[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 515

             Commemorating the life and work of Dith Pran.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 15, 2008

   Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Cornyn) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
             Commemorating the life and work of Dith Pran.

Whereas, between 1975 and 1979, Dith Pran dedicated his life and journalistic 
        career to preventing genocide by exposing the atrocities perpetrated by 
        the Khmer Rouge regime in his native Cambodia;
Whereas Dith Pran, the subject of the Academy Award-winning film ``The Killing 
        Fields'', survived the genocide in Cambodia in which up to 2,000,000 
        men, women, and children, including most of Dith Pran's extended family, 
        were killed by the Khmer Rouge;
Whereas Dith Pran assisted many of his fellow journalists who were covering the 
        impending takeover of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge to escape unharmed 
        from the country when the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, fell to the 
        Khmer Rouge in 1975;
Whereas Dith Pran was subsequently imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge, and for 4 
        years endured forced labor, beatings, and unconscionable conditions of 
        human suffering;
Whereas, in 1979, Dith Pran escaped from forced labor past the Khmer Rouge's 
        ``killing fields'', a term Mr. Dith created to describe the mass 
        graveyards he saw on his 40-mile journey to a refugee camp in Thailand;
Whereas Dith Pran, in the words of New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, 
        ``reminds us of a special category of journalistic heroism, the local 
        partner, the stringer, the interpreter, the driver, the fixer, who knows 
        the ropes, who makes your work possible, who often becomes your friend, 
        who may save your life, who shares little of the glory, and who risks so 
        much more than you do'';
Whereas Dith Pran moved to New York in 1980 and devoted the remainder of his 
        life and journalistic career to advocating against genocide and for 
        human rights worldwide;
Whereas Dith Pran educated people around the world about the horrors of genocide 
        in general, and the genocide in Cambodia in particular, through his 
        creation of the Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project;
Whereas, in 1985, Dith Pran was appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador 
        by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
Whereas Dith Pran lost his battle with cancer on March 30, 2008, leaving behind 
        a world that better understands the tragedy of the genocide in Cambodia 
        and the need to prevent future genocides, largely due to his compelling 
        story, reporting, and advocacy;
Whereas Dith Pran said, ``Part of my life is saving life. I don't consider 
        myself a politician or a hero. I'm a messenger. If Cambodia is to 
        survive, she needs many voices.''; and
Whereas the example of Dith Pran should endure for generations: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) Dith Pran is a modern day hero and an exemplar of what 
        it means to be a citizen of the United States and a citizen of 
        the world;
            (2) the United States owes a debt of gratitude to Dith Pran 
        for his tireless work to prevent genocide and violations of 
        fundamental human rights; and
            (3) teachers throughout the United States should spread 
        Dith Pran's message by educating their students about his life, 
        the genocide in Cambodia, and the collective responsibility of 
        all people to prevent modern-day atrocities and human rights 
        abuses.
                                 <all>