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Genocide Survivor Shares Story of Pain and Perseverance
"Young people in the world need American angels," Pond said. "So get out of the mall. Finish school. Get your passport and go. Many of you can do a lot to help." In plain and stark language, Pond recounted the horrors of his adolescence to an Assembly audience. In the late 1970s, Pond's family was taken away in the early days of Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia. Pond was suddenly swept up in the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. He was moved to a temple with other children and forced into slave labor, rising at 5 a.m. and often working until midnight. He also witnessed unimaginable horror. "They would kill children three or four times every day," Pond said. "I would hold their hands and arms up so the blood wouldn't get on their clothing. I knew if I didn't do what the Khmer Rouge ordered, I'd be dead, too." During his four years in the child labor camp, Pond witnessed thousands of murders. At 12 years old--and weighing a mere 30 pounds--Pond was enlisted in the army. The Khmer Rouge threw guns into the hands of children and expected them to fight the Vietnamese. "If kids said they didn't know how to use the gun, the Khmer Rouge would shoot them," Pond said. Finally, at 15, Pond escaped into the jungle. He survived by following the lead of monkeys, watching what they ate so as to avoid the jungle's many poisonous fruits and plants. In 1979 he met his future adoptive father, Peter Pond, a white American relief worker. It was an unusual encounter. "He stepped on me ... literally. I looked up and saw this huge white man. I thought it was the sun!" Soon thereafter, Pond was in New Hampshire, enrolled as a ninth grader at his local high school. His transition to a new life was not easy. Overwhelmed by the trauma he had endured and faced with a barrage of name-calling and ignorance, Pond struggled in high school, even contemplating suicide. But he persevered and went on to earn a degree in international studies from Providence College. Pond's social consciousness bloomed early. In 1984 he co-founded Children of War, a youth leadership organization. While at Providence College, Pond founded the Southeast Asian Big Brother/Big Sister Association and Peace Makers, a gang intervention project for Southeast Asian youth. Over the years, he has continued his efforts by speaking at Amnesty International events all over the world and meeting with peace movement leaders Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and many others. "These are the heroes," Pond said. Pond has been recognized with a number of humanitarian awards, including the Reebok Human Rights Award and the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. He is also an accomplished flutist, which he demonstrated in the closing moments of his appearance with a stirring performance. His story and his music are both featured in the new documentary "The Flute Player." Date: 10/26/2005 Source: Photo by Roger Boulay By: Mac Slocum |
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