The brand-new bus, equipped with the latest technology and a trove of digitized history, gleamed as it wove through morning rush-hour traffic in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. When it reached its destination, Kampong Speu High School, an hour west of the city, students came to meet it. So did seven survivors of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, who arrived separately, to share their appalling stories with the teenagers.

Tuch Sakun, 82, wiped tears away with a leopard-print krama, a traditional scarf, as she described the killings of her father and her husband.

“As elders, we need to keep reminding everyone about what happened,” Tuch Sakun told the students. “You all are so lucky. You have nice clothes. You go to school. You have enough to eat.”

A brand-new bus wove through morning rush-hour traffic in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Equipped with the latest technology and a trove of digitized history, it was heading to Kampong Speu High School, an hour west of the city.  When it arrived, students came to meet it. So did seven survivors of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. They were there to share their horrifying stories with the teenagers.

Tuch Sakun, 82, wiped tears away with a leopard-print krama, a traditional scarf, as she described the killings of her father and her husband.

“As elders, we need to keep reminding everyone about what happened,” Tuch Sakun told the students. “You all are so lucky. You have nice clothes. You go to school. You have enough to eat.”

About two-thirds of Cambodia’s population is under 30, born a generation or more after the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. Many of those young people have only a general awareness of the regime’s atrocities, which left at least 1.7 million Cambodians dead.

That horrific history has been thoroughly recorded, in court documents and at places like the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the killing field in Choeung Ek, where the Khmer Rouge executed thousands. But both of these are in Phnom Penh, and most Cambodians live in the countryside.

The bus’s mission is to bring the history to them. The result of an international effort, the bus is outfitted with touch screens, laptops, and projectors and is connected to a vast digital record of the Khmer Rouge’s crimes against humanity, including executions, enslavement, torture, starvation, and forced separations.

About two-thirds of Cambodia’s population is under 30. They were born a generation or more after the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. Many of those young people have only a general awareness of the regime’s cruelties, which left at least 1.7 million Cambodians dead.

The horrific history has been thoroughly recorded. Court documents contain the details. Places like the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the killing field in Choeung Ek, where the Khmer Rouge executed thousands, tell the story. But these places are in Phnom Penh, and most Cambodians live in the countryside.

The bus’s mission is to bring the history to them. It is the result of an international effort. The bus is outfitted with touch screens, laptops, and projectors and is connected to a vast digital record of the Khmer Rouge’s crimes against humanity, including executions, enslavement, torture, starvation, and forced separations.

When the Communist forces of the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia in 1975, the nation lay in ruin. Not only had it fought an eight-year civil war, but the United States had also aggressively bombed Cambodia during the tail end of the Vietnam War (1954-75) in a failed attempt to push out Communist forces in both countries. Many historians say the bombings helped strengthen the Khmer Rouge, led by dictator Pol Pot, by fueling anger towards the democratic West.

Once in power, Pol Pot’s Communist regime banished people to the countryside, closed schools, and ordered everyone, including children, to work toward its stated goal: a classless agrarian utopia. (Khmer Rouge means “Red Khmer”; the name refers to the Khmer people, Cambodia’s dominant ethnic group.)

When the Communist forces of the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia in 1975, the nation lay in ruin. The country had been in an eight-year civil war. The United States had also aggressively bombed Cambodia during the tail end of the Vietnam War (1954-75) in a failed attempt to push out Communist forces in both countries. Many historians say the bombings helped strengthen the Khmer Rouge, led by dictator Pol Pot, by fueling anger towards the democratic West.

Once in power, Pol Pot’s Communist regime banished people to the countryside and closed schools. Everyone, including children, was ordered to work toward its stated goal— a classless agrarian utopia. Khmer Rouge means “Red Khmer.” The name refers to Cambodia’s dominant ethnic group, the Khmer people.

Khmer Rouge officials ordered the killing of minorities, and anyone with skills and education—such as doctors and merchants—whom it saw as threats. The group outlawed money and closed all banks and shops. An invading Vietnamese force toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979, but it continued a guerrilla war from Cambodia’s borderlands into the 1990s.

