“Very few people were actually guilt” — HBO’s Conscience of Nhem En
// February 6th, 2010 // View Comments // History, movies
HBO is showing the 2009 Oscar Nominated Short Documentary “The Conscience of Nhem En” directed by Steven Okazaki (Black Tar Herion, Rehab, White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). It is the story of the Khmer Rouge’s Tuol Sleng Prison, also known as Security-21. Between 1975 and 1979 the prison housed an estimated 17,000 people of only which 8 people are documented to have survived, 3 of which are interviewed in the film. In the clip above, Chim Math who was 20 at the time, describes he experience.
Nhem En was a 16 year old photographer who about 6000 photos the prisoners be they where tortured and executed. In the film he is pressed about his involvement and asked if he is partly responsible for the killings because he didn’t do anything. His response in interesting:
“Well, it’s human nature… People do what they have to do to survive. I guess it’s a matter of conscience. A photographer’s job is to take photographs. There was no choice. What was the choice? To die?
If i hadn’t taken these photos, If it weren’t for me, no one would know or care about Cambodia.”
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Nhem En’s unapologetic response forces one to think “what would I have done in that situation?” Would you have done something even though it meant certain death or would you have just followed the orders given? Is he as guilty as he rest of the solders who actually did the tortured and killing?
I would like to think I would have done something, but in reality and as heartless as it sounds, I believe I would have done the same as him. One never knows how one will act unless put in the actual situation ans in reality hardly anyone will act heroic.
Links:
Tuol Sleng Prison Museum Website
