On 7 January 1979, invading Vietnamese troops seized Phnom Penh and sent the Khmer Rouge fleeing to remote jungles. The victory over genocide day is a day to remember, a day to try to understand, a day to explain to the next generation our past to escape this horror in the future. To commemorate it, CIST DOP students went to Toul Sleng museum. A big step back in this dark side of their history, which create emotion and comments and made the students realize what their families lived.

In 1975, this museum was a French school. It was occupied by Pol Pot’s security forces renamed security prison S21 and soon became the largest center of incarceration and torture. Most of the 17 000 internees were subsequently taken to the killing field and executed. “It’s my first visit here, I’m really shocked and I cannot believe it, says Bou Kimi, CIST DEO student. We don’t use to talk about this in my family and It’s really important for us to come in S21 to be in front of our bad past.”. “My grand mother died during the Khmers Rouge regime, says other student keeping his smile to don’t show his real feeling. Now I know how is important to choose a good president to do it never happen again!”.
“I come here with all the CIST students because it’s one the best place to dive in our history, explains Duong CIST teacher of History and organizer of this visit. They realize that history is not only words and numbers but lives and dies of peoples!” “My father was killed by Pol Pot regime, explains Thaina Seang Selection Coordinator, I never knew him even his face : I was just 3 months in my mother pregnancy! To see the new generation visited S21 is a good point. They have to enjoy with the education, the knowledge to be the human resources! No more S21 in this world!”

A rude but essential way to know where they come from and to realize the responsibility of each other to create a better world and do it never happen again!