Activist Loung Ung to Speak at NEC

Cambodian-American author and activist, Loung Ung, will speak at New England College on Thursday, April 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Simon Center Great Room at 98 Bridge Street in Henniker. The presentation will be followed by a book signing at 11:00 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Loung Ung is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in 1975 known as “the Killing Fields.” The Khmer Rouge was responsible for a genocide that left nearly two million Cambodians dead including four of Loung Ung’s immediate family members. As a young child, the horrors of war left a lasting impression on Loung Ung and she has dedicated the last fifteen years of her life to promoting human rights in both Cambodia and throughout the world.

In the years since the Khmer Rouge takeover, Ung has returned to Cambodia many times and is currently the spokesperson for the Cambodia Fund. The World Economic Forum named her one of the 100 Global Youth Leaders of Tomorrow and she has presented at numerous international conferences including the Young Presidents’ Organization, the UN Conference on Women in Beijing, the UN Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, and the Child Soldiers Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Her bestselling book, First They Killed My Father: a Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, was published in 2000 and has been translated into nine languages in twelve countries. In 2005 she published her second book, Lucky Child, which has been used widely in many educational reading programs.

Loung Ung has been featured in numerous documentaries, newspaper, radio, and television programs including the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe and the London Sunday Times.

The April 17 presentation at New England College commemorates the 33rd anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia.