There has been a long silence in this country regarding the Khmer Rouge era, a silence that has lasted for decades and kept alive by fear, pain, and politics.

In recent years however, there have been solid efforts to end this silence in form of legal justice, outreach programs and forthcoming genocide education in high schools in Cambodia. While each measure is valuable for the country's healing process, there needs also to be measures which focus on the emotional and psychological components of reconciliation and healing. This is where art can make a significant contribution. Cambodian people are very artistic and it is their way of life. The Khmer Rouge have killed many artists but not the artistry of the Cambodian people. It is our soul. This play, "Breaking the Silence" produced by Amrita Performing Arts and directed by Annemarie Prins is the most powerful play since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

It is a play which seeks to break Cambodia's silence, as evident by its title. It is a play about the Cambodian people, their suffering, anger, and courage to move on no matter the circumstances. Khmer Rouge victims are emotionally broken people living in a broken society; a people without souls or that our souls are wandering around. I have found our soul in this play, "Breaking the Silence." This play is very important for all Cambodians to see and hear. It will help restore our dignity and humanity and lift up our morality. It will also help our children to better understand their country. It is my hope that this play, and future plays like it, will have a prominent role in the rebuilding of Cambodian society.

A song from the play --
Transform the Blood River into a River of Reconciliation. A river of responsibility.

Break the Silence.
Talk, talk, talk.


http://www.ranesi.nl/arsipaktua/asiapasifik/drama_polpot090223

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Play Aims For Khmer Rouge Reconciliation
Cambodian actors rehearsed a play, called "Breaking the Silence", in Phnom Penh.

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
23 February 2009

A Cambodian play designed to help people speak more openly about their
experiences under the Khmer Rouge is scheduled for viewing in rural areas,
following a performance in Phnom Penh this weekend.

The play, “Breaking the Silence,” was established under cooperation between
the Document Center of Cambodia and the Amerita Art organization.

Director Annemarie Prins, of the Netherlands Featuring Artists of the
Secondary School of Fine Arts, did research in several provinces in Cambodia
about the sadness, horror and daily lives during the Khmer Rouge. Prins
found that some regime victims and former perpetrators live as neighbors but
do not talk to each other.

Youk Chhang, director of the Document Center of Cambodia, said the play
would be performed mostly in the countryside, to help people understand
there can be reconciliation and tolerance between victims and perpetrators.

“We aim to show ‘Breaking the Silence’ in some rural areas so that the
people will be able to see and participate in the show,” he said. “There are
about seven cases that we picked from real life during the Khmer Rouge
regime, after research and study by the Documentation Center of Cambodia. We
used these cases to produce a story to show the audience.”

The play will be performed in Kampong Cham, Kampot, Kandal and Takeo
provinces, and is completely Khmer in character, including speaking, ideas,
proverbs and songs, he said.

In 2007 the Document Centre of Cambodia put out a play “Searching for the
Truth,” which earned strong support from Cambodians.

Ser Sayana, a Documentation Center staff member and an assistant for the
play, said the performances were a part of the center’s outreach program.

“I think when people see it they will understand, because the show is really
based on the daily lives of people during the Khmer Rouge,” she said.

“Some people who were members of Khmer Rouge, or whose relatives were Khmer
Rouge members, are now living around or near Khmer Rouge victims, as
neighbors,” she said. “Those former Khmer Rouge members are still hiding in
their minds, without speaking out, to let somebody know, their inner
sadness. So this show could allow them to speak out in a way to brings
reconciliation and tolerance.”