3 Generations

The organization 3 Generations also records stories of survivors of genocide and mass atrocities from all over the world. They are highlighting the work of Khmer Legacies on their website this month. We're hoping to create a collaboration with 3 Generations, an organization started by Jane Wells, the producer of The Devil Came on Horseback. 3 Generations will edit a short video of some of our testimonies and we'll help them transcribe some of their Cambodian videos. You can read the treatment here.

Never Forget

Check out this very well-written and powerful article written by Mike Patterniti of GQ Magazine. I had the chance to meet him in New Haven a few years ago when he was interviewing Prof. Ben Kiernan for the article.

The article is about the question of justice following the Cambodian genocide. You can read it here.

Witness Highlights Khmer Legacies

The human rights media organization Witness is highlighting the work of Khmer Legacies this month. They interviewed me about the role of video in human rights. You can read their treatment here. Thank you to Teague Schneiter for all of your hard work.

Podcast with US Holocaust Museum

The US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC just interviewed me for their podcast series, Voices on Genocide Prevention. You can listen to it here. Thank you to Bridget Conley-Zilkic for the interview!

Screening at UConn

On Oct. 06, Van and I drove to Storrs, CT to show New Year Baby at the University of Connecticut. UConn has amazing support for Asian and Asian American students in the form of the Asian American Cultural Center, run by Angela Rola. I told Angela that I am jealous of the support they provide which exceeds what we enjoyed when I attended Smith College and even what I've observe here at Yale. Later, I learned that the center and changes to the student code regarding harassment were born out of a discrimination episode in 1987.

The screening was very well attended and an informal reception followed. I enjoyed meeting the students, a few of which had written papers about New Year Baby. I always get a kick out of hearing that! Thank you so much to Cathy Schlund-Vials who helped to initiate the event. I hope to visit UConn again!

Congratulations Bou Sonith!

I am so proud to announce that one of my board members, Sonith Peou, has been honored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with a Community Health Leader Award. Here's an excerpt from RWJF's press release: "his efforts to assure access to culturally competent health services for the large Cambodian-American community in Lowell, Mass. The Metta Health Center integrates primary medical care, behavioral health services and refugee health assessments with traditional medical practices such as Buddhist monk consultations and traditional healing, acupuncture and nutrition counseling. Peou’s leadership and tenacious outreach efforts over eight years have resulted in a 150 percent increase in Southeast Asian patients, with the Metta Health Center now serving more than 5,000 patients."




I attended the gala in Washington, DC at the Mayflower Hotel where the awards were handed out and a video about each fellow was premiered (http://www.communityhealthleaders.org/news_features/article/56153).


I am especially proud because I nominated him for the award. Congratulations Bou Sonith!

Genocide Documentary Filmmakers/Lovers of Life!

I had the extraordinary opportunity to speak on a panel called "Genocide Survivor Testimony in Documentary Film" with some very lauded documentary filmmakers at the USC Film School. Being asked by the Shoah Foundation to present and then of course to sit next to Emmy and Oscar winners was a huge honor.

We covered many subjects including the ethical and moral concerns of the video testimony process, the maintenance of video archives, and powerful role of documentary films in genocide activism.

After the panel all of us went to dinner together and dared each other to not talk about genocide for the entire evening. Though we strayed a few times to learn about our each others various "war stories," we mostly succeeded. Being socially conscious doesn't preclude being fun-loving too. I got home way too late that night.

You can watch a video to the panel discussion here.

From left to right: Michael Renov, USC School of Cinematic Arts Associate Dean; Anne Aghion, filmmaker; Ted Braun, filmmaker; Socheata Poeuv, filmmaker, founder Khmer Legacies; Andi Gitow, UN Films; Karen Jungblut, Institute Director of Research and Documentation; James Moll, filmmaker; Stephen Smith, Institute Executive Director.

Finally . . . We're Engaged!

For those of you who know Charles, my longtime boyfriend and the producer of New Year Baby, and I, you will not be surprised to learn we recently got engaged.

To satisfy all of your curiosities, here is how it went down:

Charles and I met at the top of Duomo in Florence. We were both backpacking alone through Italy when I turned around and asked him to take my picture.

Well two weeks ago, Charles took me on a surprise date to the largest cathedral in New York City, St. John Divine. Under the dome of the cathedral, with a stringed orchestra in the background, he proposed. I was not entirely surprised, but was deeply moved.

A Time to Remember

Last week, my parents and I participated in several genocide commemoration events in Washington, DC. It was an honor to be able to represent the Cambodian survivor community at a Save Darfur event in front of the White House.

Although I have had the opportunity to speak many times in groups of 20-500, my parents are relatively meek immigrant Americans who have always shied away from the spotlight. The extent of their public speaking has come after a few screenings of New Year Baby when they answer questions from the audience.

My mother spoke briefly in English and then said a prayer in Khmer to remember the millions of lives lost during the Cambodian genocide.

I'm very proud of them. They loved being a part of this event.

