Human-Rights Activist Arn Chorn-Pond Visits Harvard-Westlake

On Monday, April 13, Harvard-Westlake hosted human-rights activist Arn Chorn-Pond, one of the most well-known survivors of the Cambodian genocide.

As a young boy, Mr. Chorn-Pond was made to play his traditional flute to drown out the sounds of killing. As a man, he returned to Cambodia and formed Cambodia Living Arts to preserve the traditional arts that had nearly been destroyed under the Khmer Rouge.

While on campus, Mr. Chorn-Pond spoke with students, played his music, and had lunch with members of the HW community, along with faculty and students from Francis Parker School, Pasadena Polytechnic, and The Peace and Justice Academy. Mr. Chorn-Pond was also interviewed by David Ono from ABC News (pictured) while on campus.

This visit served as training for students who will be going on this summer’s Digital Storytelling trip to Cambodia, and the footage shot today may be in students’ own digital storytelling projects.