International Inspiration
Highlighting...
Arn Chorn-Pond for his worldwide humanitarian successes and his passion for Creative Arts.
Arn Chorn-Pond is the Co-Founder of Cambodian Living Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He is a musician, human rights activist, philanthropist, keynote commencement speaker, and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime. He is an advocate for the healing and transformative power of the arts; especially music. He has been featured on TedX Talk, and in the movie, "The Flute Player..." Most recently; a cast member of, "In the Life of Music." He is the recipient of many international awards.
Arn Chorn-Pond is the co-author of "Never Fall Down." Based on his true story (Arn Chorn-Pond); this is an achingly raw and powerful story about a child of war who becomes a man of peace. When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1978, Chorn-Pond was handed a gun and forced to fight:
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Excerpt #1 - When the soldiers arrived in his hometown in Cambodia, Arn is just a kid, dancing to rock'n'roll, hustling for spare change, and selling ice cream with his brother. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever. As he moves from field slave to child soldier, he lives by the simple credo:
"Over and over I tell myself one thing: never fall down."
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Excerpt #2:
"The Khmer Rouge gave us guns and pushed us into the front line. Children who refused were shot in the head. Many of us ranged from eight [and] up, so long as we could carry guns. I was then about twelve. The Khmer Rouge would shoot us from behind if, against orders; we tried to leave the battleground. Thousands of children got shot to the left and right of me, many of them good friends."