Arn Chorn-Pond Reflection


In March of 2019, musician and human rights activist Arn Chorn-Pond came to Poly to discuss how he survived the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia as a child. At just nine years old, he was separated from his family and placed in a Khmer Rouge detention camp, where he witnessed atrocities that forced him to learn to grow numb and unfeeling. At age 14, the Khmer Rouge positioned Arn Chorn-Pond on the battlefront during the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. He eventually escaped by fleeing into the jungle, traveling for months until he reached the border to Thailand.


Throughout his presentation, Arn Chorn-Pond never failed to remind the audience of the various roles that music has played throughout his life. The playing of music was first introduced to Arn Chorn-Pond as nothing more than a tool for survival. During his time at the detention camp, he learned to play the flute, eventually being chosen to entertain the camp guards with propaganda songs. After arriving at the United States when he was fifteen, he developed a deeper appreciation of the power of music to consolidate one’s cultural identity. One question that was asked inquired about whether music played a role in Arn Chorn-Pond’s life during the period of deep depression he encountered shortly after his move to the States. In his response, Arn Chorn-Pond described how there exist songs within every culture that bind its members. His incredible story of his cultural identity was recovered through music speaks to the power that music holds to connect us on both a personal level and a societal level.

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