“Commemorating 50 Years Since Genocide: Cambodian Day of Remembrance Event at Ravenswood Cambodian American Heritage Museum”

CHICAGO (WLS) — Fifty years ago, a culture and its people were nearly lost to a genocide.

Cambodian community members in the Chicago area came together on the Far North Side of the city last Thursday for a solemn event. The gathering aimed to commemorate a dark period in their country’s past and pay tribute to the millions of lives lost many years ago.

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It’s been 50 years since the fall of Phnom Penh to Khmer Rouge, effectively ending the Cambodian Civil War.

The commemorative event took place at the Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Field Memorial in the city’s Ravenswood neighborhood.

One significant part of the event was a candlelight ceremony, where survivors of the genocide took part in lighting seven candles. These candles symbolized the seven days of the week, each representing the tragic loss of lives during that period.

The attendees had the opportunity to listen to the survivors share their stories firsthand. Organizers mentioned that these survivors have only recently begun to open up about their experiences, having lived through the horrors and subsequently escaping from their native land many years ago.

The event not only marked five decades of survival, but it also hoped to preserve the stories of a culture and pave the way for healing and hope for the future.

“We never want this to happen again,” said Laura Ouk, President of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum. “The ‘never again’ of wanting to be able to remind our younger generations of the importance of educating ourselves to know this has happened in the past and just being able to take a moment to reflect on what has happened and using that history to move us forward.”

The National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial is the only museum of its kind in the country dedicated to Cambodian heritage and genocide awareness.