On September 21, 2011, the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)'s Genocide Education Project will conduct a public education forum in Chhnok Trou Commune, Baribo District, Kampong Chhnang province. The forum will be held on a private floating port. The participants attending the forum are approximately 200, including parents, students, and teachers.

Chhnok Trou is the largest fishing area in Kampong Chhnang province, and one of the largest Cambodia’s fishing area. 130 kilometers away from the capital, this community is diverse. Khmer, Cham and Vietnamese, approximately 2,000 families, live peacefully in the area.

During the KR era, the villagers were evacuated to other districts in Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu provinces to undertake agricultural work. According to Sam Rith Pheng, Chhnok Trou’s commune chief, many people died of starvation, disease, exhaustion and execution.

The public education forum will discuss the experiences of the people's lives under the KR and will also encourage the younger and the older generations to discuss the importance of genocide education and survivors to share their real life experiences under the KR. The project's team members will distribute copies of the textbook "A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)" and discuss one chapter from it. Other materials for distribution include the magazine Searching for the Truth and booklets on Khmer Rouge tribunal Cases 001 and 002. During the forum, one of the team members will teach a chapter from DK history book.

The forum is being held in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and funded by The Asia Foundation (TAF), Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the core supports from the Swedish International Agency for Development (Sida) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

For more information, please contact:

Ser Sayana <truthsayana.s@dccam.org> Cell: 092 763 272