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I was stunned by the cruelty that had gone on here but very glad i went. It’s an important visit when your in the city To understand the history of this country and the people. Don’t miss it but prepare yourself. Please don’t go if your feeling low or fragile.
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Date of experience: October 2020
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Visited here to understand Phnom Penh and Cambodia’s history. Found the museum to be sensitive but also not shy away from the horrific events. This is a definite must when visiting Phnom Penh to understand the people of Cambodia and what they have been through and overcome to be where they are now.…
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Date of experience: September 2020
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Visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh In a nondescript part of Phnom Penh with ordinary shops, street traders, traffic & people simply going about their daily lives, there is an oasis of peace & tranquility. Once a school, but now a museum in remembrance of those who suffered & died here at the hands of the Khmer Rouge Regime, 1975-79…. Tuol Svay Pray High School where students were educated & enjoyed recreation, was taken over by the Khmer Rouge Regime & converted it into a prison where many thousands were tortured & executed. Much has already been documented about the barbaric activities of the Khmer Rouge Regime, so I am merely telling my story of what I witnessed during several visits to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum & adding my thoughts & comments. Words to fully explain & convey to others the horrors that took place here during the period 1975-79 are difficult to find, but as I walk around, the stunned silence of the visitors, some wiping away tears, as they view the harrowing exhibits of torture and many photographs of prisoners, old, young, men & women, who died here, does surely speak volumes about man’s inhumanity to man. Perhaps not realised, visitors to places such as S21 fall into two quite different groups. Firstly, tourists & travelers who may simply be curious as to what took place here. They leave with mixed emotions & perhaps never forget the experience. Secondly, we should be aware that some visitors may have traveled considerable distances while others are local residents. They may be relatives or friends of those imprisoned here & want to feel close to those who suffered & died at the hands of pure evil in their own country. Some may have struggled for many years to find courage enough to make a personal pilgrimage of discovery to this place, There will be those who wish to put in place a piece of their family history & pray that all those who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge Regime, will forever rest in peace. Visitors, please respect all those here, by dressing & acting in a dignified manner…
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Date of experience: January 2020
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I am haunted by this place. I wish I had never gone. I wake sometimes in the night and think of some of the things I saw and learnt here. I was aware that as a tourist I only touched on the slightest fragment of the suffering that went on here but the trauma of that knowing is still with me. If you are of a sensitive disposition and the sort of person who replays things and imagines things in detail (I dislike using the word empath but I will suggest it if that resonates with you) I would seriously think about if you really need to visit this place. I believe an awareness of what occurred in Cambodia's still recent history is important, to fully appreciate the resilience and amazing ability for warmth and positivity when so many still alive will have been cut so deeply by this horrific passage in time, do some reading but don't feel you have to visit this place or the Killing Fields if you are likely to have a strong negative emotional reaction or mental health problem as a result.…
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Date of experience: September 2019
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Witness the horrors that the Khmer Rouge put their own people through, especially the intellectuals. Even wearing glasses was considered a sign of intellect. The torture scenarios need a strong stomach. Cambodia is fighting hard to avoid a repeat of this dreadful period.
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Date of experience: September 2019
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