The Story of Bou Meng

 

The Story of Bou Meng: A Survivor of S-21 (Tuol Sleng Prison)

Bou Meng was a young Cambodian artist when the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, seized power in 1975. They aimed to create a communist agrarian utopia, but in the process, they murdered an estimated 1.7 to 2 million people—about a quarter of Cambodia’s population.

Shortly after the regime took power, Bou Meng and his wife were arrested and sent to S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng Prison, a former high school turned into a brutal torture center in Phnom Penh. Over 18,000 people were imprisoned there; fewer than 20 survived.

At S-21, prisoners were tortured until they confessed to imaginary crimes: being spies, traitors, or enemies of the state. Bou Meng was beaten and tortured like so many others. His wife was executed.

But Bou Meng's life was spared for one reason: his artistic skill.

The Khmer Rouge discovered he could paint portraits. He was ordered to paint images of Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge leaders. His work was used for propaganda. Though he lived under constant fear and physical abuse, this skill saved him from execution.

When the Vietnamese army overthrew the Khmer Rouge in January 1979, they found Tuol Sleng abandoned, full of bloodstains, shackles, and haunting photographs of the dead. Bou Meng and a few others were rescued.

Today, Bou Meng tells his story at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, built on the site of the prison. His testimony ensures that the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge are not forgotten.

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The Cambodian genocide was one of the 20th century’s worst mass killings, and stories like Bou Meng’s are vital to remembering its victims and survivors.