Kejal Vyas
The Rutgers-Newark Observer (New jersey, USA)
"What does this have to do with us in America?" an undergraduate at Rutgers-Newark asked Meng-Try Ea while studying the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s.
"What's the point in having the exhibition here?" another student asked about the gallery dedicated to the massacre in the Paul Robeson Campus Center.
They were disappointing questions for him to hear. Ea lived through the four-year reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-79) when a quarter of Cambodia's population was killed. While Pol Pot's extremist party murdered nearly 2 million people through starvation and forced labor, Ea had also lost a part of himself; four of his uncles were listed as enemies of the Khmer Rouge government and were killed. Two uncles were executed simply for having been employed by the previous regime. Two others were imprisoned and never returned home after Vietnamese forces defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Revenge, however, is not on Ea's mind.
He's found a different way to do something about the genocide, which has taken so long for people to recognize and whose perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice.
As a graduate student and teaching assistant in the Global Affairs department at R-N, Ea is working for his Ph.D. At the same time, Ea is a research assistant with the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a non-profit organization aimed at documenting the atrocities of the killing fields. The research conducted through the organization will be used to prosecute the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide in an international tribunal that is schedule to start in fall.
DC-CAM, as the organization is known, opened an office at R-N in 2005. R-N houses the largest archive of documents and images from the Khmer Rouge period. The information is being used as a primary source for students and researchers studying the genocide and its aftermath.
"Having a chance to be at Rutgers is the best place, the best opportunity," Ea said. "What we did at Rutgers is sending a message to the Rutgers community and to the world that what happened in Cambodia should be taken into consideration and then we can work together to prevent such atrocities from happening again," he added.
"This is about healing. This is about prevention from this happening to you as well as from happening to others," Ea said, discussing the importance of studying the Cambodian genocide.
Studying the Khmer Rouge is also a part of American history, Ea said.
"The genocide happened in Cambodia partly because of the American bombing in Cambodia," Ea said.
Because of the bombing, which occurred on the Cambodian side during the Vietnam War, "villagers in the rural area, especially, joined the Khmer Rouge and made the revolution stronger" allowing them to take over, Ea said.
"So this is part of history. We cannot forget it," he added.
Two other students from Cambodia are also part of the DC-CAM at R-N. The work that the three of them are doing will have resonance well beyond the boundaries of the campus.
This fall, Cambodia will have its first tribunal where some of the top administrators of the Khmer Rouge government will be prosecuted for war crimes committed 30 years ago.
"The justice in Cambodia is delayed, but this does not discourage me. I keep pushing it, fighting for it. Justice sometimes comes late, nevertheless it still comes as long as we are not tired and keep fighting for it," Ea said.
Ea plans to return to Cambodia to help persuade more victims and former cadre of the Khmer Rouge, who have returned to civilian life, to come forward and take part in the tribunal. "I'm ready to go back," Ea said enthusiastically.
Interviewing former cadre has already become Ea's forte. "Victims and Perpetrators: The Testimony of Young Khmer Rouge Cadres at S-21" is a book authored by Ea and colleague Sorya Sim. The book offers accounts of these Khmer Rouge workers who were young and forced into committing atrocities. Ea argues that these workers were also victims of the perpetrators, an argument contrary to conventional interpretations of the genocide.
Ea will be a vital asset to Cambodia after he returns, said Alex Hinton, professor of anthropology at R-N and Ea's colleague at DC-CAM. The Khmer Rouge targeted professionals, professors and intellectuals in their effort to dominate Cambodia and stifle any political dissent, Hinton explained. "Very few academics survived so, when he goes back, he will be one of the elite professors," Hinton added.
The definition of justice, however, is still one of the biggest questions facing scholars like Ea.
"For the Cambodian people, it's (the tribunal) not about revenge. It's more about truth," Ea said humbly. "The tribunal has the role to provide truth and answer the question: Why did they do it? Why did the Khmer Rouge kill so many people?"
"What's the point in having the exhibition here?" another student asked about the gallery dedicated to the massacre in the Paul Robeson Campus Center.
They were disappointing questions for him to hear. Ea lived through the four-year reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-79) when a quarter of Cambodia's population was killed. While Pol Pot's extremist party murdered nearly 2 million people through starvation and forced labor, Ea had also lost a part of himself; four of his uncles were listed as enemies of the Khmer Rouge government and were killed. Two uncles were executed simply for having been employed by the previous regime. Two others were imprisoned and never returned home after Vietnamese forces defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
Revenge, however, is not on Ea's mind.
He's found a different way to do something about the genocide, which has taken so long for people to recognize and whose perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice.
As a graduate student and teaching assistant in the Global Affairs department at R-N, Ea is working for his Ph.D. At the same time, Ea is a research assistant with the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a non-profit organization aimed at documenting the atrocities of the killing fields. The research conducted through the organization will be used to prosecute the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide in an international tribunal that is schedule to start in fall.
DC-CAM, as the organization is known, opened an office at R-N in 2005. R-N houses the largest archive of documents and images from the Khmer Rouge period. The information is being used as a primary source for students and researchers studying the genocide and its aftermath.
