"If we look back at the last century, the most devastating cause of human suffering has been the culture of violence in resolving differences and conflicts. The challenge before us, therefore, is to make this new 21st century a century of dialogue when conflicts are resolved non-violently."

- DALAI LAMA

During Pol Pot's horrific reign as the leader of Cambodia (1975-1979), 17,000 people came through Tuol Sleng (or S-21), a former high school turned into an interrogation center. They were all accused of being traitors to the government, for reasons ranging from knowing a foreign language to working for the prior goverment to wearing eyeglasses.

Only a few survived, mostly sculptors offered pardons if they agreed to build statues of Pol Pot. All of the rest were slowly tortured to death, either dying here at Tuol Sleng or being transported out to the killing fields for execution.

Tuol Sleng is now a museum, documenting the horrors of those years. There are dozens of photographs of the victims, and their expressions are chilling. Some have broad smiles, as if posing for a high school yearbook, seemingly unaware of what was about to happen. Others, like this young man, clearly know what's coming.