Looking at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Phen, Cambodia

April 2, 2009 - PRLog -- : "A steady stream of visitors arrives throughout the day at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phom Penh, Cambodia.   The former school turned torture chamber was transformed into one of Cambodia's top tourist attractions several years ago.  As prisons go, it doesn't compare to the cement and steel fortresses of the western world but not much is left to the imagination at one of the most wretched facilities on earth.

...His large artworks dominate several otherwise drab rooms as their muted tones detail the oppression Khmer society underwent behind the barbed wire lining the prison's perimeter.  Portraying his subjects with a human touch that seemingly escaped Pol Pot, they chronicle the systematic abuse of humans whose destiny was pre-determined.  One composition depicts dozens of bound prisoners forced to lie supine…One not facing charges but expected to testify during the ECCC tribunal is 48-year-old Nhem En, a man who headed a small group of photographers charged with visually cataloguing new detainees… Reflections on protective glass form eerie and abstract patterns on these portraits, mixing with the expressions of bewilderment and fear that join the victims together…Only the screams of other inmates supplied sensory stimulus to these confused souls as Phnom Penh's streets were themselves empty and silent.    

Covering this issue, John Brown visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phom Penh, Cambodia to get a closer look. The result is this photo reportage that depicts the circumstances in which the prisoners awaited their inevitable fate.

To have a look at the material, please go to:http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000TkMaRFDTo8Y/

The package includes over 50 publishable and captioned photos, along with a 1500 word article that is now available for print publications around the world. Please contact  photojournalist John Brown if you are interested: e-mail: mmaster891@hotmail.com.

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John Brown is a photojournalist and writer based in Southeast Asia specializing in social reportage and is available for assignments in the region.