In Search of Justice: A Survey among Cambodian-Americans about their Participation in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Summary

This report demonstrates the critical importance of recording, documenting and communicating the views of the U.S.-based Cambodian Diaspora on the proceedings of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). By identifying and interviewing both victims and their families, the research provides an opportunity for victims to have a voice, and be heard. The research offers general conclusions that are valuable; and it also involves an opportunity that has its own intrinsic value – the opportunity for victims to tell their stories, despite the pain of remembrance, and the reminder of loss. Telling one’s story can contribute in fundamental ways to healing for both individuals and families. And the research provides participants with an opportunity to maintain the memory or what has happened to them, as the next generation of Cambodian Americans, those who did not directly experience the atrocities, is born and raised. The opportunity to participate in the ECCC was an affirming experience for nearly all of the participants.