S-21 aka Sober Experience #21
Ok, so it might not have been the 21st sobering experience of the trip, but maybe of life? Who knows? Anyway, after the killing fields we headed back into the city to visit a prison. I can’t remember why it was called S-21, so I’ll have to Google it and get back to you.
For some unknown reason though, I do remember our guide telling us that 17,000 people (men and woman) passed through the prison, but only seven of them survived. These seven we specifically chosen to live because of their profession: one artist, a mechanic, a carpenter and some others. They still had the artwork of the enslaved artist hanging in the larger cells. Most of his work reflected the struggle he faced while inside the prison walls. The art was amazing; the inspiration was terrible.
We walked through the cells, but large and small. The small ones would have been unbearable. They were separated by bricks and were about the same size as the bathrooms in an airplane. I don’t know how long the prisoners had to stay in those cells, but I think I would probably have only lasted a couple of days…if that.
We also saw many of the places where they tortured the prisoners. There was a wooden structure where they hung the victims upside down and then submerged them in a big ceramic pot full of water…usually sewage-filled water. It was hard just to look at the remnants. I can’t imagine experiencing the torture first hand.
