Global Scholar's Blog 2022-2023
Jennifer Godwin Minto: GIP "Transformative Power of the Arts in Human Rights" “The Khmer Rouge took my instruments and gave me guns.” - Arn Chorn Pond After decades of political turmoil, the communist party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, led a forced evacuation of over 1.5 million Cambodians overnight. The Khmer Rouge envisioned making Cambodia a classless society of rice farmers. The communist party produced propaganda against the United States because they opposed capitalist Western imperialism and wanted to become a self-sufficient country after being under French rule for 90 years. This historical context is necessary to understand all perspectives of the genocide and what motivated individuals’ actions. I was unaware of the Cambodian genocide until my sophomore year of high school when we read "Never Fall Down," a book based on the lived experiences of Arn Chorn Pond.
As a young boy, Arn trained in the temple and often got beaten by the monks for sneaking out and listening to rock and roll music. Arn had no choice but to work in the labor camps deep in the jungle, helpless as his brother and sister starved. As a young boy, Arn was exposed to extreme violence and trauma. When he came to speak at Poly, Mr. Pond said that he learned early on to shut down his empathy for others so that he could survive. He was trained to play the flute, which often acted as a facade to silence the massacres in the Mango Groves. Another survivor, Haing Ngor, describes his brutal imprisonments with the Khmer Rouge and the constant fear of hiding his true identity, a doctor who practiced Western-based medicine. Ngor recounted the horrid memories and trauma as a witness of the genocide as well as the risks he took helping the injured. In our joint discussion with the International Relations class, I asked Arn how he was able to separate the traumatic memories attributed to the camps with the flute and turn them into a tool to reclaim Cambodia's living arts. Mr. Pond emphasized the importance of looking to the future and the need to get the youth off the street and into music. While Arn still has nightmares of his past, he learned how to cry to express his emotions. A moment in his speech that especially struck me was when he said, "I would wake up with my face wet from tears, but smile knowing I survived the night." Even after Arn was rescued from the Khmer Rouge, he faced obstacles in New Hampshire, such as bullying, violence, and language barriers. I would argue that Arn's ability to speak as a survivor is an equally powerful tool as his flute. Mr. Pond concluded that empathy is formed through understanding the perspectives of others, a lesson relevant to all cultures around the world. Beyond our part in educating ourselves, organizations such as the Karam Foundation enrich Syrian refugees' knowledge to prepare them for future aspirations. The youth of disparaged communities, broken homes, and vulnerable conditions are the groups most crucial to the success of their generations. By supporting these organizations, we support an equitable future for all. Sources:
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