On Wednesday, April 15th, 2015, Asian Pacific Student Programs will be tabling at the Belltower to commemorate and bring awareness to the Cambodian Genocide. In the latter half of the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge orchestrated the killing of 1.5 - 3 million people in an effort to reform the political and social structure of Cambodia. They targeted the religious, the educated, and anyone who did not fit into Pol Pot's vision of an agrarian society. Known as the Killing Fields, the genocide sparked a mass exodus of refugees, many of whom settled in the United States of America.

Though it has been over forty years since the violence, traumas of the Killing Fields still persist in survivors and often transfer to their American born children. As a part of our Remembrance Day activities, we would like to present self-written testimonials of survivors and their relatives about the ways in which the Killing Fields have affected their lives. But going further than just speaking about the negative aspects of the Cambodian American experience, we would like to emphasize ways in which the Cambodian American community has persevered, progressed, and succeeded in America.

We would like to invite you to share your story and how the Cambodian Genocide and/or being a Cambodian American has affected your life. Even if you did not experience it first hand, we want to paint the most accurate picture of where the Cambodian American community stands today. Please consider contributing to our project.

Asian Pacific Student Programs (APSP) is a resource center at the University of California, Riverside that seeks to bring awareness to and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture and social issues. Founded in 1989, APSP is dedicated to fighting on issues important to the AAPI Community and acting as a voice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on the UC Riverside campus.

For questions and concerns, please contact Vince Leus, student coordinator at Asian Pacific Student Programs, at vleus001@ucr.edu. For more information about Asian Pacific Student Programs, please visit our website, apsp.ucr.edu.