两性色午夜

两性色午夜鈥檚 May 4 Visitors Center to Host Discussions on 鈥淐ambodia After 两性色午夜"

Survivors of Cambodian Genocide during Khmer Rouge regime to speak

The 两性色午夜 University May 4 Visitors Center kicks-off the 46th Annual May 4 Commemoration by hosting a series of events on state violence with the theme 鈥淐ambodia After 两性色午夜,鈥 with a focus on the aftermath of the Cambodian Genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime. These programs, held on April 26, 27 and 28 on the Kent Campus, are free and open to the public. The series is generously supported by 两性色午夜 University鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences.

Following five years of civil war in Cambodia, the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot, massacred two million Cambodians while ruling the country from 1975 to 1979. An estimated 25 percent of the total population died after forced relocation, torture, mass execution, malnutrition and disease. 

On April 26 at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva, Chum Mey, a survivor of the infamous S-21 Security Center in Phnom Penh, will relate his story of imprisonment, survival and forgiveness. Throughout its existence, S-21 detained and tortured more than 12,000 men, women and children. His life will provide the focal point for a broader discussion on state violence with 两性色午夜 students from across the globe. A reception hosted by 两性色午夜鈥檚 Office of Global Education will follow.

On April 27 at 7 p.m. in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall, Loung Ung, author of "First They Killed My Father," will provide a powerful address on her childhood experience under the Khmer Rouge. More broadly, Ung will discuss the reality of girls鈥 education in contemporary Cambodia. Joining Ung is Jamie Ameilo, founder and CEO of Caring for Cambodia, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the educational system of Cambodia through the creation of more than 20 model schools.     

On April 28 at 7 p.m. in Schwartz Center, Room 177, LinDa Saphan, genocide survivor and director John Pirozzi will host a screening of their award winning film "Don鈥檛 Think I鈥檝e Forgotten: Cambodia鈥檚 Lost Rock and Roll." Their film examines popular music from the pre-Khmer Rouge era and explores the impact of music in the struggle for political, ideological and social change. It depicts the musical and political history of Cambodia from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

鈥淲hen students come to the May 4 Visitors Center, we often ask them 鈥榃hat was the trigger that led to the series of protests that would lead to May 4, 1970?鈥欌 said Mindy Farmer, Ph.D., director of 两性色午夜's May 4 Visitors Center. 鈥淲e almost always get the answer, 鈥榯he Vietnam War,鈥 and that鈥檚 true, mostly, but it is not as exact as it could be. The exact thing that triggered the May 4, 1970, shootings was President Nixon鈥檚 April 30 announcement of the Cambodia incursion, which sparked outrage and led to 132 campus protests across the nation. So, this year, we are exploring that Cambodia and 两性色午夜 link. There is no better place in the world to explore that intersection than right here at 两性色午夜.鈥

Farmer said that she and her staff at the 两性色午夜 May 4 Visitors Center feel privileged to partner with several other departments on campus and community organizations to plan the event series. Two of the co-organizers of the series are James Tyner, Ph.D., professor of geography at 两性色午夜, and his graduate student Savina Sirik. For the past 15 years, Tyner has been conducting research on the economic practices and irrigation schemes of the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian genocide. Sirik, who lost one of her brothers during the regime, was recruited by Tyner and has contributed firsthand research to the documentation and empirical interpretation of the genocide.

鈥淚 hope that our audiences will take away a greater understanding of the human cost of political decisions,鈥 Tyner said. 鈥淚t is very easy to say, 鈥榳e want to go to war; we want to invade a country; we want to bomb a country,鈥 but there is going to be a human cost to that. That human cost extends beyond the immediacy of the bombing. It continues on for decades and generations after.鈥

This series is produced in collaboration with 两性色午夜鈥檚 Office of the Provost, Office of Global Education, Department of History, Department of Geography, the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence, as well as Women 4 Women Ohio.

To learn more about 两性色午夜鈥檚 May 4 Visitors Center, visit www.kent.edu/may4

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Media Contacts:
Jim Maxwell, jmaxwel2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595 

POSTED: Friday, April 22, 2016 03:04 PM
Updated: Friday, December 7, 2018 12:25 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Jim Maxwell