Theary C. SENGis
the Executive Director of the Center
for Social Development (CSD), a
local human rights organization
based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia since
its inception in June 1995.
CSD works in the areas of court
monitoring, good governance,
parliamentary and elections
monitoring, and community dialogue
and national reconciliation through
its public forums.
Thearywas
born in Phnom Penh in early 1971.
Under the Khmer Rouge, she lived in
Svay Rieng province bordering
Vietnam, where the killings were
most intense and where she spent
five months in prison.
The Khmer Rouge killed both her
parents. She and her surviving
family trekked across the
border
for Thailand in November 1979 and
emigrated to the United States one
year later.
S
ince 1995, Theary has been
in Cambodia volunteering with
various labor and human rights
groups. In January 2004, she
moved permanently to live and work
in her country of birth. Of
choice, home is now again Cambodia.
Thearygraduated
from Georgetown University’s School
of Foreign Service (Washington, DC)
with a Bachelor of Science in
International Politics in 1995 and
from the University of Michigan Law
School with a Juris Doctor in 2000.
Theary is a member of the New York
Bar Association and American Bar
Association, and is awaiting
membership to the Cambodian Bar
Association.
Theary has
written about her life in a book
entitled Daughter
of the Killing Fields, first
published in London in September
2005. She is one of two judges on
the TV-reality program “Youth
Leadership Challenge”,
now in its
5th
series first on TV5, now CTN. She is a Board member of Silapak Khmer
Amatak (Cambodian
Living Arts), Theary
has been featured on television
shows such as BBC World News, ABC
News & ABC Nightline, BBC
Hard Talk, ABC “Foreign
Correspondent”, CNN World’s Untold
Stories program, Al Jazeera; radio
programs of the BBC, RFI, ABC, NPR,
RFA, VOA, VOD, etc., and quoted in
countless national and international
newspapers articles.
"Theary
Seng, a young Khmer-American lawyer,
experienced the full horror of the Pol Pot
regime, (1975-1979) when she was a child in
her native Cambodia. In this compelling,
clear-headed memoir, she exhibits all the
courage and resilient street smarts of a
true survivor while relating the story of
almost incomprehensible suffering and loss."
-
David Chandler,
author of Brother Number One, A political
Biography of Pol Pot
"Theary's story represents the
harsh truth of the Cambodian people's struggles and
triumphs that we, the world, must not forget and must
pass on to future generations forever. This inspiring
book should be used for educational purposes in
classrooms throughout the civilized world . It is an
excellent, moving story about her life in the killing
fields era that describes how this young girl endured
the horrors of the Khmer Rouge atrocities, hopelessness
of the refugee camps in Thailand, and confusion of
relocation to the United States. She grew strong from
her hardship, thrived in her adopted country, and
ultimately became a lawyer and activist for world
recognition of the ongoing needs of the Cambodian
people. I personally recommend very strongly that
everyone must read this book. It is a testimony to the
strength of the human spirit."
-
Dith Pran,
life portrayed in
Academy Award winner: The Killing Fields
Prose as elegant as the author. Hope ripples
through these pages, hope that Theary Seng is a glorious
witness. In addition to being a family's
adventure of survival against the worst
odds, Seng, as a lawyer and advocate,
provides important historical and political
information about a period Americans still
know little about, and gives detailed
nuances about her culture which illuminate
it. She never goes for the easy
pronouncement but asks the reader to look
deeper with her. She is brave in her desire
to confront what is unacceptable, and also
supple in her humanity. Theary provides a
clear window into the wisdom that only by
understanding the past can we change the
future."
- Catherine Filloux,
Playwright
"Daughter of the Killing Fields
is a journey of hope, an inspiring tale of a little girl
who grew up witnessing untold horrors under the
Communist Khmer Rouge regime and the courageous,
self-possessed young woman she became, returning to her
native Cambodia and snatching the chance to face the man
she partly blames for the murders of her parents and an
estimated 1.5 million other Cambodians during the
nation's four-year genocide. Author Theary Seng's story
is equal parts suffering and redemption, a heartrending
account of what it means to be a survivor.
