[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 59 (Tuesday, April 15, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3032-S3033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 515--COMMEMORATING THE LIFE AND WORK OF DITH PRAN

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

                              S. Res. 515

       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,

[[Page S3033]]

     ``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.

                          ____________________