Of Dhammacārinī and Rematriation in Post-Genocidal Cambodia

The literature over the last three decades has been trying to account for the stories of resilience by Cambodians both in their homeland and diasporas through performance and literature, visual culture, and religion to undo the legacy of displacement and traumatic experience of the Cambodians during 1975–1979, known as the Khmer Rouge Genocidal period. The repatriation of Khmer refugees to their homeland during 1992–1993 poses a question of to what extent the physical return could replenish the richness of people’s lives deprived by war-time atrocities. Dhammayietra (peace march; 1992–2018) originated by and centered around the spiritual leadership of late Maha Ghosananda has, being an exemplar, tackled this challenge. Yet, are there any significant moral contributions and ethical leadership from other sources? This paper therefore seeks to highlight the under-recognized stories of ‘Dhammacārinī’ (Buddhist Woman Leader) of Cambodia in the light of the spirituality that emerged in the post-conflict reconstruction. Based on my ethnographic accounts and engagement with Dhammayietra (2009–2018), archival research and biographical and dharma books published by the two dhammacārinīs of Cambodia, I argue that these Buddhist woman leaders attempt to offer the people of Cambodia ‘rematriation’, where the ethics of care, nurture, interconnectedness and healing join forces to counter the legacy of devastation and desperation.

Intergenerational Trauma: A Scoping Review of Cross-Cultural Applications from 1999 to 2019

It has been over 20 years since the publication of Danieli’s (1998) International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma, a seminal cross-cultural compilation examining the generational effects of mass trauma and intergenerational trauma (IGT). In the years since this book appeared, research on IGT has continued to be applied to many cultural groups, including those who have survived the Indian Residential Schools, the Khmer Rouge regime, or the Rwandan genocide. Previous reviews of IGT research have focused mainly on survivors of the Holocaust, which limits the cross-cultural application of this field of study. The purpose of this article is to provide a scoping review of scholarship published between 1999 and 2019 that aims to understand how IGT has been studied in cross-cultural applications. Overall, 29 articles were identified and reviewed. In light of the fact that cross-cultural perspectives on IGT are still emerging (Sirikantraporn & Green, 2016), the methodology and the cultural considerations described in this review can inform future cross-cultural IGT research.

Outsourcing Outreach: ‘Counter-translation’ of Outreach Activities at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

This article examines the outreach activities of the ongoing trials in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The ECCC was designed to hold the leaders of Cambodia's notoriously violent Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979) accountable. Outreach programmes have now become part of transitional justice initiatives as means to anchor their work in local and national consciousness in target countries. Using ethnographic data gathered in 2019–2020, this article explores how outreach activities have changed over time as they have become subject to new influences. I focus in particular on how some local actors have begun appropriating them in ways that represent a ‘counter-translation’ of the intentions originally propagated by the architects of the ECCC.

Memória e história dos sem nome: o uso das fotografias de identificação nos documentários de Rithy Panh

Este trabalho analisa a retomada das fotografias de identificação tiradas na prisão S-21 em quatro documentários de Rithy Panh: Bophana, a cambodian tragedy (1996), S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2002), Duch, The Master of the Forges of Hell (2011) e The Missing Picture (2013). Buscamos analisar as variações dos procedimentos cinematográficos da retomada das fotografias, considerando-as como exercício incessante de interpretação dentro da própria forma fílmica que não toma os sentidos dos arquivos como dados, mas construídos pelos recursos expressivos do documentário. Partindo dos filmes em direção à teoria, aproximamos nossas análises as reflexões sobre a narrativa da história de Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno, Márcio Seligmann-Silva e Jeanne Marie Gagnebin, para pensar de que modo os documentários fazem uma elaboração do passado e uma recomposição da memória por meio da figura cinematográfica de nomeação.

Victim Participation at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: Challenges to the Civil Party Framework and Lessons for the Future

<p>This paper examines the victim participation framework at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC or Court), established to deal with crimes during the Khmer Rouge regime. The background which has led to the creation of the ECCC will be explained, before the paper will look at the way the Court is structured to include civil parties. The Court has consistently limited the civil parties’ role since its establishment and these limitations and the justifications are outlined in the paper. Solutions in the context of the ECCC are then considered, although due to the political environment, no changes in favour of victim rights are likely. Future models are considered, with the benefits of a Truth and Conciliation Commission’s analysed by looking at Sierra Leone and East Timor, as examples of successful frameworks where both a Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission proceeded simultaneously. This paper concludes that although every situation requiring a judicial response will be different, the option of having both a Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission can fulfil multiple victim needs.</p>

Victim Participation at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: Challenges to the Civil Party Framework and Lessons for the Future

