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Dustin Luca
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SALEM, MASS. – Cambodian musician, human rights activist and peace advocate Arn Chorn-Pond will come to Salem State University Sept. 30 as part of a collaboration between the university’s performing arts and genocide studies centers.
Chorn-Pond will deliver remarks at an event titled “A Life of Music, Healing, and Hope.” There, he’ll share his story as a child during the Khmer Rouge regime and the role that arts played in saving his life and transforming Cambodian society on a wider scale.
During the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, free expression through music and arts was banned in Cambodia. 90% of the country’s artists were killed during the years of the regime, and overall about 2 million people died. As a child, Chorn-Pond was separated from his family and sent to a children’s labor camp, where he was taught to play propaganda music – a moment he credits with saving his life.
“Unfortunately, most people only associate Cambodia with the Vietnam War and the genocide from 1975-79,” said Christopher Mauriello, director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “We welcome the opportunity to listen to Arn Chorn-Pond and learn about Cambodian culture, music, and life.”
The event is cosponsored by the centers for Creative and Performing Arts and Holocaust and Genocide Studies, as well as Salem State’s Asian Student Association. The student organization is mobilizing around Chron-Pond’s visit, with copies of his book Never Fall Down being distributed to those who haven’t read it before, ASA President Vivica Vu-Le said.
Vu-Le said she’s energized by the opportunity to meet and hear Chorn-Pond’s own words, after first reading Never Fall Down in high school as part of a curriculum covering the Cambodian Genocide, she explained.
The opportunity to bring his stories to campus and introduce them to others is a powerful opportunity the student organization isn’t letting pass by, according to Vu-Le. Several of his stories are tragic, she explained, but putting a spotlight on them can inspire change for good.
“He was forced to be a soldier, and even though he’s fighting against other soldiers, he knows they both don’t want to participate in this. It’s a very sad thing to learn about, but also good to learn about,” Vu-Le said. “Perhaps we can take a step forward from this and cause some sort of change.”