The death of a survivor.
The BBC is reporting today that Dith Pran, the Cambodian journalist who was the subject of the movie The Killing Fields has passed away from pancreatic cancer in New Jersey. Mr. Dith endured four years of torture and starvation at the hands of the Khmer Rouge and finally escaped to Thailand and then the United States with the help of his friend, Sidney Schanberg. Schanberg’s reporting of the fall of Phnom Penh and Mr. Dith’s subsequent fight for survival and escape is truly one of the most moving stories of our time. I honestly believe that anyone who believes that the United States should end it’s involvement in Iraq immediately should be forced to watch The Killing Fields repeatedly until they understand that when good men refuse to confront evil, evil triumphs.
Soon, the Khmer Rouge’s nightmare reign over Cambodia will be a fading memory in the West and men like Dith Pran will be forgotten. One can only hope that this will not be true but I know it will be and stories like Mr. Dith’s will be repeated which will be a great tragedy.
Rest in peace, Mr. Dith and thank you for exposing, yet again, the evil which dwells in the hearts of men.