Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Tolerance. Hope.
These words were used to describe the inauguration of the first of more than 1,000 signs bearing anti-genocide messages to be displayed at high schools around Cambodia. The first of them was dedicated Friday at Indra Devi High School in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kok district.
The message, written in Khmer and English, reads: “Talking about experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime is to promote reconciliation and educate children about forgiveness and tolerance. Learning about the history of Democratic Kampuchea is to prevent genocide.”
The effort to display the messages is being spearheaded by the Documentation Center of Cambodia. The center’s director, Youk Chhang, an alumnus of Indra Devi High School, said he hoped the new sign sparked conversation about the Khmer Rouge among students.
“When they go outside to play, they can see it. When they go home after school, they can talk to their parents about it,” he said
Khmer Rouge tribunal co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley, one of numerous speakers, addressed several hundred students Friday during the unveiling.
“We’ve just been talking about forgiveness, reconciliation, truth and kindness, and to me, these are all expressions of hope,” he told the students.
“You represent the future. So we adults have to put our hope in you.”
A second anti-genocide sign was dedicated Saturday at Russei Keo High School in Phnom Penh. By early next year, every high school in the country should display the two sentences.