ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophal Ear - Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia.

Why you should listen

Elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council in November 2015 for a 3-year term, encompassing more than 20,000 residents in unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, California, Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he lectures on political economy, security, development and Asia.

Previously, he taught how to rebuild countries after wars at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and international development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He consulted for the World Bank, was Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations in East Timor and Advisor to Cambodia's 1st private equity fund Leopard Capital. A TED Fellow, Fulbright Specialist, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, he sits on the board of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Refugees International, Partners for Development, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the Southeast Asia Development Program, Diagnostic Microbiology Development Program, the Journal of International Relations and Development (Palgrave), the International Public Management Journal (Taylor & Francis), Journal of South-East Asian American Education & Advancement (Purdue), and Politics and the Life Sciences (Cambridge University Press).

He is the author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013) and co-author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge, 2013). He wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary film "The End/Beginning: Cambodia" (47 minutes, 2011) based on his 2009 TED Talk and has appeared in four other documentaries.

A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

More profile about the speaker
Sophal Ear | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

Sophal Ear: 逃離赤柬政權

Filmed:
685,840 views

TED研究員Sophal Ear講述了關於他的家庭從柬埔寨逃離赤柬政權的動人故事。詳細描述了他的母親為了拯救孩子,而展現出的智慧與決心。
- Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I normally一般 teach courses培訓班 on
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我通常是在課堂上
00:15
how to rebuild重建 states狀態 after war戰爭.
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講解如何進行戰後重建,
00:19
But today今天 I've got a personal個人 story故事 to share分享 with you.
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但是今天我要告訴各位我自己的故事。
00:21
This is a picture圖片 of my family家庭,
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這張是我的家庭照片,
00:24
my four siblings兄弟姐妹 -- my mom媽媽 and I -- taken採取 in 1977.
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我的四個兄弟姐妹,我母親和我,1977年拍攝的。
00:28
And we're actually其實 Cambodians柬埔寨.
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我們是柬埔寨人,
00:30
And this picture圖片 is taken採取 in Vietnam越南.
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但這張照片是在越南照的。
00:32
So how did a Cambodian柬埔寨 family家庭 end結束 up in Vietnam越南 in 1977?
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一個柬埔寨家庭怎麼會在1977年出現在越南呢?
00:36
Well to explain說明 that, I've got a short video視頻 clip
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要回答這個問題,我就得給你們看一段
00:39
to explain說明 the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 regime政權
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介紹1975年至1979年
00:41
during 1975 and 1979.
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赤柬政權的短片。
00:44
Video視頻: April四月 17th, 1975.
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影片:1975年4月17日,
00:48
The communist共產 Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂
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屬於共產黨的赤柬軍
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enters進入 Phnom金邊 Penh金邊 to liberate解放 their people
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進入金邊,
00:53
from the encroaching攻城掠地 conflict衝突 in Vietnam越南,
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解放了因越南入侵
00:55
and American美國 bombing轟炸 campaigns活動.
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及美軍轟炸而受苦的人民。
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Led by peasant-born農民出生 Pol波爾 Pot,
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赤柬軍由農人出身的波布領導,
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the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 evacuates排空 people to the countryside農村
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將人民撤離至鄉間,
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in order訂購 to create創建 a rural鄉村 communist共產 utopia烏托邦,
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以建立共產農村烏托邦,
01:09
much like Mao Tse-tung's澤東的 Cultural文化 Revolution革命 in China中國.
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就像毛澤東在中國所進行的文化大革命。
01:15
The Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 closes關閉 the doors to the outside world世界.
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赤柬關閉了與世界溝通的管道。
01:19
But after four years年份 the grim嚴峻 truth真相 seeps滲漏 out.
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但在四年之後,冷酷的事實逐漸顯露。
01:23
In a country國家 of only seven million百萬 people,
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在一個只有七百萬人口的國家裡,
01:25
one and a half million百萬 were murdered謀殺 by their own擁有 leaders領導者,
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有一百五十萬人民遭到執政者殺害,
01:29
their bodies身體 piled in the mass graves墳墓 of the killing謀殺 fields領域.
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他們的屍體成堆地疊在行刑場上。
01:33
SophalSophal Ear: So, notwithstanding雖然 the 1970s narration記敘文,
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Sophal Ear: 雖然這是1970年代的報導,
01:36
on April四月 17th 1975
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但在1975年4月17日,
01:38
we lived生活 in Phnom金邊 Penh金邊.
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我們確確實實住在金邊。
01:40
And my parents父母 were told by the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂
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赤柬軍告訴我的父母
01:43
to evacuate撤離 the city because of impending即將到來的 American美國 bombing轟炸 for three days.
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要撤離城市居民,因為美國即將對金邊連續進行轟炸三天。
01:47
And here is a picture圖片 of the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂.
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這是赤柬軍的照片,
01:49
They were young年輕 soldiers士兵, typically一般 child兒童 soldiers士兵.
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他們都是年輕的軍人,典型的娃娃兵,
01:52
And this is very normal正常 now, of modern現代 day conflict衝突,
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這在近代的戰爭裡很常見,
01:55
because they're easy簡單 to bring帶來 into wars戰爭.
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因為他們很容易被說服參與戰爭。
01:58
The reason原因 that they gave about American美國 bombing轟炸 wasn't all that far off.
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他們之所以會說美軍即將進行轟炸,是因為這個理由很容易讓人採信。
02:02
I mean, from 1965 to 1973 there were
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我是說,從1965年到1973年間,
02:04
