Phnom penh, S21 prison and the killing fields......

Until we started reading about Cambodia and Phnom Penh we had heard about this but didn't realise the full extent of what happened here...

Which only happened 1975 - 1979

 

This is a cell at S21 prison. An old school the Khmer rouge turned into a prison in 1975, after forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms...

What was once exercise equipment, was turned into a torture device for the prisoners..

In one of the four buildings is pictures of nearly all the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children that were held here during the Khmer Rouge's rule, most of which died here or were taken to the killing fields..

Cells in some of the buildings that haven't been altered since

One of the 7 survivors that was found at the prison after the Khmer Rouge fled..

14 graves of the people found at the prison after the Khmer Rouge fled to Thai boarders but some how still held a seat at the UN for a number of years after...

The killing fields are about 8km outside of the city, there is around 300 of these all around cambodia..

This lake is said to have many human remains which the government has decided to leave to rest rather than disturb...

Probably the worst thing to hear on the audio tour, just read the sign...

This memorial is 17 levels high from remains found at this site...

One of many mass graves around the area which to see is just unbelievable, after a while you start to notice teeth and bone fragments all around which are still being collected regularly by staff who sweep the area to presvere the memory of the people killed here.. 

During Pol Pot's leadership he ordered the death of over 3 million people. That was 1 in 4 Cambodians killed...