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THOMPSON — Author and Cambodian genocide survivor Loung Ung will speak at 9:10 a.m. Feb. 11 at Marianapolis Preparatory School. The program is part the School’s Distinguished Speaking Program and weeklong celebration of International Day. The public is invited.
Loung Ung authored the award-winning book “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” a memoir which documents her struggle to survive the killing fields of Cambodia, one of the bloodiest episodes of the 20th century. The book is a national bestseller and has been published in 11 countries.
Ung was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge invaded Phnom Penh. Over the next three years, Ung lost half of her family, including both parents, and spent time in a camp for child soldiers. From 1975-1979—through execution, starvation, disease, and forced labor—the Khmer Rouge systematically killed an estimated two million Cambodians, almost a fourth of the country’s population. After the war was over, she and her older brother relocated to Vermont, where she grew to adulthood. Today she is an internationally best-selling author and a well-known human rights activist. Ung has dedicated her life to promoting equality, human rights, and justice in her native land and worldwide.
“We are honored to bring Loung to Mariananolis to tell her story of love, loss and finding redemption through activism. Her life’s work will inspire others to seek out ways they too can make a difference,” said Marianapolis Headmistress Marilyn S. Ebbitt.