Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I woke up this morning very anxious to go to the Khmer Rouge trial. We went to the Killing Fields the day before and I was not sure what to expect at the trial. We arrived at the courthouse and went in this big room filled with chairs and so many people, both foreigners and Cambodians.
I woke up this morning very anxious to go to the Khmer Rouge trial. We went to the Killing Fields the day before and I was not sure what to expect at the trial. We arrived at the courthouse and went in this big room filled with chairs and so many people, both foreigners and Cambodians.
When I saw victims of this
genocide tell their stories it broke my heart. After almost 35 years these
people still hadn't forgotten the horrible things that happened to them and
their families. I got to see the leaders of the Khmer Rouge and felt nothing
but anger and frustration when I would look at them. It surprised me that they lied
about the things they had done. When asked why would they let the guards kill
some one’s child, they had said they didn’t know about it and that they would
not let that happen. It was a very amazing experience to be able to go there.
~Abbey Rodriguez
Here is a description of the hearing we heard at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal: http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/blog/2013/06/“if-you-tell-them-you-will-be-killed”-civil-parties’-stories-heard
ReplyDeleteYour write-up reminded me of a talk by Ruth Finder - a holocaust survivor who once spoke at Mr. Dyer's middle school. (I don't know if he will remember this.) When she was a young girl in Poland, this woman's entire family was killed by the Nazis, but her life was saved when her name was added to "Schindler's list." She concluded her talk with an important message. She had been saved because one man - Oskar Schindler - saw an injustice and had the courage to do something about it, in whatever way he could. She told the students that, in their own daily lives, whenever they see injustice around them, whether it be big or small, they should have the courage to speak up and try to change the situation.
ReplyDeleteAbbey, Thanks for sharing your thoughts. How fantastic that you all could get a sense of the challenges in convicting people---even when their crimes are so enormous. Your experience will last a lifetime and hopefully, you and many others will use the perspective to help prevent such catastrophes.
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