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No initiatives existed that were designed to determine the needs of Cambodians, particularly those living in rural areas (85% of the country), with regards to how history and justice affect their daily lives. In response to this, the International Center for Conciliation created an outreach program based on the belief that the most effective materials and discussions come from the needs as they are expressed by rural Cambodians themselves. The project seeks to:
- Understand how Cambodians living in rural and remote areas discuss issues of history and justice in their everyday lives;
- Give rural Cambodians a platform for sharing their opinions about such issues in a safe space;
- Bring the voice of this marginalized population to the authorities and officials in a position to meet their needs; and
- Help provincial non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local authorities meet the needs of their populations regarding efforts to deal with history and justice.
The villages are chosen based on the background of the village chief, the harsh experiences endured by the population in recent history and the presence of a well-established and suitable local NGO. ICfC staff complete several phases of assessment to identify appropriate activities, including: convening dialogues among the villagers, bringing villagers to Phnom Penh to tour the Toul Sleng museum and scheduling meetings with Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) officials. With the support of a grant from the Open Society Institute, ICfC currently works with local partner NGOs and villages in five provinces: Svay Rieng, Battambang, Takeo, Kampong Speu and Kampong Chhnang. A new grant from DED, the German Civil Peace Service, is going to support the expansion of this project to new villages and allow staff to continue work in all of the villages in which ICfC currently works. |
The governments of Cambodia and Vietnam have constructed particular versions of history that invalidate the painful experiences that thousands of Cambodians and Vietnamese share. Vietnamese youth’s perceptions of Cambodians are often tainted by notions of racial and cultural superiority while Cambodians often harbor intense resentment towards the Vietnamese for a long history of atrocities that many argue persist to this day. This tension has manifested itself in ethnic violence over the last several decades in Southeast Asia.
To confront this, the International Center for Conciliation assists other organizations in supporting the Cambodia-Vietnam Dialogue (CVD). CVD is an ongoing dialogue between Cambodian and Vietnamese youth.
A group of students from Cambodia and Vietnam meet throughout a year with an interest in ending the long-standing conflict between their countries. They organize discussions on history, identity, peace, and memory. These students are the only group, discussing the relations between their nations, who meet independently from any political or official institution. ICfC helps to bring the groups together and train the participants in communication, historical conciliation and dealing with identity-based conflicts. |
