By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Banteay Meanchey
10 March 2010
English: http://www.voanews.com/khmer/2010-03-10-voa1.cfm
Khmer: http://www.voanews.com/khmer/2010-03-10-voa4.cfm
A leading Cambodian genocide researcher has decided to build a
"reconciliation road" in the village where as a young man he was forced to
labor under the Khmer Rouge.
Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, broke ground
on the road under the hot sun Tuesday, saying the road was dedicated to the
death of his family and other victims of the Khmer Rouge here.
People in the village of Kadal, in Banteay Meanchey province's Preah Net
Preah district, saved his life and the lives of some of his family members,
Chhang Youk said Tuesday. But they would be using the road alongside the
former soldiers of the regime still living in the area.
The 200 meters of road will solve a flooding problem ahead of the rainy
season and, by benefiting both sides, will act as a symbol of
reconciliation, he said.
"We want reconciliation inside of the village, within the community, in our
district and within our province," said Chhang Youk, who was 15 years old
when the Khmer Rouge came to power and who lost 19 members of his family to
the regime.
This small, flood-prone stretch of road will cost more than $3,000 to
repair, but it is a critical part of the area's infrastructure, linking
villages to rice fields and a lake where people fish.
Vestiges of the Khmer Rouge are evident throughout Banteay Meanchey
province, which saw some of the most atrocities under the Khmer Rouge. An
estimated 5,000 people died at this commune alone, 300 of them in Kandal
village.
"Comrade Srey Pov and Comrade Soeun were killed here," said Sambod
Sovannara, a lecturer at Panhasastra University, who spoke at Tuesday's
groundbreaking. The two were killed for "immorality," for falling in love.
"I lost 24 people in my family," Sambod Sovannara said.
Hong Huy, chief of Preah Net Preah commune, said former high-ranking
soldiers of the Khmer Rouge still lived in the commune.
"We wish from this road of reconciliation that people will bury the hate
from the Khmer Rouge regime and build up solidarity within the community,"
Hong Huy said.
"RECONCILIATION ROAD" CONSTRUCTION INAUGURATION
Photos: http://www.dccam.org/Projects/Living_Doc/Photos_2010/Road_Construction_Inauguration/index.htm
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About Me
- Duong Dara
- Dara Duong was born in 1971 in Battambang province, Cambodia. His life changed forever at age four, when the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975. During the regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979, Dara’s father, grandparents, uncle and aunt were executed, along with almost 3 million other Cambodians. Dara’s mother managed to keep him and his brothers and sisters together and survive the years of the Khmer Rouge regime. However, when the Vietnamese liberated Cambodia, she did not want to live under Communist rule. She fled with her family to a refugee camp on the Cambodian-Thai border, where they lived for more than ten years. Since arriving in the United States, Dara’s goal has been to educate people about the rich Cambodian culture that the Khmer Rouge tried to destroy and about the genocide, so that the world will not stand by and allow such atrocities to occur again. Toward that end, he has created the Cambodian Cultural Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, which began in his garage and is now in White Center, Washington. Dara’s story is one of survival against enormous odds, one of perseverance, one of courage and hope.
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