I also had the chance to meet Carl Wilkens, one of my personal heroes. Just two weeks early, I had invoked Carl's story when speaking to college students at Babson College and UMass
Amherst. Carl saved over 500 people during the
genocide in Rwanda, and he was the only American in the entire country during the 4 month tragedy. You can read more his story here.

We also joined 80 members of the Cambodian community to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the Cambodian genocide at a solemn candlelight vigil. We shared stories of our loved ones, our sorrows and even our anger at the lack of justice.

We visited the beautiful Cambodian Buddhist temple in Silver Spring, MD - the largest of its kind in the country. Celebrating Cambodian New Year was truly a pleasure there.

San Francisco

Recently Charles and I returned from San Francisco where I spoke on a symposium panel about refugee rights with the Rotary Club . It was a well-organized and well-run event. It's obvious that the Rotarians in San Francisco play their part to help alleviate suffering in the world.

While I was there, I recorded the interview of Denise Tan's mother, Sotheavy, about her amazing survival story. Denise made wonderful introductions for me to the Cambodian community in the Bay Area including the dynamic community leader Elizabeth Sy who founded Banteay Srei and social worker Limyi Heng.


Also through Denise, we met David Nakabayashi, Creative
Director at Industrial Light and Magic. He gave us a private tour of George Lucas's amazing special effects studio. It was a great thrill and we've already made many of our friends and family jealous. Thanks to David and his staff for their generosity.


And thank you to our wonderful friends Stephanie Morimoto and Matt King for hosting us in their beautiful home.

Focus Group in Lowell

This past weekend, I conducted a focus group in Lowell, MA, the second largest Cambodian community in the country. I regret not doing it a long time ago when I first conceived of Khmer Legacies.

With the help of Harry Schnur from the Lynn Community Health Center, Khmer Legacies Boardmembers Sonith Peou and Samkhann Khoeun, Linda Sou of Lowell Community Health, we conducted two separate focus groups - one with the older generation and one with the younger generation.

The reactions we got to the work of Khmer Legacies was overwhelming positive. Yes, this is important work and someone should be doing it. Yet there seemed to be so many questions about readiness. Are older survivors ready to talk? Is the younger generation ready to listen?

I began to question the nature of leadership itself. Is it the role of Khmer Legacies to draw the community toward a higher level of consciousness and contribution? Is that a presumptious and potentially dangerous position given the trauma the community has faced. Is the best way to serve the community to challenge it?

Any thoughts from you would be helpful . . .

NACA

Charles, Bjorn, Mabel and I attended NACA this past week in Nashville, TN. We met hundreds of college students from all around the world. We were there to introduce me to students and programmers who were looking to bring various educational and entertainment experiences to their campus.

I remember the first time I entered the marketplace. Housed in a huge hotel ballroom, hundreds of booths lined the room, all of them featuring some act which tried to catch the attention of overwhelmed and overstimulated college students.

I could not believe it but I was literally pitching my genocide work next to a Build-a-Bear workshop and live pythons. How could I compete? For a moment, I wished that I was marketing something sexy and appealing.

At the conference I heard Caryl M. Stern, the President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, give an emotional talk about her work to save the lives of millions of children around the world. She gave a powerful appeal for the room to commit their lives to something bigger.

The talk reminded me that in terms of emotional impact, we have a huge advantage over all the hundreds of confections that are peddled at NACA. Ideas like justice and healing hit you deep and stay with you. They hold the possibility of changing the course of your life.

Thank you to all of the students I met last week! I hope to see you again.

Khmer Health Advocates

Last week I visited Khmer Health Advocates (www.hartnet.org/khmer) in West Hartford, CT. An organization that began its work in the early 1980's with the first wave of Cambodian refugees, the founders have been unflagging in their committment and dedication to the Cambodian community. Theanvy Kouch and Mary Scully are inspirational for their longevity and generosity.

They both voiced strong support for the work of Khmer Legacies and we hope to find ways to use their networks to record testimonies in Connecticut. Mary told me that although Cambodians make up about half of all torture victims in the United States, Cambodians are not categorically recognized as torture victims by the UN. Cambodians themselves, have a hard time articulating their experience of starvation, over work, and sometimes worse as torture. As a result, many resources that could have been directed to serve them are not.

It reminded me that this work is important - if only to document and acknowledge the lives to Cambodian survivors. As long as we are not able to give voice to these experiences, the community still suffers from an undistinguished pain.

First Board Meeting

We had our first board meeting ever this past Saturday. I was so nervous about the event. It is one of the necessary steps that any organization must take in order to run functionally.

And yet I had all of these anxieties and fears about the board members being disengaged in the work. I have heard so many horror stories of ineffective boards. I also feared that I am not a good enough leader to warrant the energy and trust of these important community leaders who spend their time doing such important work.

No matter how frightening, I had to pull the curtain behind the operations of Khmer Legacies since inception. But Jane Jung, a Yale MFA student who is helping me manage the board, reminded me that the board members want to see me and Khmer Legacies succeed.

And that was exactly the tone of the meeting. I am so glad to know they have my back!