An app and website give a new insight into the tragic legacy left by the Khmer Rouge in the history of Cambodia. An app which is also a useful tool for visitors looking after the Kingdom’s past.
History is fascinating for the best or the worst and Cambodia is certainly a country where the sublime often stand next to the most gruesome. The Khmer Rouge history is a heavy legacy which is difficult to ignore. Many tourists coming to the Kingdom show indeed a genuine interest to learn about Cambodia’s darkest hours.
Students of the Royal University of Phnom Penh have worked to create a website and app called “Mapping Memories Cambodia (MMC)” to allow Cambodians and tourists alike to better understand the tragic history of contemporary Cambodia. The influence of the gruesome Khmer Rouge regime is visible until today as it deeply influenced social, political, cultural structures of the country.
To be sure that the Khmer Rouge regime tragedy does not disappear from Cambodians collective memory, MMC application and website allow all interested visitors and locals to discover all the aspects of the so-called Democratic Kampuchea through documents as well as video and audio testimonials. The app. also includes maps that point out to the places where Khmer Rouge history took place. The app highlights not only Tuol Sleng Prison with the genocide museum or the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh but also in places such as such Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
The application is then an excellent complement to all visitors curious to learn about the Khmer Rouge period and visit the victims’ commemoration sites. MMC project is supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation/Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) while the Documentation Center of Cambodia looked after factual information on the Khmer Rouge past.
