Dith PranBy ANDREA LEVENE New Jersey Herald Staff Writer
BLAIRSTOWN — Dith Pran calls himself a one-man crusade against genocide, which is why he spoke at Blair Academy and told students to spread the word.
"We cannot get two million people back," he said describing the genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s. "But we can stop this from happening again."
Pran, 63, spoke Tuesday to more than 150 students, parents, faculty and alumni as the Society of the Skeptics' featured speaker. The audience sat in silence while the well-known journalist recounted the atrocities he witnessed while in a Cambodian forced-labor camp known as the killing fields.
Since the 1980s, Pran has dedicated his life, writings and teaching to educating people about genocide.
"These students need to know this story," he said after the event. "That is why I came here."
Tuesday marked his third visit to Blair Academy.
Pran was working in the robust Cambodian tourism industry when the Vietnam War spilled into his native country. The war forced him to take a position as a correspondent for The New York Times, helping American reporters cover the unrest.
In 1975, when the Cambodian government fell to the communist Khmer Rouge, Pran stayed in the country's capital to cover the historic event, he said.
"I was 33 years old. I fell in love with the news. I felt I could tell the world about the war when it was over," he said. "We cannot see things without telling people. I wanted to stay so I could tell people about what happened."
Pran ended up being sent to a labor camp, where he said he watched as many people died from disease and starvation. In 1979, he escaped to Thailand.
"It is very hard for me to tell you how I survived in the killing fields," he said. "I believed that someone had survive to tell the story."
During the hourlong event, students were encouraged to ask Pran questions. Most had seen the 1984 movie "The Killing Fields."
"It is important that people stay interested in this," he said. "This movie was important because people started talking about it."
One student asked Pran how he felt about the fact that genocide still occurs.
"At least the world community is getting better," Pran said. "(The response) is not right away but it happens."
"We cannot get two million people back," he said describing the genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s. "But we can stop this from happening again."
Pran, 63, spoke Tuesday to more than 150 students, parents, faculty and alumni as the Society of the Skeptics' featured speaker. The audience sat in silence while the well-known journalist recounted the atrocities he witnessed while in a Cambodian forced-labor camp known as the killing fields.
Since the 1980s, Pran has dedicated his life, writings and teaching to educating people about genocide.
"These students need to know this story," he said after the event. "That is why I came here."
Tuesday marked his third visit to Blair Academy.
Pran was working in the robust Cambodian tourism industry when the Vietnam War spilled into his native country. The war forced him to take a position as a correspondent for The New York Times, helping American reporters cover the unrest.
In 1975, when the Cambodian government fell to the communist Khmer Rouge, Pran stayed in the country's capital to cover the historic event, he said.
"I was 33 years old. I fell in love with the news. I felt I could tell the world about the war when it was over," he said. "We cannot see things without telling people. I wanted to stay so I could tell people about what happened."
Pran ended up being sent to a labor camp, where he said he watched as many people died from disease and starvation. In 1979, he escaped to Thailand.
"It is very hard for me to tell you how I survived in the killing fields," he said. "I believed that someone had survive to tell the story."
During the hourlong event, students were encouraged to ask Pran questions. Most had seen the 1984 movie "The Killing Fields."
"It is important that people stay interested in this," he said. "This movie was important because people started talking about it."
One student asked Pran how he felt about the fact that genocide still occurs.
"At least the world community is getting better," Pran said. "(The response) is not right away but it happens."
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