Having been to see the horror of what remains of Cambodia's "The Killing Fields", I was pleased to read in The Rotarian magazine an article acknowledging a World Understanding and Peace ambassador who is trying to make a better Cambodia among the survivors of the genocidal terror that swept his country.
Following is the text of the short article from February 2012 page 41:
"When his Rotary Peace Fellowship in Brisbane, Australia, ended, Path Heang headed home to Cambodia, an impoverished nation where the Khmer Rouge killed more than two million citizens between 1975 and 1979. Heang, now chief of a UNICEF field office, works to improve the lives of women and children in his country's poorest households. He manages six programs that help millions in need.
"In Cambodia, privileges traditionally are for men and older people. Women and children are not a priority. They need access to education, health care and training for employment," Heang explains.
"In the future, I will work in other countries. Because Cambodia needs people like me, I felt obliged to come back."
Heang, 43, meshes his peace studies with his prior experience in a weapons eradication program and his native understanding of Cambodia. "I am in a senior position because of the analytic skills and tools I learned as a peace fellow (with Rotary International)", he says. "Now, I can influence national policy for the poor in Cambodia. (This work) is not about perception. It is about evidence."
Reflecting on his peace fellowship, Heang says, "It changed me". His studies explored the (reign of terror) of the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia and security issues in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations. At the same time, he says, he had to learn the basics of life in a wealthier nation, such as how to use an ATM.
