Asian Youth Forum 2013MONDAY, 24 JUNE 2013 13:08
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
By Cesar Ong, Michelle Patricia Ramos, Vida Tirol-de Juan and Stephanie Zamora
Under the blistering heat of the sun, the Mekong River stood witness as the Khmer Rogue took over Phnom Penh and evacuated almost 2 million of its inhabitants to the hinterlands for a life of hard and bloody agricultural labor between 1975 to 1979. The next four years, the fields of Cambodia became the burial ground for the intellectuals and nonbelievers of the ruling regime. It was known infamously as the killing fields.
Roughly thirty years since Pol Pot and the Khmer Rogue were ousted from power. Cambodia has gone a long way from its notorious history. Traffic jams in the Russian Highway, bustling public markets and on-going construction of new buildings in downtown Phnom Penh are testaments of progress in Cambodia.
In spite of the obvious positive changes in Cambodia particularly in its capital city, remnants of a not so distant but extremely horrendous past continue to haunt the survivors of Pol Pot's murderous regime. They continue to fear that the peace they struggled to sustain will be shattered by a culture of impunity which grew out of that regime. This fear is widely shared by numerous Asian countries.
Bou Meng, a survivor from Khmer Rouge S-21 prison, wakes up in the middle of the night in cold sweat vividly seeing in his dreams he took the beatings before he fall into unconsciousness: or his unconscious fellow prisoners hanging by their fingers. It is common site to see armless or legless survivors of landmine blasts.
On May 31 to June 2, youth leaders from the Southeast Asian countries,
such as Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries from
China, Yemen and Mongolia met in Phnom Penh to discuss this shared
concern. A total of 22 countries attended the forum.Each country
discussed about their experiences of conflict in their own countries and
the greater role of the youth in promoting peace.Delegates from the Philippines, Ms. Vida Tirol de Juan and Stephanie Zamora shared their experiences of conflict in their hometown. “Bohol is barely recognizable now, from twenty years before. In the past, communist rebels occupied the outskirts of Bohol. However, since 2000, through cooperative efforts of the locals and the local government, the insurgency was pacified. The luscious hills of Bohol stand witness of the peace efforts and development of the province.” Stephanie Zamora from Pampanga inspired her fellow youth when she claimed that, “peace can still be found in conflict zones”. She narrated the story of her friend who volunteered in Sultan Kudarat. She said that in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat, people practice Pintakasi or Bayanihan (community cooperation). The on-going conflict has brought the people of the community closer to each other. Put simply, the community became one big family, willing to provide care and protection for each other. She concluded that peace need not be costly, if only people will realize the value of life. Each war they wage and each life lost is a wasted future
Prime minister Hun Sen said, they rebuilt cambodia from scratch after the Pol Pot's regime. For the past 30 years, they worked very hard to rise again. Now they are experiencing peace, but they cannot be complacent. They are relying on the youth to continue the job and they need to invest to the youth in order to ensure their economic progress.
Indeed, peace efforts should be community based and reflective of the values and sentiments important to Filipinos. It should be just, equitable, humane, principled and peaceful resolution of armed conflicts.
Singapore extended the discussion on peace by suggesting integration of peace education in curriculum. Stacie Henson from Singapore believes that education continues to be a vital tool in socializing the youth to abhor violence.
As the conference ended, all the participants decided to set aside their countries ideological, economic, and cultural differences: their territorial disputes and political view of each country's. Also, they agree on a unanimous declaration on the vital role of the youth in promoting peace. They all agreed that peaceful negotiation has to be seen as something more than just ending a war. It has to be comprehensive and holistic development of the society. Though it is not obvious where to begin the process of conflict resolution, it is always important to open communications with parties involved than risking another war or violence to break out.
Strolling around the streets of Phnom Penh, reminded me a lot about Manila. Though armed conflicts in the city have long been gone, the cost of war continues to be eminent.
