Chum Mey

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Chum Mey in the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Memorial , 2010

Chum Mey (* around 1930 in Cambodia ) is one of only seven survivors of the Tuol Sleng torture prison (S-21) in Phnom Penh during the genocide in Cambodia under the regime of the Khmer Rouge and as such part of worldwide reporting.

Of the 14,000 prisoners in the torture prison, only 14 were alive when they were liberated, and more died because they were too weak, starved and too sick. After a week there were only seven survivors, including Chum Mey, who owed his survival to his skills as a mechanic, which the Pol Pot soldiers were useful in maintaining and repairing the various machines. Together with Vann Nath , another survivor of Tuol Sleng (S-21), Chum Mey has been committed to documenting and commemorating the events since then, including in the documentary S-21: The Khmer Rouge's Death Machine . He also served and continues to serve as a witness for the prosecution at the trial of living leaders of the terrorist regime.

“First they shot my wife, who was marching in front with the other women. She screamed to me, 'Please run, they are killing me now'. I heard my son crying and then they fired again, killing him. When I sleep, I still see their faces, and every day I still think of them "

“First they shot my wife, who was marching in front with the other women. She shouted 'Please run away, they're killing me now'. I heard my son crying, they shot again and killed my son. When I sleep I can still see their faces and I think of them every day "

- Quote : Pol Pot survivor prepares to tell horrific tale , Chum Meys experiences
Chum Mey at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh (March 2015)
Chum Mey signs his biography "Survivor" for the visitors of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh (March 2015)

Web links

Commons : Chum Mey  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Survivor rises to bear witness from the killing fields Report on the experiences of Chum Mey
  2. ↑ Lor Chandara: Faded Photographs Hold KR Prisoner's Memories. February 1, 2003, accessed February 9, 2019 .
  3. ^ Report and quote
personal data
SURNAME Mey, Chum
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cambodian contemporary witness of the Khmer Rouge terror regime and one of only twelve survivors of the Tuol Sleng torture prison
DATE OF BIRTH around 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Cambodia