Monday, January 07, 2008

Captured on camera

A foreign visitor views a photo of Chan Kim Srung, holding her newborn baby
A young female is photographed on her arrival at Tuol Sleng
Two Cambodian students finding out more about their country's recent history
Another frightened youngster, his neck in chains, is pictured on arrival
Prisoners were brought into S-21 blindfolded and then photographed before they were put in their cells prior to interrogation
Photographs are everywhere in Tuol Sleng. On the walls, in your own camera, in your mind. Some of those pictures stay with you forever. Whether its the mangled bodies of the deceased chained to their beds, the frightened children and adults photographed on entry into S-21, still unware of their fate, the pictures of the dead, provided to the Khmer Rouge hierarchy as confirmation of their deaths, and so on. The photos above, from the exhibition in Block B, are some of those I first saw many years ago and can recall instantly if I close my eyes today. I don't think I will ever forget them. Tuol Sleng is that type of place.

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