Reconciling Peace with Justice: Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia - Theary Seng's lecture at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, 13 Jan. 2011)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the 3rd Monday of January each yearn (today, Jan. 17), which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

===========

Reconciling Peace with Justice:
Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia
Theary C. Seng
Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art
(Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA)
7–9 P.M. Thursday, 13 January 2011
Filmed for Michigan public television.

----------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION

University of Michigan Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium (13 Jan. 2011)

I am deeply humbled and honored to be with you this evening in this beautiful Helmut Stern Auditorium of the University of Michigan Museum of Art as part of the celebration of the life of the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in this 25^th Annual Symposium entitled “We the People… Realizing the Dream?” 

There are several reasons for my excitement to be here with you: First, 30 years ago, I was catapulted as a child refugee from the squalid camp in Thailand into the heart of Michigan and the heart of its winter.  (There’s not enough time tonight to talk about the SHOCKS at every imaginable level!)

Theary Seng (middle, behind brother Daravuth with wavy permed hair) and her family greeted by the Grand Rapids community at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (Michigan, Christmas Eve, 24 Dec. 1980)

Second, I am absolutely delighted to be back here in Ann Arbor where I hold fond memories of my 3 years at the University of Michigan Law School.

University of Michigan Law Quad with the ornate Reading Room and underground library in building pictured in the background (Ann Arbor, 14 Jan. 2011) covered with running ivies in the summer months.

Theary Seng going to her interviews (for a promotional video of the Law School as well as for the Alumni Magazine), here in the Quad of the University of Michigan Law School facing the Reading Room (Ann Arbor, 14 Jan. 2011).

Lastly, I am deeply humbled to be given this opportunity to honor the extraordinary life of a man whose work, faith and passion loomed large in my childhood imagination and whose legacy continues to inspire me in my work for peace and justice in Cambodia.

Thus, I would like to thank Professor Nick Rine, Kate Wright and Charles Sullivan for this wonderful invitation to be here at the University of Michigan, and the sponsors for their support: the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, my alma mater – the University of Michigan Law School, the Cambodia Law Project, the President’s Advisory Board on Labor Standards and Human Rights, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Dr. Allen Hicken (director of Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the University of Michigan, who speaks and reads Khmer besides a few other Asian languages), Theary Seng, Cambodian-American Dr. Dorasy Paul (a friend from Theary’s law school days who obtained her Ph.D in Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Michigan) and Kate Wright (Program Manager at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies).  Here, after the Who Killed Chea Vichea? film screening (Ann Arbor, 14 Jan. 2011).

===========

RECONCILING PEACE WITH JUSTICE – MLK’s LEGACY

My topic this evening is Reconciling Peace with Justice: the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia. Is there a dichotomy between peace and justice?  Is it peace OR justice?  Or is it, peace AND justice? 

Within the next hour, I will give you a tour of the current human rights landscape of Cambodia with a brief glance to the country’s tragic past, and hone in on our efforts to redress this past in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.  And in doing so, I am arguing that justice is an intrinsic element of peace.  There can be no genuine peace without justice.  The dichotomy of ‘peace’ or ‘justice’ is a false one.

Cambodian human rights activist Theary Seng to speak at Art Museum for MLK Symposium

5Jan 13, 2011 [Today]
By: Frances Kai-Hwa Wang
Community Contributor
AnnArbor.com

Many know how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. developed many of his ideas from the writings of Gandhi, but I only recently began to learn how the ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also went on to influence many others around the globe.

Cambodian human rights activist and Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seng will be speaking this Thursday, Jan. 13, from 7-9 p.m., at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, “MLK Across The Globe: His Legacy In Advancing The Values Of Justice, Peace, And Reconciliation In Cambodia.”

Theary Seng is the founder and board president of the Cambodian Center for Justice & Reconciliation and the founding director of CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education.

This program is sponsored as part on the University of Michigan 25th Annual MLK Symposium by the University of Michigan Center for Southeast Asian Studies, U of M Museum of Art, U of M Law School, the Cambodia Law Project, the President’s Advisory Board on Labor Standards and Human Rights, and the U of M School of Public Health.

University of Michigan Museum of Art is located at 525 S. State St. in Ann Arbor.

Holland church gathers for Cambodian New Year celebration

Children perform a dance during the Cambodian Fellowship Christian Reformed Church New Year celebration Saturday at the Holland Civic Center. (Robert Kanavel/Sentinel contributor)

Apr 11, 2010
By BLAKE THORNE
The Holland Sentinel (Michigan, USA)

Holland, MI — It’s fitting that the Cambodian Fellowship Christian Reformed Church picked Saturday to celebrate.