"Having a chance to be at Rutgers is the best place, the best opportunity," Ea said. "What we did at Rutgers is sending a message to the Rutgers community and to the world that what happened in Cambodia should be taken into consideration and then we can work together to prevent such atrocities from happening again," he added.
"This is about healing. This is about prevention from this happening to you as well as from happening to others," Ea said, discussing the importance of studying the Cambodian genocide.
Studying the Khmer Rouge is also a part of American history, Ea said.
"The genocide happened in Cambodia partly because of the American bombing in Cambodia," Ea said.
Because of the bombing, which occurred on the Cambodian side during the Vietnam War, "villagers in the rural area, especially, joined the Khmer Rouge and made the revolution stronger" allowing them to take over, Ea said.
"So this is part of history. We cannot forget it," he added.
Two other students from Cambodia are also part of the DC-CAM at R-N. The work that the three of them are doing will have resonance well beyond the boundaries of the campus.
This fall, Cambodia will have its first tribunal where some of the top administrators of the Khmer Rouge government will be prosecuted for war crimes committed 30 years ago.
"The justice in Cambodia is delayed, but this does not discourage me. I keep pushing it, fighting for it. Justice sometimes comes late, nevertheless it still comes as long as we are not tired and keep fighting for it," Ea said.
Ea plans to return to Cambodia to help persuade more victims and former cadre of the Khmer Rouge, who have returned to civilian life, to come forward and take part in the tribunal. "I'm ready to go back," Ea said enthusiastically.
Interviewing former cadre has already become Ea's forte. "Victims and Perpetrators: The Testimony of Young Khmer Rouge Cadres at S-21" is a book authored by Ea and colleague Sorya Sim. The book offers accounts of these Khmer Rouge workers who were young and forced into committing atrocities. Ea argues that these workers were also victims of the perpetrators, an argument contrary to conventional interpretations of the genocide.
Ea will be a vital asset to Cambodia after he returns, said Alex Hinton, professor of anthropology at R-N and Ea's colleague at DC-CAM. The Khmer Rouge targeted professionals, professors and intellectuals in their effort to dominate Cambodia and stifle any political dissent, Hinton explained. "Very few academics survived so, when he goes back, he will be one of the elite professors," Hinton added.
The definition of justice, however, is still one of the biggest questions facing scholars like Ea.
"For the Cambodian people, it's (the tribunal) not about revenge. It's more about truth," Ea said humbly. "The tribunal has the role to provide truth and answer the question: Why did they do it? Why did the Khmer Rouge kill so many people?"
5 comments:
Pol Pot wa nothing, just a few followers. If US (Nixon) did not invaded Cambodia and a few years later abandoned us (Khmer People)
never get into Pol Pot hand. Look at Iraq now.
Bati
I think the genocide happened in Cambodia was not only U.S. that partly involved, but France. Let see the following article.
___________________________
Sirik Matak was kicked out of the French Embassy to his death.? French complicit to
his death?
"I will have, within a deadline that cannot exceed 24 hours, to deliver the name of
these officials …"
January 16, 2007
Le Monde
The diplomatic telegrams, through their terseness, cut directly trough to the
essential. Those which were exchanged between the [French] consul, Jean Dyrac, and
the Quai d'Orsay [the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs] show that the presence of
Cambodian officials [inside the compound of the French embassy in Phnom Penh] was
undesirable by Paris. Below are the main excerpts found in the legal file of the
Créteil court.
April 17, 1975, 12:45 PM, sent by Mr. Dyrac
The diplomat announced that Ung Bun Hor, President of the National Assembly, "had
forced his entry" into the French embassy at 10:00 AM. "He pleaded for the right to
asylum for the immediate protection of his life," the diplomat wrote. "With the
assistance of security guards, I attempted, in vain, to push him out. He is
currently maintained under our control in one of the buildings. Furthermore, Prince
Sirik Matak tried to contact me by phone to ask also for asylum. I will be indebted
to the department to please let me know in extreme urgency, on how to deal with them
in the case where the new authorities would ask that these officials be handed to
them."
April 17, 1975, 12:50 PM, sent by Mr. Dyrac
"Prince Sirik Matak succeeded in entering the compound of our embassy by crossing
the gates, with two of his bodyguards in civilian clothes."
April 17, 1975, 02:09 PM, sent by the office of the Minister [of Foreign Affair] to
Mr. Dyrac
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented its viewpoint: impossible to
fulfill the demands made by the officials: "Therefore, it remains to them to
appreciate that it is in their interest to find refuge elsewhere and to quickly
leave the territory of our establishment ."
April 18, 1975, 03:18 PM, sent by Mr. Dyrac to the directors of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
At 02:00 PM, the consul provided an update on the situation inside the embassy
compound. With an elegant euphemism, he explained that his talk with the
representatives of the city committee was held with "a reserved cordiality." The
Khmer Rouge expressed their "true satisfaction" for the recognition of the new
regime by the French government. They claimed that the general evacuation of Phnom
Penh "which was deemed necessary, does not apply to embassies, and especially not to
the French citizens," several weeks later the event turned out otherwise from the
Khmer Rouge claim. Furthermore, the consul noted, the Khmer Rouge wished to see a
list of the wounded which "will be provided to them." Another demand: being able to
visit the embassy. "To which we replied with the promise of setting a list of people
present within three days."
