50 Years of Khmer Rouge: The bus of remembrance in Cambodia
Teaser: A specially equipped bus is driving through Cambodia to educate young students about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime, 50 years after its rise to power. Through survivor testimonies and interactive displays, this initiative ensures that the painful history of the Khmer Rouge is passed on to a predominantly young nation.
Shorter: A bus offers young Cambodians a chance to hear survivor testimonies and interact with their nation's painful history.
Location: Kampong Thom province, Cambodia
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Lower thirds:
00:02 Report by Akanksha Saxena
001:39 Chin Sok Raksa | Khmer student
00:56 Akanksha Saxena | DW Correspondent
01:51 Leng Nan | Khmer Rouge survivor
02:01  Archive
02:43 Keo Sokhareatrei | Khmer Rouge survivor

Script:
This bus, stationed at a rural school in Cambodia’s Kampong Thom province, is educating students about the atrocities committed during the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. The mobile museum is run by the ECCC , a hybrid court established in 2006 by Cambodia and the UN to put top Khmer Rouge leaders on trial.
Chin Sok Raksa flips through a graphic novel specially created for the outreach program.
00:38 Chin Sok Raksa, Khmer Student
I just learned that the court arrested the Khmer Rouge leaders. I had never known about this case before.
Only three senior leaders have been convicted so far. Today, the court's focus has shifted to education and efforts to keep Cambodia's history alive.
00:54 PTC Akanksha Saxena, DW correspondent 
Nearly two-thirds of Cambodians are under 30, born long after the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, which claimed nearly two million lives. Fifty years on, mobile initiatives like this bus, traveling from school to school, are ensuring that those with little to no knowledge of this dark past learn about the brutal history that shaped their nation.
Survivors like 72-year-old Leng Nan are invited to share their stories. She was forcibly married under the regime. Later, her husband and in-laws were killed by the Khmer Rouge, and her infant child died of disease. Cambodia is a largely Buddhist country and the past is often left unspoken. But she is speaking out.
01:38 Leng Nan, Khmer Rouge Survivor
The Khmer Rouge accused my husband of being Vietnamese and took him away to be killed. They executed five people at once in one pit. I can't forget it. My 7-month-old child lost their father and grandparents. Even today, I can't forget it. It stays in my heart and mind.
The Khmer Rouge genocide was one of the deadliest of the 20th century. Led by Pol Pot, the regime ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. In a ruthless bid to build an agrarian utopia, they wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through executions, forced labor, starvation, and disease.
75-year-old survivor Keo Sokhareatrei was among the '17 April people' — city dwellers forced out at gunpoint when the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh. Her husband and child were among those who died. The losses have defined her entire life.
02: 41 Keo Sokhareatrei, Khmer Rouge Survivor
The trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders is not fully acceptable to me. We wanted the trials to reflect the mental suffering we have endured.
Keo, who never remarried, urges young Cambodians to be cautious
02: 54 Keo Sokhareatrei, Khmer Rouge Survivor
I lived through the Khmer Rouge. I have already experienced enough. I don’t want to see that kind of regime return. I'm anxious and worried every day. I fear it could happen again.
As Cambodia marks 50 years since the Khmer Rouge's rise, a commitment to remembrance can ensure history informs the future.