Arn Chorn Pond: Everyone Has a Story
Arn Chorn Pond is one of five featured upstanders from Facing History and Ourselves' website, Be the Change: Upstanders for Human Rights. A survivor of the Cambodian Genocide, Arn has devoted his life to peace, music, and human rights. In this video, Arn talks about his belief that everyone has a story.
Most of Arn Chorn's family was killed during the Cambodian genocide. At age ten he had slaved in a work camp, witnessing wide-scale starvation and murder. When the North Vietnamese invaded Camboida, the Khmer Rouge forced his to become a soldier until he escaped on foot through the jungle in Thailand.
Adopted by a minister from the United States and coming to New Hampshire in 1980 at age fourteen as a refugee, Arn was one of the first non-white students to attend White Mountain Regional High School. In this video he talks about how hard it was to fit into the school, and how he discovered the importance of telling his story and listening to the stories of other students.
Today Arn Chorn Pond travels between the United States and Cambodia working on a number of projects with the hope of rebuilding civic life in Cambodia. His work has earned him numerous humanitarian awards, including the Spirit of Anne Frank Award and the Reebok Human Rights Award.
To learn more about Arn Chorn Pond’s story, go to Be the Change: Upstanders for Human Rights.
