We visited a genocide prison and one of the killing fields used during the horrendous regime of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

School used as a Prison – The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, one of about 200 secret prisons used by the Khmer Rouge, depicts how about 16,000 prisoners were held and tortured in the former high school buildings. This was Security Prison 21 (S-21). There are only 12 confirmed survivors from this prison. We followed the audio tour to learn about security measures, horrific living conditions and torture techniques, prisoner stories, and what happened to Pol Pot years later. At the end of our visit we watched a large group of young Cambodian monks reverently stand along the perimeter of the memorial dedicated to the victims of the atrocities.

The Killing Fields – Approximately one quarter of the Cambodian population was executed by the Khmer Rouge, about two million people. This location, some 15 kilometers outside of Phnom Penh, is where prisoners from S-21 were taken to be killed. During our visit we listened to the audio tour which included information about the executions, mass graves, survivors’ stories, and the memorial stupa. It was very sobering and sad to hear about and see reminders of events that occurred when we were in high school. In fact, Pol Pot lived comfortably for decades after the killing fields, finally succumbing to a heart attack in 1998 at the age of 72.