It was three days before the Cambodian New Year and six days after Easter — the two holidays they were celebrating.

“Tonight, we gather together in hope,” said Mark Wilson, a member of Cambodian Fellowship, as he gave a sermon to the crowd of about 150 at the Holland Civic Center. “The hope of the new year, the Cambodian New Year. And the hope of Easter.”

The Cambodian New Year celebrates many of the same themes as the western-style New Year, like new beginnings and a fresh start, said elder Steve Cheung.

With Easter falling so close, it makes sense to celebrate the two together, he said.

“We still love Jesus Christ, but we don’t forget our culture,” he said. “So we celebrate it all together.”

The celebration included authentic Cambodian food, music and dancing and guest speakers, including Ben Meyer, academic dean and registrar for Kuyper College, and State Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R- Holland.

Members of other churches and ethnicities came out to the event, as well.

A chaplain with Request Foods, Pete DeHann has been to the celebration in previous years.

“It’s a very good time,” he said. “And the food’s to die for.”

Dressed in a silk, two-piece traditional Cambodian outfit, Deb Wilson helped tend a table covered with Cambodian goods for sale. The items — from traditional scarves and artwork to T-shirts — were brought back from a mission trip.

Along with her husband, Mark Wilson, Deb Wilson lived in Cambodia for 10 years, she said.

With such a large Cambodian population in Holland, the annual New Year and Easter celebration has been a good way to bridge the cultural divide, she said.

“I think it’s a really cool blending of belief systems.”

A dream come true Cambodian custodian now a U.S. citizen

By Mark RogersUCMS custodian Keo Sok (center) shows off his naturalization papers to middle school teachers Larry Bruce and Klaudia Fisher.

Wed Aug 27, 2008
By Mark Rogers
The Daily Reporter
Union City, Mich.

UNION CITY — Each day at school as he cleaned the classrooms and swept the hallways, Keo Sok was bombarded by civics questions. Eighth grade students at Union City Middle School (UCMS) constantly asked the questions that would ultimately be on Sok’s citizenship test.

In the end, Sok passed with flying colors — Red, White and Blue that is. Sok, UCMS’ long-time custodian, was a refugee of Pol Pot’s regime of terror in Cambodia during the 1970s. He has been in Union City for 28 years.

Back in January, the students and teachers at UCMS began to rally around Sok’s desire to become an American citizen. A large rally was held, state Rep. Bruce Caswell told the students and Sok about the importance of citizenship, not just being a citizen, but voting and participating in the process. It was an education for both Sok and the students.

On July 21, Sok took the test in Detroit. In the end, he missed one question out of the 100 on the test.

Holland (Michigan) martial-arts instructor tried to hire undercover cop as hit man

Eang H. Ung, 42, has been charged with solicitation of murder. (Press Photo/Delbridge Langdon Jr.)

July 17, 2008
The Grand Rapids Press (Michigan)

HOLLAND -- A martial-arts instructor tried to hire an undercover police officer to kill his former girlfriend, police said in court documents obtained this afternoon.

Eang Ung, 42, of Holland, owner of Ung's Martial Arts, allegedly paid a partial sum for the killing -- and wanted her body gone, records showed.

"There was also discussion that Ung would pay additional to have the dead body of his girlfriend, Linda (Siripanya), hidden so that it would never be discovered," Holland police Capt. Matt Messer said in swearing out the arrest warrant.

Ung was arraigned Thursday afternoon in Holland District Court charged with solicitation of murder, a potential life offense. Judge Susan Jonas set bond at $100,000.

Ung's attorney asked for a low bond because Ung is considered a respected businessman in the community.

Police said in court records that Ung talked to a confidential informant on July 8 wanting to get rid of his ex-girlfriend, who had a child with Ung.

The two had been involved in a legal battle over child custody and support since 2003. Both also tried to obtain personal-protection orders against each others over the years.

The informant introduced Ung to the undercover police officer on Tuesday, and Ung paid an undisclosed amount of cash as a down payment, records showed. Ung and the officer met again Wednesday, at which time Ung was arrested.

The Cambodia-born Ung, a master instructor, was profiled by The Press earlier this month for his work teaching children with autism, ADHD and other challenges, including abuse. His business is on North River Avenue.

On his Web site, Ung described himself as "owner of one of the most successful martial arts schools in the West Michigan area."