International Week highlights Cambodian tragedy
By Brigitta Burks, Staff Writer
May 18, 2007 | 10:21 a.m.
International Week kicked off Sunday and ends this Saturday with a street fair. The week’s events promise to be entertaining but also to take a serious look at the Cambodian genocide.
The week is put on by the International Student Union, and each day of the week has a unique event.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday gives students a chance to explore the option of going international themselves. The Office of Education Abroad will be at Grover Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Food and raffles will be part of the festivities.
In addition, there will be a showing of “The Killing Fields,” which depicts Sydney Schanberg, a New York Times reporter and Dith Pran, a photojournalist turned refugee. The film will be played at the Baker Center Theatre at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Dith Pran will also be the keynote speaker for the week.
Thursday promises to be interesting with a talent show at 7 p.m. at the Baker Center Theatre.
Friday’s events take place at Scripps Hall. The Fair Trade Forum begins at noon and features not only free chocolate and coffee but also a panel discussion at 4 p.m.
The day will end with a dance party 10 p.m. at Casa Nueva.
Saturday brings a close to the week’s events with a street fair at 11 a.m. on Court Street.
Cambodian Photo Exhibit
A photo exhibit illustrating the lives of Cambodians post-genocide will be on display on the first floor of Alden Library until May 30. The exhibit unveiled Monday, the second day of International Week.
The photographers of the exhibit are Lara Finkbeiner, a junior history major at the University of Michigan and Emma Nolan-Abrahamian, a photographer for the Michigan Daily. The exhibit is the culmination of a year-long project.
The photos depict life after the collapse of Khmer Rogue, a communist group that took over Cambodia in the 1970s. According to the Cambodian Genocide Group’s Web site, the party’s goal was a return to a “simple” life. The party raided cities and relocated people to communal farms and labor camps. Torture and starvation were the norm.
Ethnic cleansing of Chinese, Muslim, Vietnamese and Buddhist monks also took place. “They all were virtually, if not entirely, eliminated from the population by expulsion, execution or starvation,” the Web site reports.
In 1979, the Vietnamese government invaded Cambodia and restructured the political system. Khmer Rogue went underground once more and began a civil war that did not end until 1991.
Despite the large number of deaths (about 2 million), the United Nations is still reluctant to label the “incident” genocide. A tribunal has been formed to figure out what to do with the remaining Khmer Rogue, some of whom remain in government.
The photographs show the plight of the genocide survivors. “Landmine Victim in Kandal Province” shows a man missing his leg due to one of the remaining landmines. There are an estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines left in Cambodia.
Another photo is of a man who calls for the punishment of the Khmer Rogue. The man appears peaceful, but years ago he witnessed his son being tied to an ant hill after being caught stealing rice. He calls for “blood for blood.”
Dith Pran
The highlight of the week was Dith Pran’s speech at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Baker Center. Dith Pran and reporter Schanberg stayed in Cambodia to cover the fall of the capital to the Khmer Rogue. Pran has since won a Pulitzer Prize, written a book and had a movie based on his life.
The pair was captured along with two other journalists. Pran convinced the Khmer Rogue that they were “neutral French journalists” according to a Cambodian Web site and saved the reporters’ lives.
Schanberg was able to leave Cambodia, but Pran, a Cambodian, had to stay. He was forced to work in a labor camp for four years until he escaped to Thailand in 1979.
Pran survived his time at the labor camp by “playing stupid.” However, he told himself that once the ordeal was over he would “never stop talking.” He believes this is the key to stopping genocide—having many people who will not stop talking or writing letters.
Despite everything Pran went through, his attitude on the upcoming tribunal is anything but angry. “We always say we cannot get angry because we ruin ourselves,” Pran explained.
The events of International Week combine the tragic with the entertaining. Making time in your schedule for any of the week’s events is recommended for any future globetrotter or humanitarian.
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