21 February 2007

Night of the Khmer Rouge: Genocide and Justice in Cambodia

Depicting Torture and Genocide:

Documentation Center of Cambodia and Rutgers University's

Photo Exhibition on the Khmer Rouge

2007

128 pages

The task of preserving the memory of a horrific past is both difficult and

necessary. Rutgers University located in New Jersey, America has

accomplished this very task with their recent photo exhibition titled,

"Night of the Khmer Rouge: Genocide and Justice in Cambodia" displayed at

the Paul Robeson Gallery. The graphic photos tell a frightening story of

what humanity can do to itself. The most ghastly chapter of Cambodia's

history began on April 17, 1975 when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge forces stormed

victoriously into Phnom Penh after years of civil war. Their victory meant

the implementation of a radical social and economic plan that would

transform Cambodia into a self-sufficient socialist society. The new

government was called Democratic Kampuchea. Labeling their plan a failure

is a gross understatement.

The terror and killing that enveloped Cambodia during the government of

Democratic Kampuchea lasted under fours years and destroyed two million

lives. Those who survived were left to make do in a ravaged country stripped

of its schools, shops, temples, government structures, and sense of

security. The photo exhibition at the Paul Robeson Gallery shed light upon

the darkness that overcame Cambodia. In particular, attention is focused on

the highest level security prison then known by its code name, S-21.

Prisoner photographs taken at S-21 disturbingly reveal young faces, some as

young as five years old. Immediately one wonders how a child could be a

prisoner of S-21 which was intended for serious political offenses, but then

again the Khmer Rouge considered a starving person "stealing" rice grains a

crime worthy of execution. It has been estimated that 14,000-20,000

prisoners passed through the gates of S-21 from 1975-1979 where they died or

were taken to Choeung Ek (a nearby field) for group extermination. The

reflective essays at the gallery provide some understanding of what occurred

inside Cambodia and the issues that face Cambodia now as it tries to

reconcile with this tragic past. Together with the photographs, they expose

a truth that must be told. This truth of what happened in Cambodia is now

being dealt with in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

(ECCC) which seeks to prosecute former senior Khmer Rouge leaders. It is

hoped that the legal justice delivered by tribunal will help Cambodia

commence genuine healing and reconciliation. DQK.

The catalog that accompanied the exhibition contains photographs from DC-Cam's

archives and essays by DC-Cam and Rutgers staff. It is available at Monument

Books and DC-Cam's Public Information Room.

Address: 66 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Tel: 023-221-165

Funding for the exhibition and catalogue was provided by the Soros

Foundation's Open Society Institute, the US Agency for International

Development, the Swedish International Development Agency, the New Jersey

State Council on the Arts/Department of State, the Cultural Programming

Commission of Rutgers-Newark, and the NJ Commission on Holocaust Education.