New York Times photographer Dith Pran photographs on assignment at an immigrant rights rally on September 4, 2006 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Getty Images)
by Frank James
One of the most haunting movies many of us have ever watched was "The Killing Fields," the story of the Cambodian genocide as witnessed by photojournalist Dith Pran who survived those hellish years to work for the New York Times.
That movie was so powerful and painful it has stayed with many of us for nearly a quarter of a century.
And that meant that in an almost mystical way, Dith was with us too, even with those of us who never had the opportunity to meet him.
Word comes today that Dith has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 65. So he no longer walks among the living.
It is sad that he is gone. But at least we are comforted by knowing that his death came not at the hands of the murderous Khmer Rouge but of nature's killing field.
There is also some satisfaction that in surviving some of the worst human evil imaginable, he was able to continue his career as a journalist and to faithfully raise awareness about the Cambodian genocide.
Over the years, there was always a special fascination for many of us when we saw a photo in the NYT that Dith had taken. It could be a picture of something relatively run-of-the-mill, of a person in a Times profile, or of some everyday event.
But the fact that it was a Dith photo, that you were seeing something through Dith's eyes, a man who once walked among the dead, was once given up for dead himself, always made any photo of his something noteworthy, at least to me.
Dith may be gone now, but he is still with us. We have his photos. And we will always carry with us his remarkable story, as told by "The Killing Fields."
The Los Angeles Times has a worthy obituary to Dith which you can read here.
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Comments
It's stunning what Dith Pran went through & what he witnessed.
What's sad is how many people in this country don't know or are indifferent to this still fresh piece of history.
Posted by: RomanB | March 30, 2008 1:53 PM
What a life.
R.I.P.
Posted by: Doug Zook | March 30, 2008 2:13 PM
First Spalding Gray, now Dith Pran.
I hope that Obama and his uneducated young supporters will rent Killing Fields and Swimming to Cambodia and LEARN that American foreign policy is the real enemy--not white people of every economic class.
We're not the enemy, kiddies.
It's the military industrial complex.
Posted by: golden oldie | March 30, 2008 3:12 PM
The Killing Fields was one of the movies that has resonanted with me every since I saw it. I resolved that day once again to consider the inherent dignity humans and work toward that end.
We must continously strive to THINK and act better toward one another across religious and racial differences.
I am glad he had a chance to realize his mission in this lifetime.
Posted by: Anikay | March 30, 2008 3:17 PM
The legacy of that era is not gone. The Cambodians now have to fear the Vietnamese puppet government that is rapidly resettling their land with Vietnamese nationals and is exploiting Angkor Wat and the rich agricultural lands for money and food for Vietnam. Now the genocide is cultural.
Posted by: pvr | March 30, 2008 4:41 PM
hope that Obama and his uneducated young supporters will rent Killing Fields and Swimming to Cambodia and LEARN that American foreign policy is the real enemy--not white people of every economic class.
We're not the enemy, kiddies.
It's the military industrial complex.
Posted by: golden oldie | March 30, 2008 3:12 PM
Do morons like you really think you're going to win the White House for the Republic Party this fall by race baiting?
Give it a rest dumb old man...
Posted by: Bu$h Wacked | March 30, 2008 5:56 PM
A sad life, but a full life.
RIP indeed.
Perhaps J Morrison said it best, hey?
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers hand
In a...desperate land
Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
Yeah, Dith saw the end.
Posted by: C.Morris | March 30, 2008 6:28 PM
Give it a rest dumb old man...
Posted by: Bu$h Wacked | March 30, 2008 5:56 PM
And age baiting makes you look quite good too. ;-)
Posted by: pvr | March 30, 2008 8:15 PM
I was in Cambodia about a year ago and truly enjoyed the experience. The people are truly amazing, and it was so interesting to see how the country is trying to find its way in the aftermath of Pol Pot. My guide survived Pol Pot and gave me some really amazing insight into the economy, psychology, and socico economy of present day Cambodia. I was so happy to learn more about the country than just looking at Angkor Wat and the related complexes, I really learned about the country and the psychology of the country. Truly a resiliant bunch of people!!!
Posted by: Chloe | March 30, 2008 9:18 PM
If you really talk to the Cambodian people, talk to them about their Vietnamese occupiers and associated corruption, the lack of political process, their abandonment by the West, exploitation by global corporations, and the total destruction of the traditional Khmer social fabric. If you travel there you are seeing Vietnamese-occupied Cambodia.
Posted by: pvr | March 30, 2008 11:16 PM
It's good that someone survived to tell the story of the slaughter brought on by the democrats surrender two years after the war was over. I guess the blood has washed off, now they want to cause the slaughter of millions of Iraqi's by surrendering, again. The truth hurts.
Posted by: Scrapiron | March 30, 2008 11:37 PM
Bu$hwhacko---
this is the problem with Obama HQ and the koolaid drinkers--you post a fact--and it's called racist.
Hilary wasn't racist when obies called her so for stating a fact about LBJ
Bill wasn't racist when he said the excitement about obama's campaign was similar to the stir about Jesse Jackson, nor when he said it's a fairy tale to believe that Obama is anti war, given the guy's voting record.
What you think my age is?
Posted by: golden oldie | March 31, 2008 12:23 AM
pvr
The Vietnamese tossed the KR and Pol Pot out of power in the late seventies.
VN is the dominant power of the two, of course, but I think most Cambodians would agree their intervention was on balance a positive outcome compared to what went before.
Posted by: C.Hussein.Morris | March 31, 2008 9:13 AM
The actions of the Nixon team had as much to do with the KR coming to power as anything else.
We engineered the overthrow of the neutralist Norodom Sianouk regime and installed the hated Lon Nol. Then, making our man look as weak as possible we invaded Cambodia without their permission or knowledge. That, plus our secret bombing campaign that killed perhaps 100k over the years drove the Cambodians into the arms of the KR.
We caused an estimated 2 million collateral damage deaths in SE Asia during our effort. And that's a conservative estimate.
Posted by: C.Hussein.Morris | March 31, 2008 9:29 AM
"I think most Cambodians would agree their intervention was on balance a positive outcome compared to what went before."
C. Hussein -
You are stating the obvious. The new Khmer generation (remember everyone under 30 was not directly affected by the Khmer Rouge) is dealing with NOW.
The trouble with NOW is that their land is being resettled and usurped.
Posted by: pvr | March 31, 2008 8:48 PM