WHAT'S NEW IN THIS ISSUE OF AIA DIRECTORY SPOTLIGHT: The Cambodian American Heritage Museum Remembering the Killing Fields. By Yvonne Hortillo for AIA, January 2005 CAI executive director Kompha Seth was among the few intellectuals that escaped the Khmer Rouge regime. Across the Lawrence Avenue bridge over the Chicago River, artisans for the Cambodian Association of Illinois carved a Buddhist goddess on its headquarter's facade. Upon entrance, the visitor is greeted with soft lights over photographs of children, photographs of newly-arrived Cambodians in their first winter coats and hats, photographs of whole families shuffled from one camp to another. The Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial tells of an oppressive regime that destroyed the morale and culture of a people. There are four sets of iron ankle braces and a photograph of how they were used to hang two prisoners from the ceiling. Two ancient prayer books in Khmer script, made of palm leaves. An airline shopping bag full of immigration papers and airline tickets, showing they fled into Thailand, later to the Philippines, later to the United States. Further into the space is a curved divider protecting 80 glass columns under soft light on risers. In the center is a granite wall, etched with a lotus flower in mother-of-pearl, and the words, "We countinue our journey with compassion, understanding and wisdom." The names of 25,000 victims are carved in Khmer script on each glass column. Kathy Reun, CAI Family Strengthening Counselor, reached for one of the green columns. "I might find my mother's sister's name here. My whole immediate family suvived," she humbly said. But she didn't point out her aunt's name. There are spaces wide enough for another column in between those already filled with names. "It takes us a long time because we had to double-check spellings in Khmer script," she said. She said they started collecting names for the memorial by sending out notices via e-mail to relatives in Chicago. "At first we wanted to focus on just the families here in Chicago, but eventually it became a worldwide effort," she said, alluding to refugees scattered around the world to escape the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. The first row panels hold the names of families living in Illinois. A Cambodian custom encourages families to throw rice into memories that come up upon finding their loved one's names on the panels. The association established the Campaign for Hope and Renewal and surpassed its $1 million goal for the museum and memorial. The museum is the first of its kind in the United States. The only other memorial is in Phnom Penh itself, the Cambodian capital. Never forget CAI executive director Kompha Seth hopes that the museum will help younger Cambodian-Americans understand what their parents and grandparents went through during their country's Holocaust. Seth is a Buddhist monk with degrees in theology and Khmer literature, and moved to the United States before the Khmer Rouge took power. As part of the Khmer "purification" in the 1970s, all academics, light-skinned people and dissidents were killed - Seth's classmates and colleagues included. He realized his unique role in the community. "Many elders won't talk about it. We've received many protests about this, in the beginning, when we were still planning the museum. They want to forget the past. But we mustn't forget. They are crippled by the past and they need to heal to move on," Seth said. Their efforts are gaining recognition - thousands joined the association's Walk to Freedom in July 2002, a symbolic suvivor march down Lawrence Avenue when they moved to their present offices. One young Cambodian-American flew in from Seattle to join the walk. "I can't even begin to say how proud I am to be here. Hopefully it will unite the community," he said to interviewers in a documentary video. Personal chronicles CAI takes careful effort to remember the circumstances that turned farmers and fishermen, students and teachers, lawyers and doctors into refugees fleeing their homeland. A chronology published in "The Gate" by Francois Bizot lists that in 1954, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - then known as French Indochina - gained independence from France, with King Norodom Sihanouk installed as Cambodia's first leader. Vietnam was cleaved in two, and some warring factions fled and hid in Cambodia. In the 1960s, the United States sent troops to south Vietnam, invading parts of Cambodia believed to be hideouts of the Vietcong. In "A History of Cambodia," author David Chandler writes that while Cambodia has been trying to assert itself against Vietnam, Thailand never seemed to consider Cambodia a sovereign nation, and has worked to subvert the government in Phnom Penh throughout the 1950s and 60s. In attempts at preserving their own version of Cambodian independence, three factions rose into prominence - support for the incumbent Sihanouk, who wanted neutrality; supporters for Gen. Lon Nol, who favored U.S. intervention; and supporters for the Khmer Rouge, whose prominent leader is Pol Pot. The war in Vietnam spilled into Cambodia's countryside, destroying land and ways of life. Thousands of angry farmers sought work in the city, and found none. The Khmer Rouge then found their army and gained precedence, uprooting entire communites to work in fields as part of their version of a utopian state. Chandler writes that as many as 2 million people died as a result of the new policies. Reun remembers one incident while fleeing Cambodia with her family. "After 1979, families were given the option of returning to their homes and villages. We ran from camp to camp until one time during a battle we hid inside a ditch. A soldier found us, but he acted as if he didn't see anything, and walked away. My father immediately took precautions and decided that it wasn't safe to stay in the ditch, or go back to our hometown. He decided that we had to leave the country. We ran out of the ditch, and just at that moment, there was another shuttle bus on its way to another camp. The camp was overflowing. We transferred to Khao-I-Dang, [a refugee site] in Thailand, then to Chumburi [camp], and waited there before flying out of Cambodia." Kathy Reun, CAI Family Strengthening Counselor, touches one of the green memorial columns. "I might find my mother's sister's name here. My whole immediate family suvived." The Khmer Rouge eventually collapsed in 1998 when Pol Pot died. A new government works to establish Cambodia's place in Southeast Asia. Like all developing countries, Cambodia relies on foreign businesses to help support their economy. Kathy Reun says one of Cambodia's foremost industries is logging, aside from agriculture. The U.S. has also made it easier for Cambodians to move here through refugee agreements and laws. Healing Under the carved lotus is a concerete lotus bowl partly filled with rice. Families and relatives are encouraged to throw rice should they remember experiences of war or torture when they read their relatives' or friends' names. Chivy Sok, former CAI National Campaign Coordinator and Public Relations officer, helped raise funds for the museum and memorial. "If you can imagine 8 million people were completely enslaved as a result of the Khmer Rouge... approximately 2 million were systematically killed... Everyone was forced to live in communes... Some people risked their lives to pass on information and knowledge... It's not just about preserving memory alone. It's about passing on a legacy that is so important," she said in a documentary video on the museum's making, breaking down in tears at the end. Healing has come fast for the community. The museum occupies the first floor of the center's three-floor social services offices. They provide youth programs, home health care, classes in English, citizenship and finance, and serve as liason for new refugees to obtain Chicago city services. CAI's Campaign for Hope and Renewal has allowed them to purchase their center on Lawrence Avenue, build the memorial and the museum, and acquire a house on Broadway Avenue that serves as their temple, where they hold remembrance ceremonies twice a year. Reun is helping plan a Christmas party on Dec. 22, a temple fund-raising event on Dec. 30, and New Year's Day party on April 16, their traditional New Year's Day. CAI envisions Cambodians living in Illinois to be self-sufficient and productive community participants. Seth recounts how most families won't talk to their children about their experiences, and this keeps them from living, from relating well to their spouses, from functioning well in their jobs. "We're not interested in the political. This is a spiritual place for healing. My greatest wish for the community is to see the people here have happy lives, hope, self-esteem, and exercise real freedom. They can use that knowledge of freedom and justice to share with the people back in Cambodia," Seth said. Cambodian Association of Illinois 2831 West Lawrence Avenue Chicago, IL 60625 Phone: (773) 878-7090 Fax: (773) 878-5299 Email: cai@cambodian-association.org http://www.cambodian-association.org READER SURVEY Help us improve the AIA website by answering a few simple questions. You can also sign-up for our e-mail list.		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