I'm still digesting the words, images and sentiments that were met at the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum today. So many faces of victims. So many lives lost. So many men. So many women. So many children. So much senseless suffering.
Walking through the walls of S-21 I felt rage and grief and despair. There are no quick or easy answers to the many 'whys' that accumulate here. The stacks of hard questions only grow. What drives people to commit such acts? How is it that genocide continues and continues to mar our human story? And so importantly, how do we prevent it?
There really are no easy answers. But I was reminded today of why this work beckons so many of us. While we often witness the very worst of what we as humans are capable of, these scenarios also grant us glimpses of the very best of what humans are capable of. I had the honour today of meeting 2 of the 7 individuals that survived S-21 (of the 20,000 who passed through this political torture and death center).
In the midst of death and suffering and injustice beyond what is imaginable there are also faces like these - of men who emerge resilient and courageous - those who have endured what most of us cannot fathom and yet, with smiling faces, retain grace and hope in a world that too often seems determined to self-combust.
What a privilege to sit with you both today, Chum Mey and Bou Meng. You are extraordinary human beings.
Walking through the walls of S-21 I felt rage and grief and despair. There are no quick or easy answers to the many 'whys' that accumulate here. The stacks of hard questions only grow. What drives people to commit such acts? How is it that genocide continues and continues to mar our human story? And so importantly, how do we prevent it?
There really are no easy answers. But I was reminded today of why this work beckons so many of us. While we often witness the very worst of what we as humans are capable of, these scenarios also grant us glimpses of the very best of what humans are capable of. I had the honour today of meeting 2 of the 7 individuals that survived S-21 (of the 20,000 who passed through this political torture and death center).
In the midst of death and suffering and injustice beyond what is imaginable there are also faces like these - of men who emerge resilient and courageous - those who have endured what most of us cannot fathom and yet, with smiling faces, retain grace and hope in a world that too often seems determined to self-combust.
What a privilege to sit with you both today, Chum Mey and Bou Meng. You are extraordinary human beings.