'Breaking the Silence' in Cambodia

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Richt Martens / AMRITA Performing Arts

The play is very sympathetic to the perpetrators whose stories it tells, portraying them as victims in their own right. "We don't blame anyone," said Suon. "We want the community to start a dialogue."

Richt Martens / AMRITA Performing Arts
To this end, after each show, Suon or an emissary invited audience members to come forward and tell their stories. After one performance, a man took the microphone. "Those who killed should come and see this show," he said, going on to say that he lived near a man who had killed several members of his family. "Sometimes I try to talk to this man who killed my family," said the speaker. "But he just turns away." Pictured, Pok Sovanna, Kov Sotheary, and Morm Sokly.

Jim Mizerski / AMRITA Performing Arts
Performing concurrently with the Khmer Rouge tribunals, "Breaking the Silence" is an appeal to Cambodians on both sides of the divide to speak up about what happened to them. "We want this to be in the service of the community," the Amrita's program director, Suon Bun Rith said on a recent weekend. Pictured (from left to right) Morm Sokly, Kov Sotheary, Chhon Sina (covered), Pok Sovanna, dancer Khiev Sovannarith, singer Yin Vutha, musician Ieng Sakkona in a scene from the play.

Richt Martens / AMRITA Performing Arts
The audience in this heavily former Khmer Rouge area watched with attention as "Breaking the Silence," the Phnom Penh-based Amrita Performing Arts' new play, proceeded on Sunday night. "Breaking the Silence" is based on oral testimony from Khmer Rouge members and victims who had taken part in interviews at the Documentation Center of Cambodia. Pictured, the singer Yin Vutha leading the actors in a Khmer Rouge children's song.

Richt Martens / AMRITA Performing Arts
Another said, "How did it happen that Khmer killed Khmer?" "You must try," said a third, "To help us think this through." Pictured (clockwise from left), actresses Kov Sotheary, Pok Sovanna, and Morm Sokly rehearsing a scene in which a mother and son reflect on his torture and subsequent betrayal of others during the Khmer Rouge period.

Richt Martens / AMRITA Performing Arts-
In Cambodia's Takeo Province, night fell on a field across from the village pagoda. Women cooked crispy cakes over open fires to sell to the crowd. By the time the lights came on, several hundred villagers had assembled in front of a portable stage. The Cambodian actors, dressed in street clothes, began speaking in Khmer. "So many stories. We have to tell our stories," said one. Pictured, audience members waiting for the performance to begin in Kampong Cham province.