International Education Week 2005

We have just received confirmation from Eric Commins of ISSS with regards to IEW 2005. It is a go and our club will be showing a documentary provided by Vida on Khmer Rouge. Please find below information to the event:

Wednesday, 11/16/2005

“Autobiography of Bophana – Prisoner of Khmer Rouge Torturing Chamber”

The documentary depicts the life of Hout Bophana, a young woman enslaved and killed at Touls Sleng S21, a Khmer Rogue detention center. This documentary chronicles the life of this heroine from the start of civil war in 1970 through the present, where her life is now a story of courage against oppression.

ASEAN GSA
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Student Union 145D

We will be providing refreshments

For more information on International Education Week, please visit the complete schedule of other club and organization's events HERE

International Education Week participation

Since the formation of ASEAN GSA 3 years ago, our club has been participating in UB's International Education Week in November. This tradition will continue on - we have invited guest speakers, conducted discussions and have showed documentaries/docu-dramas highlighting issues within the ASEAN member states. Not to be left out, this year we will again participate in this event. Vida has suggested a video documentary showing. Please find below information to the film.

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The film that we're showing is about a prisoner of the Khmer Rouge Torturing Chamber named HOUT Bophanna. Hout is her last name and Bophanna is her first name. The prison that she was in named Toul Sleng. Toul Sleng is now a museum, but once was a high school. It was taken over by the Khmer Rouge during its regime and was converted into an interrogation and torture center to purge Cambodia of intellectuals and perceived dissidents.

**More information about The Khmer Rouge**

Source: The Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project, Inc http://www.dithpran.org/killingfields.htm

In April 17th, 1975 the Khmer Rouge, a communist guerrilla group led by Pol Pot, took power in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. They forced all city dwellers into the countryside and to labor camps. During their rule, it is estimated that 2 million Cambodians died by starvation, torture or execution. 2 million Cambodians represented approximately 30% of the Cambodian population during that time.

The Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia to year zero. They banned all institutions, including stores, banks, hospitals, schools, religion, and the family. Everyone was forced to work 12 - 14 hours a day, every day. Children were separated from their parents to work in mobile groups or as soldiers. People were fed one watery bowl of soup with a few grains of rice thrown in. Babies, children, adults and the elderly were killed everywhere. The Khmer Rouge killed people if they didn't like them, if didn't work hard enough, if they were educated, if they came from different ethnic groups, or if they showed sympathy when their family members were taken away to be killed. All were killed without reason. Everyone had to pledge total allegiance to Angka, the Khmer Rouge government. It was a campaign based on instilling constant fear and keeping their victims off balance.

After the Vietnamese invaded and liberated the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge, 600,000 Cambodians fled to Thai border camps. Ten million landmines were left in the ground, one for every person in Cambodia. The United Nations installed the largest peacekeeping mission in the world in Cambodia in 1991 to ensure free and fair elections after the withdrawal of the Vietnamese troops. Cambodia was turned upside down during the Khmer Rouge years and the country has the daunting task of healing physically, mentally and economically.

Source: The Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project, Inc at http://www.dithpran.org/killingfields.htm

Nearly 2 million people died in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 in a Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia. Information about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge can also be found at http://www.pbs.org

For recent information about Cambodia, visit the Cambodian Embassy's website at http://www.embassy.org/cambodia

1st General E-MEMO

E-MEMO sent out on Wednesday - October 5th, 2005 by Sherene Cheah

Thank you for becoming part of the ASEAN GSA and welcome to all our new and continuing Eboard officers.

1. Seeing that we all have different schedules - I believe that the best way of communication is through email. We will try to meet whenever possible, but emails should be our primary means of communication.
2. We are having problems gaining access to our listserv [GSA-ASEAN-LIST] - CIT it trying to remedy that, however our chances of recovering the listserv does not look good. We may be required to create a new listserv if we do not regain access to the current one.
3. Our website has not been updated for a year now , unfortunately. Our previous IT/web manager appeared to have abandoned the project and with the maintenance and financial upkeep of the website; it has detered us from redesigning and reaccessing the webpage. I have therefore created a new webpage - thanks to the FREE online community blogs. Our new communication website is now at http://www.aseangsa.blogspot.com . I plan to post the club's plans, schedules, minutes of meetings, annoucements and updates to the website. Theerefore, if anyone were to miss out on email communications, the website should be the best way to obtain information.
4. Our club has been allocated a total of $500 for this year's (2 semesters) activities. It's not a lot but we managed to stretch the amount out last year (e.g.: co-sponsoring other clubs' events, resfreshments/snacks for film showing, Spring/ end of year party for our club members & friends
5. This semester's event: ISSS's International Education Week in November. We will be showing a documentary about Cambodia - on the story of Bophana, a Cambodian tragedy. ISSS has yet to confirm with us the date for the documentary showing. The requested date put forth on the form is November 16th, a Wednesday and is scheduled for an evening viewing, and hopefully that date will work out. We have requested for a TV & VCR for the documentary.
6. Last year's showing, we provided snacks to all our attendees. About $50 was spent on snack items (e.g. box/can drinks, chips, cookies,etc.) We anticipated about 20 attendees but we managed to attract almost 30 attendees compacted in one of the smaller SU rooms. Would we (the club) like to obtain this sort of snacks/refreshments for our documetary viewers this year? Please let me know.
7. There is the second GSA Senate meeting later this evening. Vida and I will be attending it and will update you on the changes, updates and annoucements from GSA.
   I hope that we could all get together. A good idea would be to also participate in one of the GSA happy hours. They usually provide food/drinks and open bar to members at places like the Steer on Main street or Pearl Street Brew. It would be a good chance to not only meet up with everyone but also others from other clubs and graduate departments.