[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 73 (Monday, May 5, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H3034-H3035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               DITH PRAN

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1109) honoring the memory of Dith Pran by 
remembering his life's work and continuing to acknowledge and remember 
the victims of genocides that have taken place around the globe, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1109

       Whereas Dith Pran was born on September 23, 1942, in Siem 
     Reap, Cambodia, a provincial town near the ancient temples at 
     Angkor Wat;
       Whereas Mr. Dith, a photojournalist and human rights 
     advocate, became the face of the atrocities in Cambodia 
     carried out by the Khmer Rouge;
       Whereas Mr. Dith learned French and English in school and 
     became a translator of Khmer for the United States Armed 
     Forces and visiting film crews while he worked as a 
     receptionist at a hotel near Angkor Wat prior to the 
     escalation of the Vietnam War;
       Whereas, during much of the early 1970s, Mr. Dith was a 
     guide, interpreter, and friend of Sydney H. Schanberg of the 
     New York Times;
       Whereas the friendship and partnership between Mr. Dith and 
     Mr. Schanberg became the basis for the 1984 film, ``The 
     Killing Fields'', which showed the brutality perpetrated by 
     the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 under Pol Pot;
       Whereas nearly 2,000,000 Cambodians died from 1975 to 1979 
     at the hands of the Khmer Rouge;
       Whereas Mr. Dith saved Mr. Schanberg and other Western 
     journalists from being executed by persuading Khmer Rouge 
     soldiers that they were journalists sympathetic to the Khmer 
     Rouge cause;
       Whereas Mr. Dith's wife and children were able to leave 
     Cambodia for the United States through Mr. Schanberg's 
     connections, but Mr. Dith was unable to obtain a passport or 
     visa to leave the country;
       Whereas, for four years, Mr. Dith disguised himself as a 
     peasant, worked in rice fields, and endured regular beatings 
     and harsh labor while living on a diet of a tablespoon of 
     rice a day because the Khmer Rouge would often kill anyone 
     who appeared educated or even wore glasses;
       Whereas, in November 1978, Mr. Dith returned to his home of 
     Siem Reap, and discovered that 50 members of his family had 
     been killed;
       Whereas Mr. Dith fled 60 miles to the border of Thailand 
     and arrived, on October 3, 1979, where Mr. Schanberg flew to 
     greet him;
       Whereas Mr. Dith had an emotional reunion with his wife, 
     Ser Moeun Dith, and their four children when he arrived in 
     San Francisco;
       Whereas Mr. Dith moved to New York, New York, and was hired 
     in 1980 as a photographer for The New York Times;
       Whereas Mr. Dith was a tireless activist speaking out about 
     the Cambodian genocide and once stating, ``I'm a one person 
     crusade'';
       Whereas soon after the release of the film ``The Killing 
     Fields'', Mr. Dith became a United States citizen and a 
     goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees;
       Whereas, in 1994, Mr. Dith worked to help pass the 
     Cambodian Genocide Justice Act of 1994, sponsored by former 
     Senator Charles Robb of Virginia, which established an Office 
     of Cambodian Genocide Investigations at the Department of 
     State;
       Whereas, on March 30, 2008, Mr. Dith, a resident of 
     Woodbridge, New Jersey, passed away at the age of 65; and
       Whereas the Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project was 
     established to create awareness about the Cambodian genocide: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) honors the life and legacy of Mr. Dith for his 
     commitment to raising awareness about the atrocities that 
     took place under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia;
       (2) recognizes his courage and his endless pursuit for 
     justice for the victims of the Cambodian genocide and all 
     peoples around the world who have been victims of genocide; 
     and
       (3) honors the memory of Mr. Dith by remembering his life's 
     work and continuing to acknowledge and remember the victims 
     of genocides that have taken place around the world.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Watson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and I 
yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Sires, for offering this 
important legislation in memory of a great American, Dith Pran. Through 
the film ``The Killing Fields,'' Dith Pran is for many Americans the 
face of the Cambodian genocide. That movie documented Dith Pran's 
personal struggle, his friendship and cooperation with New York Times 
reporter Sydney Schanberg, and the larger horror of the Khmer Rouge 
genocide in Cambodia.
  Much as ``The Killing Fields'' reminded Americans of the Cambodian 
genocide, Mr. Dith's life work as a photojournalist and U.N. goodwill 
ambassador raised awareness around the world of the atrocities that 
took place for those in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.
  This resolution commemorates the work of Dith Pran's life, including 
his work as a photojournalist for the New York Times, his bravery in 
surviving the Cambodian genocide and escaping to Thailand in 1979; his 
advocacy for the Cambodian refugees and victims of genocide around the 
world after he became a U.S. citizen and a goodwill ambassador for the 
United Nations in 1994; and his work with former Senator Charles Robb 
to help pass the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act establishing an Office 
of Cambodian Genocide Investigations at the State Department.
  Mr. Dith's work laid the foundation for ongoing justice and 
reconciliation tribunals within Cambodia that continue to this day.

[[Page H3035]]

  For all these reasons, I support this resolution and urge my 
colleagues to join me as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution which serves 
as yet another reminder of the haunting words inscribed in the 
Holocaust Museum: ``Never again.''
  The Khmer Rouge-led slaughter of over 1 million innocent people took 
place more than three decades after the Holocaust ended. Yet the world 
was again largely silent and indifferent to this tragedy. There was no 
one person who more embodied the tragic and horrific story of this 
genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia than Dith Pran. His 
harrowing personal story of courage, abandonment, struggle, escape and 
ultimate survival was recorded for all time in the gripping Academy 
Award-winning film ``The Killing Fields.''
  After escaping from the Khmer Rouge and making his way across a 
treacherous border laden with mines, Dith Pran reached a refugee camp 
in Thailand and ultimately came to the United States. Here while 
continuing his career as a photojournalist, Dith Pran was a firm and 
clear voice appealing to the world's conscience to remember the 
genocide which occurred in his homeland. He worked tirelessly to 
achieve the establishment of an Office of Cambodian Genocide. It was 
officially called the Office of Cambodian Genocide Investigation in the 
Department of State.
  It is a note of some consolation that Dith Pran lived to see the 
start of the genocide trial last November of surviving leaders of the 
Khmer Rouge on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 
Sadly, it took almost 30 years to bring these architects of the killing 
fields to justice. There is thankfully no statute of limitations for 
those who carry out world genocide.
  Without Dith Pran's steadfast determination, however, this aging 
Khmer Rouge cadre may have escaped their final hour of judgment. This 
trial now taking place in the Cambodian capital should give solace to 
Dith Pran's family and his friends at his passing. It also represents 
his greatest legacy as an advocate on human rights.
  The current trial should also remind us to redouble our efforts to 
ensure that the words ``Never Again'' are finally realized. The best 
final tribute for Dith Pran would be for the world community to work 
together for a swift end to the current genocide in Darfur and the 
killing fields in North Korea.
  I urge my colleagues to give their whole-hearted support to this 
resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                          ____________________