A group of Cambodian-Americans based in Illinois are collecting names of those who died under the Pol Pot regime to be etched in a “Wall of Remembrance” in Chicago.
According to the Cambodian Association of Illinois’ Web site, Cambodians around the world are invited to send in names. A $50 donation is requested, but not required. “What happened to each of us did not happen to us individually. The Wall of Remembrance is an important vehicle for all Cambodians to come together and heal,” a group representative, Dary Mien, was quoted saying.
The monument will feature four rows of 80 glass columns, with names engraved on the first row. Water will flow from a stone column in the center, according to the Web site.
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said Tuesday that he sent the association 6,000 names and additional archives pertaining to the Khmer Rouge.
“It is spreading,” he said. “Very young people are coming up with projects to educate and inform the general public about the history and genocide.”
Youk Chhang said that other “killing fields” memorials have appeared in other cities, including Seattle, Washington. Another is scheduled to open in Lowell, Massachusetts, which is home to a large Cambodian-American community.
The Chicago memorial is “a recognition of history and what happened in Cambodia, but all of this cannot make up for what was lost,” said Sokha Irene, a DC-Cam employee. “Losing my uncle made his [surviving] family change in a way that I find hard to describe.”
Youk Chhang said that for the last four years he has tried to lobby officials at the Ministry of Interior to establish such a memorial in Phnom Penh.
But a lack of interest and ownership disputes over potential memorial sites blocked the project, he said.
