Chum Mey was a mechanic, who worked in the capital city of Cambodia. On October 28, 1978, he was sent to the Tuol Sleng prison. In fact, it was used more for torturing people rather than actually punishing someone for committing a crime. Chum was beaten and interrogated because they accused him of being a spy. Although he never was a spy, he still confessed just to make the torture stop. However, the only reason he survived after confessing was because of his skills as a mechanic. Furthermore, when the prison was evacuated the following January, Chum Mey got a chance to see his wife and baby once again. Although he was able to hide in the forest, his wife and children were shot in the countryside by the Khmer Rouge. Finally, he now works at the former prison, which is a museum, as his way of ensuring nothing like this happens again.
Through this story, I learned just how horrendous conditions were for those living under the Khmer Rouge, especially those who were uprooted from their …show more content…
In fact, he even says, “‘I come every day to tell the world the truth about the Tuol Sleng prison... so that none of these crimes are ever repeated anywhere in the world’” (hmd.org.uk). Others should learn about his story in order to keep these crimes from ever happening again. In addition, another striking fact others should know is that these people were tortured at the prison for no reason. They were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit. Moreover, another fact that made an impression on me was that out of the 17,000 people in the prison, he was only one of the few to make it out alive. However, even though he gets to live, he no longer gets to see his wife or children. He also discussed how he has scars that would be present on his body, serving as a constant reminder of this horrendous event for the rest of his
Through this story, I learned just how horrendous conditions were for those living under the Khmer Rouge, especially those who were uprooted from their …show more content…
In fact, he even says, “‘I come every day to tell the world the truth about the Tuol Sleng prison... so that none of these crimes are ever repeated anywhere in the world’” (hmd.org.uk). Others should learn about his story in order to keep these crimes from ever happening again. In addition, another striking fact others should know is that these people were tortured at the prison for no reason. They were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit. Moreover, another fact that made an impression on me was that out of the 17,000 people in the prison, he was only one of the few to make it out alive. However, even though he gets to live, he no longer gets to see his wife or children. He also discussed how he has scars that would be present on his body, serving as a constant reminder of this horrendous event for the rest of his