Cambodian-American youths who may know little of their parents’ pasts had a chance to learn more about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge recently, following a forum in Lowell, Mass., on Sunday.
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Lowell, Massachusettes
Friday, 23 April 2010
Cambodian-American youths who may know little of their parents’ pasts had a chance to learn more about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge recently, following a forum in Lowell, Mass., on Sunday. The Khmer Rouge Tribunal and Genocide Education forum also offered a chance for people to consider what healing means in the Cambodian context.
Thousands of Cambodians now live in Lowell, many of them after having fled Cambodia’s civil war and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Some suffer post-traumatic stress and other trauma from the time, and many are reluctant to share their experiences with their children. This can lead to a gulf between parents and their children, one that is hard for the young to fathom.
“When I was young, I did not understand why my parents seemed unhappy, even though they smiled,” said Milissa Lach, 21, who attended Sunday’s forum at Lowell’s In Stoklosa Middle School. “My father would say he did not know how to hug me. He did not come close to me.”
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