By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegraph (California, USA)
LONG BEACH - Chantara Nop remembers it all - the torture, the hunger, the atrocities, the five brothers he lost. And he never wants to forget, nor does he want anyone else to forget or doubt the bloody legacy of the Khmer Rouge reign in Cambodia.
Today, as he does every year, Nop will take a day off from work to reflect on what he and his country endured.
Nop will be joined by about 100 to 150 fellow Cambodian refugees at Wat Vipassanaram to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the date the Khmer Rouge rolled unopposed into Phnom Penh. Four years and about 1.7million dead later, Pol Pot was driven from power, but the scars he and the Khmer Rouge left remain.
For the second year, members of the Cambodian community will meet at the temple at 1239 E. 20th St. to pray and reflect.
This year's event will have added significance as it is the first since the death of Dith Pran, the photographer who became for many the symbol of the Cambodian genocide as the central character in the 1984 film "The Killing Fields." Dr. Haing Ngor won a best supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal of Dith.
Dith, who later moved to the U.S. and became a New York Times photographer, died March 30 from pancreatic cancer.
Paline Soth, one of the event organizers, said there would be a special dedication for Dith.
Also this year for the first time, 20 monks from four local temples will attend to commemorate the date and offer prayers and blessings.
Prayers will begin at 9a.m., with a lunch at noon.
Beginning at 6 p.m., testimonials, speakers and a candlelight vigil will be staged. Several monks are also expected to deliver sermons.
Soth says each year the April 17 memorial evolves.
"We have grown from a small commemoration night to a bigger and bigger event," Soth said.
The first April 17 memorial was in 2005 at MacArthur Park. In 2007, the event was moved to the temple.
Last year, participants recounted their tales of life in the "Killing Fields," discussed the history of the Khmer Rouge regime, or recited poetry.
As important as testimony and remembering is for those who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, it is equally important, organizers say, to pass their personal histories to successive generations.
"Everybody now wants to forget, even people who lived through it," Nop says of the genocide. "I saw it, I feel it, I smelled it. Why would you want to forget that?
"It's important to let people know and never forget."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
Today, as he does every year, Nop will take a day off from work to reflect on what he and his country endured.
Nop will be joined by about 100 to 150 fellow Cambodian refugees at Wat Vipassanaram to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the date the Khmer Rouge rolled unopposed into Phnom Penh. Four years and about 1.7million dead later, Pol Pot was driven from power, but the scars he and the Khmer Rouge left remain.
For the second year, members of the Cambodian community will meet at the temple at 1239 E. 20th St. to pray and reflect.
This year's event will have added significance as it is the first since the death of Dith Pran, the photographer who became for many the symbol of the Cambodian genocide as the central character in the 1984 film "The Killing Fields." Dr. Haing Ngor won a best supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal of Dith.
Dith, who later moved to the U.S. and became a New York Times photographer, died March 30 from pancreatic cancer.
Paline Soth, one of the event organizers, said there would be a special dedication for Dith.
Also this year for the first time, 20 monks from four local temples will attend to commemorate the date and offer prayers and blessings.
Prayers will begin at 9a.m., with a lunch at noon.
Beginning at 6 p.m., testimonials, speakers and a candlelight vigil will be staged. Several monks are also expected to deliver sermons.
Soth says each year the April 17 memorial evolves.
"We have grown from a small commemoration night to a bigger and bigger event," Soth said.
The first April 17 memorial was in 2005 at MacArthur Park. In 2007, the event was moved to the temple.
Last year, participants recounted their tales of life in the "Killing Fields," discussed the history of the Khmer Rouge regime, or recited poetry.
As important as testimony and remembering is for those who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, it is equally important, organizers say, to pass their personal histories to successive generations.
"Everybody now wants to forget, even people who lived through it," Nop says of the genocide. "I saw it, I feel it, I smelled it. Why would you want to forget that?
"It's important to let people know and never forget."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
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