Original report from Washington
10 December 2008
US-Cambodians will be give a chance to testify to their trauma under the Khmer Rouge and gain access to work by experts on the regime and Cambodian history during a daylong forum in Lowell, Mass., on Saturday.
“Shared Suffering, Shared Resilience,” organized by the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia, will focus on testimonials from first- and second-general survivors, scholarly work on the hybrid Khmer Rouge tribunal, history, films, and open dialogue between participants.
The forum “is the first step towards overcoming the long-term effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide,” said Nou Leakhena, found of the Applied Social Research Institute. Such forums help Cambodians “increase their sense of belonging to a supportive community [while] encouraging and supporting future projects.”
Teddy Yoshikami, director of program development for the institute, also stressed the importance of the forum.
Nov Leakhena’s research “ has found that almost all Cambodians, regardless of where they live or where they may be anywhere, they’ve been affected by the Khmer Rouge,” including both the first and second generations, she said. “Those effects are important to bring about and learn more about.”
Discussions allow people to share binding experiences, helping pass on lessons and understanding to children and leading to a “real healing process,” she said.
Created in affiliation with the Asian/Pacific/American Institute of New York University, the forum was first held in Long Beach, California, in March. It will open Saturday at the O’Leary Auditorium in Lowell, from 9 am to 7 pm, and will continue to other cities in the US.
“Shared Suffering, Shared Resilience,” organized by the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia, will focus on testimonials from first- and second-general survivors, scholarly work on the hybrid Khmer Rouge tribunal, history, films, and open dialogue between participants.
The forum “is the first step towards overcoming the long-term effects of the Khmer Rouge genocide,” said Nou Leakhena, found of the Applied Social Research Institute. Such forums help Cambodians “increase their sense of belonging to a supportive community [while] encouraging and supporting future projects.”
Teddy Yoshikami, director of program development for the institute, also stressed the importance of the forum.
Nov Leakhena’s research “ has found that almost all Cambodians, regardless of where they live or where they may be anywhere, they’ve been affected by the Khmer Rouge,” including both the first and second generations, she said. “Those effects are important to bring about and learn more about.”
Discussions allow people to share binding experiences, helping pass on lessons and understanding to children and leading to a “real healing process,” she said.
Created in affiliation with the Asian/Pacific/American Institute of New York University, the forum was first held in Long Beach, California, in March. It will open Saturday at the O’Leary Auditorium in Lowell, from 9 am to 7 pm, and will continue to other cities in the US.
6 comments:
good idea! the ordinary people of cambodia are the living eyewitnesses to the atrocity under the KR regime. please interview or talk to all khmer survivors while we are all still alive. we lived through it, saw it, and suffered from it, to say the least. god bless.
Those who know don't say,who say usually don't know. This PhD Leakhena Nou likes to say more...do know little.
The forum seems to serve the purpose of boosting her paycheck rather than for the benefit of all Cambodian people. I don't get it, Dr. Nou!
You are clearly doing this so that you could get back to Srok Khmer again, aren't you?
KR lives everywhere and the gain as much freedom than ever in US. In fact most Americans support KR refugees and they believe that the KR killers are the one who is suffering the most not the real victims. Hard to believe but is true.
This is no justice. We all know Ah Pleu-Oversea is going to lie their arse off.
hey, dr. nou is in acedamia. she's doing this so her students can take parts. nothing's wrong with doing her job. stop being jealous, please!
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