<p>This paper examines the victim participation framework at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC or Court), established to deal with crimes during the Khmer Rouge regime. The background which has led to the creation of the ECCC will be explained, before the paper will look at the way the Court is structured to include civil parties. The Court has consistently limited the civil parties’ role since its establishment and these limitations and the justifications are outlined in the paper. Solutions in the context of the ECCC are then considered, although due to the political environment, no changes in favour of victim rights are likely. Future models are considered, with the benefits of a Truth and Conciliation Commission’s analysed by looking at Sierra Leone and East Timor, as examples of successful frameworks where both a Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission proceeded simultaneously. This paper concludes that although every situation requiring a judicial response will be different, the option of having both a Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission can fulfil multiple victim needs.</p>

Hidden Identities in Contemporary Cambodian Photography

This article examines the works of three photographers, Kim Hak (b. 1981), Khvay Samnang (b. 1982), and Neak Sophal (b. 1989), all born in the post-Khmer Rouge era and all established relatively early in their careers. These third-generation Cambodian photographers construct portraitures that steer away from identity to address the larger issues of individuals and local communities in present-day Cambodia, which still lives in the shadow of the trauma of the Khmer Rouge. Kim's photography avoids a direct representation of people who suffered through the Khmer Rouge regime and instead presents small, ordinary objects that were kept secretly in their household; Khvay documents the hardship of local communities in Phnom Penh and their questioned identity by portraying masked faces; Neak questions the hardship of the youth, women, and townspeople through the erasure of face in her series of photographs depicting various community groups in Cambodia. This subtle avoidance of portraying individuals in a direct, straightforward way signifies a multi-faceted interpretation of the traumatic past, its resilience, and the newly added social problems of contemporary Cambodia, which struggles in the aftermath of the genocide and more recent economic growth.

NGO Coordination and the Changing Aid Environment in Cambodia: Challenges and Opportunities

<p>Cambodia is one of the poorest and most aid-dependent countries in Southeast Asia. Historically NGOs have operated in Cambodia since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. Since the Paris Peace Accord Agreement, signed by the Cambodian leaders in 1991, the number of NGOs has grown rapidly and played a pivotal role in delivering public services and advocacy. In an effort to improve efficiencies and effectiveness aid delivery mechanisms have become extraordinarily complex and cumbersome. They require all parties to have strong coordination efforts within their individual groups and amongst broader stakeholders. This thesis analyses the effectiveness of NGO coordination in Cambodia. It is based on recently completed in-country research involving participant observation and a series of semi-structured interviews. The paper explores NGO coordination and how the NGO community engages in the aid coordination processes led by the Cambodian government. The findings indicate that the NGO coordination efforts have encountered a series of challenges. These include cultural, political and institutional challenges and poor NGO coordination between the national and provincial levels. They have resulted in a) the absence of a collective voice, b) slow progress on NGO self-regulation, c) the fragmentation and duplication of NGO projects, d) a poor working relationship with the government e) little understanding of aid effectiveness and f) poor engagement in the aid coordination mechanisms. Thus, the NGO coordination efforts are relatively loose although progress has been made since the 1990s. Consequently, Cambodia's NGO sector remains immature and weak. There are, however, some opportunities for improvement through creating an environment that enables policy dialogue with the government.</p>

NGO Coordination and the Changing Aid Environment in Cambodia: Challenges and Opportunities

<p>Cambodia is one of the poorest and most aid-dependent countries in Southeast Asia. Historically NGOs have operated in Cambodia since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. Since the Paris Peace Accord Agreement, signed by the Cambodian leaders in 1991, the number of NGOs has grown rapidly and played a pivotal role in delivering public services and advocacy. In an effort to improve efficiencies and effectiveness aid delivery mechanisms have become extraordinarily complex and cumbersome. They require all parties to have strong coordination efforts within their individual groups and amongst broader stakeholders. This thesis analyses the effectiveness of NGO coordination in Cambodia. It is based on recently completed in-country research involving participant observation and a series of semi-structured interviews. The paper explores NGO coordination and how the NGO community engages in the aid coordination processes led by the Cambodian government. The findings indicate that the NGO coordination efforts have encountered a series of challenges. These include cultural, political and institutional challenges and poor NGO coordination between the national and provincial levels. They have resulted in a) the absence of a collective voice, b) slow progress on NGO self-regulation, c) the fragmentation and duplication of NGO projects, d) a poor working relationship with the government e) little understanding of aid effectiveness and f) poor engagement in the aid coordination mechanisms. Thus, the NGO coordination efforts are relatively loose although progress has been made since the 1990s. Consequently, Cambodia's NGO sector remains immature and weak. There are, however, some opportunities for improvement through creating an environment that enables policy dialogue with the government.</p>