This documentary explores how the Cambodian refugee community in Massachusetts is still trying to come to grips with the trauma they experienced under the Khmer Rouge...the grief they still feel....while also burdened with the pressures of starting over in a new country. How does an Asian Buddhist culture find mental health care and relief in a Western medical context that may not understand their background and spirituality? And how can former refugees use their own cultural and religious resources to draw upon their natural resilience?
This half-hour program first aired on WFCR in 2002 -- and won the 2002 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. It was later expanded into an hour-long program that aired on The Infinite Mind. Excerpts of the documentary were gbroadcast on World Vision radio.
CDs are available by contacting kbrown@wfcr.org.
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Piece Description
This documentary explores how the Cambodian refugee community in Massachusetts is still trying to come to grips with the trauma they experienced under the Khmer Rouge...the grief they still feel....while also burdened with the pressures of starting over in a new country. How does an Asian Buddhist culture find mental health care and relief in a Western medical context that may not understand their background and spirituality? And how can former refugees use their own cultural and religious resources to draw upon their natural resilience? This half-hour program first aired on WFCR in 2002 -- and won the 2002 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. It was later expanded into an hour-long program that aired on The Infinite Mind. Excerpts of the documentary were gbroadcast on World Vision radio. CDs are available by contacting kbrown@wfcr.org.
Broadcast History
This documentary premiered on WFCR in Amherst, MA in 2002. It also aired on WNPR in Hartford, CT, and was expanded into an hour-long program for the Infinite Mind in 2002.
Transcript
Text available upon request -- please contact Karen Brown at kbrown@wfcr.org.
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
29 minutes -- with no breaks.
Musical Works
Native Cambodian music, courtesy of Celestial Harmonies publishing. Also, orginal music by Heng Pen.
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Dmae Roberts
Posted on December 25, 2004 at 09:39 AM | Permalink
Review of Trauma and Recovery: A Cambodian Refugee Experience
Producer Karen Brown has created a well-thought-out documentary from varied perspectives updating the experiences of Cambodian refugees from the Killing Fields to present. This award-winning half-hour examines in great detail the post-traumatic stress of refugees who survived the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. Most Americans know little of these horrors beyond the movie the Killing Fields. This documentary not only gives voice to the survivors but sheds light on the attempts to heal through Western mental health care and Buddhist spirituality. There isn't any other documentary or piece about Cambodia or Cambodian Americans on PRX. I highly recommend this important piece to air any time.