Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Public Affairs Section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) brings a group of 300 villagers from the Cambodian countryside to visit the ECCC and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
On 25 March 2010, more than 300 villagers, including 150 Cham people, from Kampong Siem District, Kampong Cham province, participated in this outreach program. Even in remote villages, there is a great interest among regular Cambodians in visiting the Court and Tuol Sleng. In many cases, people will leave their village in the middle of the night in order to reach Phnom Penh the following morning. The group of villagers from Kampong Siem district was no exception.
In order to catch the ECCC bus, ten families traveled on boat at 2:00 am on Smok lake in Kampong Roling village, Sambor Meas commune for an hour to reach the meeting point, the Neak Pan roundabout. And villagers from Roleak, Romeas, Knha and Buntheay Tmor left their homes at 2:30 am and walked five kilometers to the same assembly point. All six ECCC buses departed Kampong Cham town at 4:30 am. The buses took them first to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) where the villagers received a guided tour through the museum.
For many villagers, a visit to S-21 can be a very emotional experience. Many Cambodians still do not know what happened to their relatives who disappeared during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. On 25 March 2010, four villagers from the ECCC-organised group discovered photos of their missing relatives at S-21. After more than 30 years of searching, they finally learned the fate of their missing family members.
In her fourth visit to S-21, Ms. Nhim Kim Hoeurn, from Koh Roka village, found a photo of her four year-old niece. Ms. Hoeurn, a Civil Party in Case 001, has discovered documentation of four relatives at the former prison.
Ms. Hen Chha of Tameang village, saw photos of her uncle and aunt, relatives she had been waiting to hear from for over 30 years.
“At that time [my uncle] acted as my father. I loved him so much…,” Ms. Chha said. “Seeing these photos makes me feel despair, they had no chance to survive. From now on what I can do is to pray for him.”
First-time visitor to S-21, Ms. Yie Ney, from Romeas village, happened upon photos of her uncle and grandmother.
“Since 1978 I have been waiting for them,” she said. “Now when I see their photos at Tuol Sleng, I think they all died, which make me strongly hate Pol Pot.”
Ms. Chhorn Ron, Bunteay Tmor village, found a photograph of her cousin who served in the military in 1969.
“I have been waiting to see him for more than 30 years,” Ms. Ron said, recalling how much she misses him.