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Promoting memory and justice in
Cambodia is a long-term effort. Research must continue if the
Democratic Kampuchea period is to be fully understood and if
perpetrators are to be held accountable for their crimes. But even
after the proposed Khmer Rouge trials occur, Cambodians will be able
to achieve closure and reconciliation only with a full and impartial
history of the period. To help bring about reconciliation and to
encourage the protection of human rights and a rule of law in the
future, major long-term efforts to educate young Cambodians and expand
our public outreach work are also essential.
DC-Cam’s quest for memory and justice has as much to do with the
future as with the past. By collecting, preserving and analyzing
individual pieces of the historical record, our Center endeavors to
help Cambodians understand the country’s difficult journey through the
20th century, thus enabling them to better navigate the
road ahead.
Our efforts toward attaining these goals require the establishment
of a permanent Center in
Phnom Penh,
which will permit DC-Cam to play an even greater role in disseminating
information to the public and building awareness to help the country
move toward a more open, democratic, and participatory society. It
will serve as a library and research center for scholars and
interested members of the public, and a hub for the dissemination of
educational materials about the DK regime and its aftermath.
Our Current Facilities.
Since its inception, DC-Cam has been located at a building in
central Phnom Penh on Preah Bath Norodom Sihanouk Boulevard near the
Independence Monument – across the street from the villa of Prime
Minister Hun Sen. That facility has served DC-Cam well, but it no
longer provides adequate space to house the Center’s expanding staff,
activities, and large documentary holdings.
DC-Cam now employs 45
staff members and enjoys the assistance of 8 volunteers. Every
possible corner of office space is occupied, and room for incoming
documents is scarce. This limits DC-Cam’s ability to host the many
visiting scholars and members of the public who request access to the
Center (we currently host between 150 and 200 researchers/ visitors
per year, and anticipate that demand will rise after the tribunal is
announced).
Further, extensive training facilities are required so that DC-Cam
can help educate members of the public and students from
Cambodia and abroad. Searching for the Truth magazine, the Mass
Grave Mapping Project, and DC-Cam’s Research Project have all met with
much success and demand additional staff (particularly for
translation), requiring larger office facilities and meeting rooms.
Documentation areas must also expand if DC-Cam is to preserve the
many aging materials we now possess. Current facilities cannot house
enough large fireproof cabinets to protect the existing documents, and
new documents of great historical and legal importance continue to
arrive. A large space conducive to the preservation of aging documents
is therefore vital.
Our Plans for a Permanent
Center.
DC-Cam wishes to become a
permanent resource for research, training, and public service. The
facility we would acquire or build would have better security, a
library and exhibition hall, proper storage facilities, a conference
room, and increased office space.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has given DC-Cam a plot of land
adjacent to the
Tuol
Sleng Genocide Museum on which to construct the facility for a
permanent Center, but problems with squatters and prohibitive costs
have precluded us from utilizing this land. After working on the land
issue for several years, we feel that it cannot be resolved with the
current government. We are thus seeking funding for a less-expensive
alternative: purchasing an old villa in the city, or buying land and
building a facility in the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Should
donors or individuals wish to contribute to the establishment of a
permanent Center, please contact us at
dccam@online.com.kh. |
