Aston Centre for Europe presents
Reflections on the Cambodian Genocide: In Conversation with Denise Affonço, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge Regime.
Monday 1 February
4 - 6pm in MB 518
In this unique talk, Denise Affonço, a former Cambodian resident, will discuss the country’s dark past, and recount her own experiences of the genocide which ensued once the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975.
Denise, a French citizen and former embassy employee, stayed in Cambodia with her Cambodian husband, a convinced Communist, who believed that the Khmer Rouge would bring an end to five years of civil war. But peace did not return and along with millions of their fellow citizens they were deported to the countryside where they endured almost four years of forced labour, famine, sickness and death. In 2009, Denise gave evidence at the trial of the Khmer Rouge's prison chief, Comrade Duch, one of five regime leaders to be indicted for crimes against humanity.
As the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) deliberate the case of Comrade Duch – whose verdict is expected in early 2010 – this talk is a rare and timely opportunity to hear reflections of a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime.
For further information, please contact Dr Jelena Obradovic-Wochnik on ext 5168.
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