Dignifying a Destroyed Culture: Protecting pre-Khmer Rouge Musical Traditions in Cambodia

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a talk by Arn Chorn Pond, a globally renowned musician and activist whose work has promoted peace and cultural rehabilitation in Cambodia for decades. I was moved by the hallowing beauty of his flute performance as well as his incredibly powerful escape from the Khmer Rouge. As a child, Mr. Pond was forcibly separated from his family and moved to the Cambodian countryside, often referred to as the Killing Fields. There, he was forced to play music to drown out the screams of death that rang across the open lands. Fortunately, Mr. Pond was able to flee to the jungles of Cambodia and eventually encounter Peter Pond, a United States aid worker who adopted him and brought him back to his home in New Hampshire. Throughout the night, Arn Chorn Pond discussed the brutal genocide of the Cambodian people and the residual impacts his trauma had on his life in America. While attending high school in New Hampshire, he endured further hardships due to a profound lack of awareness of the Cambodian genocide; as a result, he faced near-constant bullying that drove him to the brink of suicide.

After sharing stories of tragedy wrought by mental and physical abuse, however, Arn Chorn Pond reminded me of the crucial importance of awareness and action. Awareness allows others to be deferential and respectful in the wake of tragedy, while action drives people to create change. Mr. Pond was able to harness both in tandem through the creation of his own organization, Cambodian Living Arts. After graduating from college, he returned to Cambodia to find former master musicians living in slum-like conditions, and he could not bear to watch the traditions of the past disappear in front of his eyes. As a result, he raised a few thousand dollars to promote awareness of pre-Khmer Rouge culture in Cambodia as well as take action to preserve and dignify the cultures of the past that were destroyed by genocide. 

As he concluded his talk, Arn Chorn Pond stressed the importance of wielding our privilege and wealth of opportunities as change agents in a global context. I was struck by his story of preserving traditional Cambodian music; Mr. Pond reminded me of the impact a single person can have and drove me to re-evaluate the significance individuals can play in tackling seemingly-insurmountable issues. Moreover, Mr. Pond emphasized that change does not necessarily stem from sweeping social projects. It can also be borne out of small actions such as the creation of Cambodian Living Arts, which was originally self-funded and extremely localized and has since grown tremendously to preserve the music and cultural traditions of pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Overall, I was fascinated by both Arn Chorn Pond's story and the underlying motivations that drive him to tell it today.