GIP EVENT: Arn Chorn Pond: Restoring Culture through Music
Last week, I had the opportunity of attending a talk by Arn Chorn Pond, a Cambodian survivor from the Khmer Rouge regime, a musician, and a human rights activist who has dedicated his life to helping the youth and restoring culture in a pre-Khmer Rouge society. As a child, Arn Chorn Pond was taken away from his family after the invasion of the Khmer Rouge and was forced to perform for military generals and for his own people. In countryside of Cambodia, Pond found himself forced to play the flute mainly to drown out the killings of almost two million Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge regime. Eventually, Pond chose to flee the Killing Fields and ventured into the jungle. Once he escaped, he met his future step-father Peter Pond who adopted him and brought him back to his home in New Hampshire.
While attending school in New Hampshire, Pond mentioned that he initially had difficulty integrating into an American society. In places where he expected sympathy and understanding, he only experienced isolation and intolerance primarily from his American peers. The Cambodian Genocide was only just beginning to attract the attention in the US and much less the youth of American society. In his presentation, Arn Chorn Pond showed an immense amount of strength and bravery by conversing about topics like suicide and mental health issues with the audience. He claimed that in spite of his difficulties with American society, his flute ultimately saved his life.
Arn Chorn Pond was strong in the sense that he was able to overcome the difficulties he faced not only in Cambodia but as an immigrant to the United States. As he concluded his talk, he stressed an importance of using our privilege as highly educated scholars in the United States to both unite people and create positive change in our own communities. However, what struck me the most was his emphasis on the capability of changing the lives of others as an individual. His dedication to helping others who have suffered from the Khmer Rouge through the Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) organization he started despite his own struggles is both heartwarming and inspiring.
While attending school in New Hampshire, Pond mentioned that he initially had difficulty integrating into an American society. In places where he expected sympathy and understanding, he only experienced isolation and intolerance primarily from his American peers. The Cambodian Genocide was only just beginning to attract the attention in the US and much less the youth of American society. In his presentation, Arn Chorn Pond showed an immense amount of strength and bravery by conversing about topics like suicide and mental health issues with the audience. He claimed that in spite of his difficulties with American society, his flute ultimately saved his life.
Arn Chorn Pond was strong in the sense that he was able to overcome the difficulties he faced not only in Cambodia but as an immigrant to the United States. As he concluded his talk, he stressed an importance of using our privilege as highly educated scholars in the United States to both unite people and create positive change in our own communities. However, what struck me the most was his emphasis on the capability of changing the lives of others as an individual. His dedication to helping others who have suffered from the Khmer Rouge through the Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) organization he started despite his own struggles is both heartwarming and inspiring.
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