After years of wrangling, a United Nations-backed court began operating in Phnom Penh in 2006 with a mandate to prosecute top officials from the Khmer Rouge and those most responsible for its crimes. The tribunal spent more than $330 million, but it convicted only three people before ending prosecutions in 2022.Critics say Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, whose ranks were stacked with former members of the Khmer Rouge, impeded the work of the court.

Khmer Rouge officials ordered the killing of anyone they saw as a threat. This included minorities and anyone with skills and education, such as doctors and merchants. The group outlawed money and closed all banks and shops. An invading Vietnamese force toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979, but it continued a guerrilla war from Cambodia’s borderlands into the 1990s.

Finally in 2006, a United Nations-backed court began operating in Phnom Penh with an order to prosecute top officials from the Khmer Rouge and those most responsible for its crimes. The tribunal spent more than $330 million, but it convicted only three people. Prosecutions were ended in 2022. Critics say Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, made up of former members of the Khmer Rouge, impeded the work of the court.

The tribunal has begun declassifying and digitizing decades’ worth of documents. On the bus, which is an outreach initiative of the tribunal, students can access roughly 975,000 scanned pages, audio records, and video files from 16 years of legal action.

The bus, which began making trips last April, is scheduled to visit schools and colleges in all 25 Cambodian provinces. The court has launched a new website that allows users to search court documents in Khmer script for the first time.

The court has begun declassifying and digitizing decades’ worth of documents. On the bus, which is an outreach initiative of the court, students can access roughly 975,000 scanned pages, audio records, and video files from 16 years of legal action.

The bus began making trips last April. It is scheduled to visit schools and colleges in all 25 Cambodian provinces. The court has launched a new website that allows users to search court documents in Khmer script for the first time.

Youk Chhang, the executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nongovernmental organization that researches and documents the Khmer Rouge period, says any effort to reach communities outside the capital is “a step in the right direction.” At 63, he has vivid memories of the Khmer Rouge. By sharing stories from that time, “a survivor can be an educator, who benefits just as much as the student,” he says.

Cambodia’s approach to genocide education fosters “lots of engagement with people throughout society,” says Alexander Hinton of Rutgers University’s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. “[The] translation of legal documents to terms that people can understand is absolutely critical. The bus is one way of doing this.”

Youk Chhang, the executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nongovernmental organization that researches and documents the Khmer Rouge period, says any effort to reach communities outside the capital is “a step in the right direction.” At 63, he has vivid memories of the Khmer Rouge. By sharing stories from that time, “a survivor can be an educator, who benefits just as much as the student,” he says.

Cambodia’s approach to genocide education fosters “lots of engagement with people throughout society,” says Alexander Hinton of Rutgers University’s Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights. “[The] translation of legal documents to terms that people can understand is absolutely critical. The bus is one way of doing this.”

Perhaps just as important, it brings students together with survivors like Tuch Sakun.

“If the bus didn’t exist, it would be hard for me to reach students and even harder for them to reach me,” she says, touring the interior of the bus with students and other survivors.

Heam Chanmona, an 11th-grader, had never before talked about the “Pol Pot time,” as older Cambodians call it, with someone who lived through it.

“If we just read the history of what happened,” she says, “we really wouldn’t understand how harsh it was back then.”

Perhaps just as important, it brings students together with survivors like Tuch Sakun.

“If the bus didn’t exist, it would be hard for me to reach students and even harder for them to reach me,” she says, touring the interior of the bus with students and other survivors.

Heam Chanmona, an 11th-grader, had never before talked about the “Pol Pot time,” as older Cambodians call it, with someone who lived through it.

“If we just read the history of what happened,” she says, “we really wouldn’t understand how harsh it was back then.”

Anton L. Delgado is a freelance journalist based in Southeast Asia.

Anton L. Delgado is a freelance journalist based in Southeast Asia.