About the Project

The political and military whims of the superpowers fractured the gentle land of Cambodia, ultimately claiming the lives of one-fourth of the population in one of the worst genocides of the twentieth century. These tragic stories have made the dangerous journey from the Killing Fields of Cambodia, to the makeshift shelters along the Cambodian-Thai border, to the Refugee Holding Centers in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, and finally to communities in countries around the world, including the United States of America, Canada, Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand, England, where traumatized Cambodian refugees resettled, seeking freedom and opportunity. They are a testament to the hardship and ugliness of war, as well as the resilience of the survivors who have struggled for the past thirty years to find peace in their hearts, justice for those lost, and healing for the survivors.

The poems contained in this book lay dormant for nearly three decades, hidden among the meager possessions of a monk at Glory Buddhist Temple in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Cambodian-American Editor, Venerable Ly Van, was a refugee of the Khmer Rouge genocide and was ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk after his resettlement in the United States. He passed away in peace on a winter’s day in early January, 2008. Discovered among his personal belongings at the temple were original manuscripts of poems, hand-written in Khmer on tattered notebooks and loosely-stapled papers. Here was a treasure trove of eyewitness memories, at once personal and historical, of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. Venerable Ly Van worked through his trauma by summoning his creativity and documenting his personal experiences, as well as those of his dear friend and U.S. sponsor, Sophoan Chea, in poetry form. Venerable Ly Van’s devotion to Buddhist traditions allowed him to make peace with himself and the world, despite the trauma he experienced and witnessed during this tragic period of Cambodian history. The peace he had achieved in his own heart radiated to others in a very special way through his role as a monk at the Glory Buddhist Temple in Lowell, Massachusetts.