The importance of genocide education
Greater Lowell residents, genocide is not something solely from the history books, a long-agoand-far-away concept that doesn’t touch their lives in any meaningful way.
No, for these people, it’s a very real part of their own or their families’ histories, something they or their forebears fought to survive through great anguish and loss.
Many times, however, the burden of reliving that trauma is too much to bear for the survivors, and the lessons of their experiences can be lost to time.
Until she was elected to office, state Rep. Vanna Howard, D-lowell, said she never spoke publicly of what it was like for her as a child fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide. She still struggles to talk about it. And that trepidation, she said, is precisely why the bill the state Legislature passed mandating genocide education is so important.
“Even in the Cambodian community, there are young adults who are generally aware of the genocide but have never heard the specifics or the breadth of the atrocities -– it is simply too overits whelming for their family to talk about,” Howard said. “However, the passage of this legislation is certainly a huge acknowledgment of all our genocide survivors in our community.”
Howard was among several local reps and senators to sign on as cosponsors of the bill, along with state Rep. Rady Mom, D-lowell, a fellow Cambodian American. Gov. Charlie Baker still needs to sign the bill into law, and Howard said she hopes he will do so as soon as possible.
She said that instituting education on genocide ensures that when the survivors left today are gone, that knowledge is carried on and is taught in a way that is based in fact.
It’s important to educate younger generations on what happened in Cambodia, the Holocaust, Rwanda and Armenia not only so they’re not forgotten, but also so they’re not repeated, Howard said.
The origins of genocide start with racism and the pursuit of power, she said.
“We are living in a critical moment, and we need to confront the implications of bigotry, hate and ignorance, again through education, for our children to learn the warnings and lessons of genocide,” Howard said.
A tribute to a Cambodian genocide survivor
aftermath of the consequential Lowell election and the mayoral jockeying that has ensued, City Councilor Sokhary Chau lost his mother this past Monday.
Chau provided The Column with this tribute in her honor:
“Loving. Kind. Compassionate.
Courageous. Caring and respectful for all humanity. That is our mom, grandma and best friend, Hem Hay.
“She was born in the village of Khnach Romeas, Bavel, in the province of Battambang, in 1932 to rice and orange farmer parents, the late Mr. Loeuy Hem and Mrs. Chau Keo. She was the eldest of nine children and