Dith Pran (1942-2008)

Awesome courage and ingenuity.

Shaun - thanks for posting this - i've been on the road covering a conference but I remember learning about Pran's story through the movie The Killing Fields and then reading the book. Those are the kinds of stories some people have to force themselves to watch, but nowadays, ask people who was Pol Pot or the Khmer Rouge - it's embarrassing I think how few people remember the crimes of that era.

Anyway - thank you.

RIP.

Spent some time in Cambodia a few years ago... Incredible people trying to piece back together their lives after truly extraordinary circumstances. Visiting Tuol Sleng S-21 is truly shocking. Seeing the crushed skulls of infants who were murdered by being swung into tree trunks was for me one of the most visceral realizations of the absolute evil that we humans are capable of... Even on the ground traveling around and meeting people old and young, the actual horrible events -- by all accounts, recent history, mind you -- were hard to fathom. Hunkering down in the hostel the to escape the searing Phnom Penh afternoon sun, a bunch of us watched a VCD of The Killing Fields... Not a dry eye in that room. Really put it all in context.

After watching "The Killing Fields", Dith Pranh was one of my heroes. A person who survives the unspeakable with dignity and courage gets me every time.