Artist tells of survival in S-21

Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear

Phnom Penh Post

BOU Meng may be one of only a handful of inmates who escaped from Tuol Sleng prison with his life, but that doesn’t mean his time there was any less intense than that of the estimated 16,000 who perished.

In a biography released Sunday, the artist describes how he was imprisoned and tortured, and how the assignment that saved him – painting portraits of Pol Pot and other Communist leaders – also came with the pressure of knowing that his work was being scrutinised by fiercely dedicated revolutionaries.

He recalls in the book that prison guards warned him: “If the portrait is not lifelike, you will be dead.”

Written by researcher and Cambodia Television Network news director Huy Vannak, the biography – titled Bou Meng: A survivor from Khmer Rouge Toul Sleng Prison S-21; Justice for the Future, not just for the Victims – traces the artist’s life from an impoverished childhood in Kampong Cham province to an emotional encounter with Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, nearly 30 years after the Khmer Rouge fell from power.

Read More