Cambodian Working Group

The Cambodian Working Group is composed of different members of the Cambodian community, survivors of Cambodian atrocities, children of survivors, researchers and students who share the desire to commit themselves to the knowledge and the promotion of Cambodian culture, history and current events. The members of this group dedicate their time and energy to this project because of their commitment to these goals and because of an appreciation for the approach to this sensitive subject.

Life in the Open Prison' is a short documentary produced by 11 students from St-George's High School in Montreal, Quebec. Created in association with the Life Stories project, the film features the reflections of survivors of the Cambodian Genocide. See more on CitizenShift

One of the primary motivations for the Cambodian Working Group is to educate, heal and rebuild pride in the Khmer heritage. Of special significance to the members of the Cambodian Working Group is the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next. Displacement has resulted in a loss of historical and cultural knowledge, based on the loss of social and cultural context. This has become exacerbated not only by the ongoing trauma that is experienced by many first generation survivors of the Cambodian genocide, but also by social and political factors that have made it extremely difficult for some Cambodians to discuss this time period in Cambodian history.

The Cambodian Working Group will focus their efforts on collecting life stories to allow us to better understand the complexity of integration by Cambodian people now living in Montreal. In order to do so, we will recruit from a broad spectrum of Cambodians of diverse origins, ages, religions and education. We will encourage them to participate and they will be welcome to this project.

The Cambodian Working Group would also like to work against the stereotype of Cambodia as a « genocidal » place. Indeed, the question has been posed that before the genocide, what did non-Cambodians know about Cambodia? While the adults living under the Khmer Rouge regime, who possess an intact memory of these times, are the people called on for this project, this is not the only goal. The life stories and testimonies of those interviewed, are rich and precious narratives which will serve as memoirs for future generations, to educate the young and to rebuild difficult and forgotten periods in Cambodian history.

Our Projects

The Cambodian Working Group will collect the stories of Cambodians currently living in Montreal. Of special significance to this Working Group is the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next, and the communication between Montrealers and Canadians of Cambodian and other origins. Displacement can result in a loss of historical and cultural knowledge. The trauma experienced by many first generation survivors of the Cambodian genocide is often compounded by social and political factors that make it challenging for some people to discuss this time period in their history.

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Interviewing
The Cambodian Working Group intends to conduct 110 life story interviews. People who were adults and lived under the Khmer Rouge regime will be a special focus; however the Cambodian Working Group strives to engage a broad interviewee base. Cambodian people of diverse origin, age, religious, educational and ethnic backgrounds will be asked to participate in the project in order to reconstruct memory of not only the most difficult periods in Cambodian history, but of the years before and since. When appropriate, the Working Group may conduct group interviews. Interviewees will be recruited through word of mouth, public fora, special community events organized at Cambodian organizations and temples, and through advertisements in Cambodian community newspapers.

Community Mobilization
In October 2007, the Cambodian Working Group hosted the official launch of the Life Stories project, which was attended by more than 100 people. And in July 2008, the Working Group set up a Life Stories-CURA information kiosk at the largest Cambodian festival in Canada, co-organized by Life Stories partner, la Communauté Angkorienne du Canada. At this event -- held in Long Sault, Ontario, and attended by thousands of people -- project members answered questions from the public and distributed hundreds of pamphlets.

Academic Publishing
Journal articles, reports and conference papers will be published, and a Community Documentation Centre established.

Cambodian Community Radio
Radio broadcasts of life stories will be produced for Cambodian community members in Montreal.

International Colloquium
A colloquium on the Cambodian genocide is planned to share research results with both scholars and the general public.

College Course
A CEGEP course, with a focus on the Cambodian genocide, historical memory and justice, is being developed.

Graphic Novels
A graphic novel series on the life stories of genocide survivors will be produced and distributed in Canada and Cambodia.

Photography and Website
The life stories will be shared through photography and digital media projects.

Working Group Info

Contact the Cambodian Working Group

Recent Images

News

Chantria Tram and Paul Tom lauch a project for Khmer Montrealer Youths
Get in touch with Chantria Tram if you would like to get involved!
Nolsina Yim and Marita Arnold speak about Cambodian colloquium on CKUT 90.3 FM
Tune into CKUT 90.3 FM this week, (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) to hear both French and English-language interviews with Nolsina Yim and Marita Arnold, about the international colloquium "Cambodia from then to now."
"Que je vive en paix" wins the price for best animation film
Congratulations Paul Tom!

Community Partners

Cambodian Genocide Group is an international student organization dedicated to the study of the Cambodian genocide. The Montreal area chapter, headed by co-applicant Catrina McKinlay, includes members from a cross-section of the community. Its central goals are to foster discussion and awareness about the genocide and to pursue justice for Cambodian genocide survivors. For example, the Group’s reconciliation project collects and documents statements from survivors. As a result, the Cambodian Genocide Group’s involvement in the proposed CURA would further its existing goals to educate and document the Cambodian genocide. It will coordinate life story interviewing among Montreal’s Cambodian community and contribute to research. As an individual co-applicant, McKinlay has been a key member of the research team – chairing the project’s ethics committee and leading the Cambodian research cluster. For more information visit www.cambodiangenocide.org

Communauté Angkorienne du Canada is an independent non-partisan community organization founded in 2001. Its mission is to promote Khmer culture among young people, contribute to family well-being and to encourage socio-cultural exchange between Canadians of diverse origins. It organizes a variety of youth activities as well as the annual Festival Cambodian at Long Sault. CAC will assist in the recruitment of interviewees in Montreal’s Cambodian community, contribute to outreach and assist in the formation of an advisory council. It hopes that the interviewing and research activities of the project will cause different communities living in Montreal to reflect on memory, contribute to the healing process and aid future generations to comprehend why this genocide occurred. For more information visit www.cambodia.ca

Temple Bouddhiste Khmer de Montréal is a religious organization created in 2000 with the objective of organizing and maintaining a pagoda for the religious services of its members. The temple in Anjou provides a communal space where the Khmer community can practice its religion and get news from its country of origin. The Temple Bouddhiste has agreed to actively participate in the project and assist in interviewing within Montreal’s Khmer community. In doing so, it hopes that the project will contribute to a better understanding of why these criminal acts were allowed to occur.

Documentation Centre of Cambodia was established by Yale University’s Cambodia Genocide Program in 1995 and became an autonomous Cambodian research institute in 1997. The Centre is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with two objectives. The first is to record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for future generations. The second is to assemble materials that serve as potential evidence in support of those who seek accountability for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. DC-CAM’s role within the Life Stories CURA is substantially different from the others as it is our only non-Montreal based partner. It will assist us in developing culturally sensitive interview kits and other training materials as well as internship possibilities for graduate students. For more information visit www.dccam.org

Bibliography

Vanished: Stories from Cambodia’s New People under Democratic Kampuchea.
Beang Pivoine and Cougill Wynne.