CLARKE NATIVE WILL TRAVEL TO CAMBODIA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
By: Rebecca Maynard
TimesCommunity.com, VA
April 5 2007
Kerry Desjardins, a lifelong Clarke County resident, is dedicated to
promoting human rights, and this summer will have the opportunity to
participate in a human rights delegation in Cambodia.
Desjardins, who graduated from Clarke County High School in 2005,
is a sophomore at George Mason University, double majoring in Peace
and Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and Global Affairs.
Desjardins said she was first attracted to human rights issues when
she was a high school freshman, when she discovered and studied the
Cambodian Genocide.
"I’ve always been interested in social justice issues, like civil
rights, but I didn’t realize it was such a global issue," Desjardins
said.
She said that more than 2 million people were killed in the Cambodian
Genocide from 1975 to 1979, and that today more than half of the
Cambodian population is under age 25.
"We learn about the Holocaust, but we don’t hear about this,"
Desjardins said, adding that the government kept some of the details
from the American people.
She listed human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, poverty and government
instability as major human rights concerns in Cambodia today.
Desjardins will be taking part in the 2007 Cambodia Human Rights
Delegation, when a tribunal is expected to take place. While she
will not take part in the tribunal directly, she will be working with
Cambodian youth to try to discover ways to make change in the country.
"My research on the Cambodian Genocide led me into information about
other genocides," Desjardins said, listing Armenia and Rwanda as
two examples.
She finds autobiographies particularly helpful in her research, as they
allow the reader a first-hand account from those who have experienced
the events. She recommended "Stay Alive My Son" by Pin Yathay.
Desjardins said she is very excited to have the opportunity to travel
to Cambodia.
"I consider this to be the opportunity of a lifetime, which holds a
great deal of personal meaning," she said.
The trip, which is coordinated through a non-profit organization
called Youth Connect, will last a month and will include about nine
students from all over the United States. Desjardins said she applied
as soon as she heard about it.
She will travel to Phnom Penh for training, field work and visits
to the Documentation Center of Cambodia and the Tuol Sleng Genocide
Museum.
"I’m kind of nervous about the museum," Desjardins said, because of
the horrible and emotional events it will no doubt portray.
She will also do field work in Batambang.
Desjardins is also a dedicated volunteer here in the United States,
where she is involved with Amnesty International and the Tahirih
Justice Center, a pro-bono immigration law firm and social services
provider that helps women seeking gender-based asylum in the United
States.
After graduating, she hopes to attend Peace University in Costa Rica
to work on a master’s degree in a human rights-related field, and
then to be a human rights lawyer, possibly working in Latin America.
"The gap between the rich and the poor is the widest in the world
there," Desjardins said.
Right now, she is busily fund-raising for her trip, which will cost
between $4,120 and $4,530. Donations are tax-deductible and are very
much appreciated.
Citizens who would like to support Desjardin’s human rights efforts
with a money donation may send checks directly to Global Youth Connect,
15 Gage St., Kingston, NY 12401, made out to Global Youth Connect with
"Kerry Desjardins" written in the subject line.
For more information about the program, call 845-338-2220 or visit
.
"I never dreamed I would get to visit Cambodia so early in life,
if ever," Desjardins said. "Learning about the history of Cambodia
and the strength of its people changed my life, and I feel so lucky
to be given this opportunity."