On Friday March 18th, 2011, the Documentation Center of Cambodia’s (DC-Cam) Genocide Education in Cambodia conducted a public education forum in Trapeang Kraham Commune, Kaun Mum District, Ratanak Kiri Province. The forum was held in the compound of Wat Trapeang Kraham, which was built in late 1991. Approximately 140 participants attended the forum. Among this number, there were about 50 villagers, 85 students, 6 teachers and 1 monk.

RATANAK KIRI -- is a province in northeastern Cambodia that borders Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, Mondul Kiri Province to the south, and Stung Treng Province to the west. For over a millennium, Ratanak Kiri has been occupied by the highland Khmer Leu people, who are a minority elsewhere in Cambodia. In 1966, the Communist Party of Kampuchea headquarters was moved to Ratanak Kiri, and hundreds of Khmer Leu joined CPK units. During this period, there was also extensive Vietnamese activity in Ratanak Kiri. Between March 1969 and May 1970, the United States undertook a massive covert bombing campaign in the region, aiming to disrupt sanctuaries for communist Vietnamese troops. Villagers were forced outside of main towns to escape the bombings. In June 1970, the central government withdrew its troops from Ratanak Kiri, abandoning the area to Khmer Rouge control. The Khmer Rouge regime became increasingly oppressive. The Khmer Leu residents were forbidden from speaking their native languages or practicing their traditional customs and religion. Presently, residents generally live in villages of 20 to 60 families and engage in subsistence shifting agriculture. KAUN MOM District comprises seven sub-districts and twenty-three villages. According to Mapping report on 1999, the population of this district totals 9,362 -- 5,269 Khmer, 3,149 ethnic Kroeng, 559 people of Lao descent,  and 402 ethnic Tum Puon. The report also mentioned that Mr. Phat Sovann, age 72, lives in Sre Angkrang village, Sre Angkrang Sub-district, Kon Mom District, saw human bodies in a canal, about 400 meters west of his house. This canal is called Samroang Pen Canal.  He also saw human bones in front of his house.  Mr. Savann also informed us of another canal called Kbal Along Ptel Canal, where he also knew that the Khmer Rouge had killed people. These two canals are arms of Sre Pork River -- each is about three meters wide and three meters deep. Mr. Savann said in sadness that forty members of his family were killed by the Khmer Rouge.  But he did not know where the victims came from nor how many were killed in these two particular places.

The public education forum discusses the experiences of the people's lives under the KR and also encourages 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 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.