and finding ways to stop them from happening is depressing as hell.

[(Anonymous)]

a single seed watered by many tears....
"The Mountain That Loved a Bird" by McLerran and Carle
~A

[shelldshiflet.livejournal.com]

The photo's have been amazing! You look so happy and at piece. Every day I look forward to logging on to see what's new. Thanks for sharing this adventure :)

[lowflyingsquab.livejournal.com]

Hey Michelle, How you doing? I was telling my friend in Thailand about you this afternoon! This is such a great experience--I am so glad I came. Still haven't done anything for my photo essay! Yikes! I'll send you an email tomorrow.

:)

[shelldshiflet.livejournal.com]

Hello my friend. I'm doing good. I've been playing around with my new printer and I love it.

I'm very happy for you Mike. You have been blessed in so many ways.....

I bet you already have photo's for your essay. It's the getting them together that going to be the challenge. But then again you do great under pressure. I've seen it first hand :)

I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.