April 18, 1975, 03:18 PM, also sent by Mr. Dyrac
Cornered, fearing a forced entry into the embassy, the consul gave in on the rest.
"Following ultimatum of the city delegation committee, I find myself obliged, in
order to assure the safekeeping of our compatriots, to include in the list of people
present in the embassy: (1) Prince Sirik Matak and two of his officers; (2) Princess
Mom Manivong of Lao origin (3rd wife of Prince Sihanouk [She is also the mother of
Princess Arun Rasmy, the wife of Keo Puth Rasmey, the current F'pec president ]);
(3) Mr. Ung Bun Hor, the President of the National Assembly [added by KI-Media]; (4)
Mr. Loeung Nal, Health Minister. Except for express and immediate order from the
department charging me to give them political asylum, I will have, within a deadline
that cannot exceed 24 hours, to deliver the name of these officials."
April 18, 1975, 06:10 PM, sent from the office of the Minister to Mr. Dyrac
"Please establish the list of names of Cambodian citizens who are inside the embassy
compound, so that it is ready to be provided at the expiration of the deadline which
was given to you."
April 20, 1975, 11:55 AM sent by Mr. Dyrac
"After my intervention, the city committee had authorized this morning the Cambodian
citizens who took refuge in our embassy to get out freely, except for the officials
of the old regime. The latter will be part of another group," the French consul
explained.
April 20, 1975, 01:26 PM, from the Asian policy office of the Ministry to Mr. Dyrac
"Please provide detail on the conditions for the planned departure of the group of
officials from old regime."
April 20, 1975, 02:44 AM sent by Mr. Dyrac
"Prince Sirik Matak and other officials cited previously presented themselves in a
very dignified manner this afternoon to an unidentified committee (FUNK or ANL
[Armée Nationale de Libération, National Liberation Army]) which came to take them
in Jeep in front of the embassy gate.
Article published on January 17, 2007
I agree with EA interm of the birth of Khmer Rouge regime-- US's bombing--I do not think the article about French has proven any French's involment making KR and killing possible.
The US have made the carpet bombing
in Cambodia so devastated that many
people have to join the KR to survive but the killing during the KR could be explain by the Vietnamese strategie to create the KO situation in Cambodia so they could just walk in and take the whole contry as their colony.The KR
like others khmer group ... are working for Vietnam unwantedly...
in the vietnamese trap.
Come on people. I expect that you are all capable of wisdom by now instead of telling the story from Yuan propaganda program.
The KR was cretaed by Yuon Ho Chi Minh, and Ho Chi Minh was paid by
the former Soviet Union after WWII.
But Ho Chi Minh had his own agenda with his eyes on taking Cambodia & Laos while China has her eyes on Hanoi & Taiwan. It was like a gambling, Ho Chi Minh decided to take a chance to join with Communism. He said "If we join them we may lost or may be survived, but if we don't join them China will take our land for good". For Ho Chi Minh and the idea marching toward West is to save his Yuan Species from being exterminated by China. As you all have noticed that the French helped Yuan to change the characters from Chinese to Latin.
After defeated Hitler (German) & Hirohito (Japan), the US, Great Britain and Soviet under the old dictator Stalin fought with each other who wanted to rule the world. Stalin (Soviet dictator) encouraged Ho Chi Minh to take Cambodia & Laos and he paid Ho Chi Minh million and million of dollars up to billion promised to help Ho Chi Minh to colonize and to be free from China. At that time China was under Mao and he was just a freshman he couldn't caugh, b/c Mao respected Stalin's ideology.
We have only two systems to choose to live: Communism or Capitalism.
If those 3 powerful nations: Great Britain, US and Soviet didn't disarm Hitler and Hirohito, what will happen to our planet?
Hirohito's army killed to many Chinese, Korean, Phillippines, Viets, ...even if it was a very short period until President Truman after President Roosevelt died dropped our powerful bombs on Hiroshima and 2 more islands to stop Hirohito's aggressivness, wonder how many million or billion more Hirohito may have killed?
So to say our carper bombing was the source of KR is baseless.
No Nation is perfect but the US at least allow people to have freedom and to enjoy life.
The assertion of the carpet bombing killed Khmers ~200,000
and caused Khmers to join KR was coming straight out of the Yuan propaganda program.
You all better go back from the roots before you attack the US.
W/O the US this world will be more evils like Kim Jong Il, Yuan/Hun Sen, China, and Junta. And don't forget King Sihanouk, a skillful man who has lied from the begining, and he was the one who joined Ho Chi Minh and forming the KR. What amaging us the most is that Sihanouk manages to lie and jumping from the leader of KR to be a victim -still million Idiot Khmers believe him.
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