By: Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Khmer Rouge survivors in the US will meet on Saturday to discuss challenges they face and to seek ways for healing, as the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal moves toward its second trial.
The meeting in Lowell, Mass., will be an opportunity for the Cambodian community to get an update on complaints they filed to the court through the US-based Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia.
The US-Cambodians will also discuss on reparations for members of the Cambodian diaspora, according to a statement from the institute.
“Now the court is one mechanism that will help to ensure that the culture of impunity would be discouraged or stop in some way,” said Nou Leakhena, executive director of the institute. “But it will not completely heal the wounds of the trauma that survivors and their family have experienced. So we as the community need to move forward in a healthy and productive way that will ensure the legacy of the Khmer Rouge history beyond the killing fields for the next generation.”
Nou Leakhena, who will lead the discussion, said that it is important to have community meetings to understand more about what justice means for the victims and what they should do for healing.
The forum is also sponsored by Asian Pacific American Institute.
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