more munitions彈藥 that fell下跌 on Cambodia柬埔寨
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落在柬埔寨的炸彈總數,
02:08
than in all of World世界 War戰爭 IIII Japan日本,
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比二次大戰期間在日本所投下的炸彈還多,
02:10
including包含 the two nuclear bombs炸彈
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還包括在1945年八月
02:12
of August八月 1945.
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所投下的二顆原子彈。
02:15
The Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 didn't believe in money.
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赤柬軍並不相信金錢,
02:18
So the equivalent當量 of the Federal聯邦 Reserve保留 Bank銀行
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所以在柬埔寨類似聯邦準備銀行的機構,
02:20
in Cambodia柬埔寨 was bombed轟炸.
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就被他們炸毁了。
02:22
But not just that, they actually其實 banned取締 money.
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不只這樣,他們還廢止了金錢。
02:25
I think it's the only precedent先例 in which哪一個
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我想這大概是人類歷史上
02:27
money has ever been stopped停止 from being存在 used.
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首度有人廢止金錢的使用吧。
02:29
And we know money is the root of all evil邪惡,
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我們都知道金錢是萬惡的淵藪,
02:31
but it didn't actually其實 stop evil邪惡 from happening事件 in Cambodia柬埔寨, in fact事實.
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但是柬埔寨的惡行並沒有因此而消失。
02:35
My family家庭 was moved移動 from Phnom金邊 Penh金邊 to Pursat菩薩 province.
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我們全家就從金邊搬到了普薩,
02:39
This is a picture圖片 of what Pursat菩薩 looks容貌 like.
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這是普薩的照片,
02:41
It's actually其實 a very pretty漂亮 area of Cambodia柬埔寨,
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那的確是柬埔寨一塊很美的地方,
02:44
where rice白飯 growing生長 takes place地點.
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那裡種植稻米。
02:46
And in fact事實 they were forced被迫 to work the fields領域.
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但我的父母被迫在農地裡從事勞動,
02:48
So my father父親 and mother母親 ended結束 up in
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他們就像被關進
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a sort分類 of concentration濃度 camp, labor勞動 camp.
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集中營和勞改營裡一樣。
02:54
And it was at that time that my mother母親 got word
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就在那時候,我的母親
02:56
from the commune公社 chief首席
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從公社領導人那裡得知,
02:59
that the Vietnamese越南 were actually其實 asking
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越南政府希望接回
03:01
for their citizens公民 to go back to Vietnam越南.
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在柬埔寨的越南僑民。
03:04
And she spoke some Vietnamese越南,
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而她會說一些越南話,
03:06
as a child兒童 having grown長大的 up with Vietnamese越南 friends朋友.
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因為她小時候和一些越南人住在一起。
03:09
And she decided決定, despite儘管 the advice忠告 of her neighbors鄰居,
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所以她決定,不管鄰居怎麼勸阻,
03:13
that she would take the chance機會
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她要利用這個機會,
03:15
and claim要求 to be Vietnamese越南
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假裝我們是越南人,
03:17
so that we could have a chance機會 to survive生存,
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好讓我們有機會活命。
03:19
because at this point they're forcing迫使 everybody每個人 to work.
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那時赤柬軍強迫每一個人去工作,
03:21
And they're giving about --
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但只提供很少的糧食--
03:23
in a modern-day現代, caloric-restriction熱量,限制 diet飲食, I guess猜測 --
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我猜以現在的說法就是減重飲食--
03:26
they're giving porridge稀飯, with a few少數 grains穀物 of rice白飯.
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他們只提供稀飯,只有一點點的米飯在裡面。
03:30
And at about this time actually其實
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就在那同時,
03:32
my father父親 got very sick生病.
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我的父親開始病得很重,
03:34
And he didn't speak說話 Vietnamese越南.
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而他不會說越南話。
03:36
So he died死亡 actually其實, in January一月 1976.
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他在1976年一月份過世。
03:39
And it made製作 it possible可能, in fact事實,
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這反而讓我們這項計畫
03:42
for us to take on this plan計劃.
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變得可行。
03:44
So the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 took us
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赤柬軍把我們
03:46
from a place地點 called Pursat菩薩 to Kaoh花王 TievTiev,
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從普薩帶到科帖,
03:48
which哪一個 is across橫過 from the border邊境 from Vietnam越南.
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就在越南邊境,
03:51
And there they had a detention拘留 camp
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他們在那裡設了一個拘押營,
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where alleged所謂的 Vietnamese越南 would be tested測試, language語言 tested測試.
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對那些自稱來自越南的人進行測試,語言上的測試。
03:57
And my mother's母親 Vietnamese越南 was so bad
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我母親的越南話說得很差,
04:00
that to make our story故事 more credible可信的,
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但為了讓赤柬軍信服,
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she'd given特定 all the boys男孩 and girls女孩 new Vietnamese越南 names.
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她幫我們都取了新的越南名字。
04:07
But she'd given特定 the boys男孩 girls'女孩 names,
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但她幫男孩取了女孩的名字,
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and the girls女孩 boys'男孩 names.
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女孩則取了男孩的名字。
04:12
And it wasn't until直到 she met會見 a Vietnamese越南 lady淑女
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直到她遇到一位越南女士,
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who told her this, and then tutored輔導 her for two days intensively集中,
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才告訴她這個錯誤,然後這個越南女士幫她惡補了整整二天,
04:18
that she was able能夠 to go into her exam考試
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她才能參加測試,
04:21
and -- you know, this was a moment時刻 of truth真相.
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那真是緊張的一刻。
04:24
If she fails失敗, we're all headed當家 to the gallows絞架;
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如果她沒有通過,我們全都會被送上斷頭台,
04:27
if she passes通行證, we can leave離開 to Vietnam越南.
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如果她通過測試,我們就可以去越南了。
04:29
And she actually其實, of course課程 -- I'm here, she passes通行證.
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當然,因為我在這裡,所以她通過測試了。
04:33
And we end結束 up in Hong香港 Ngu非淋菌性尿道炎 on the Vietnamese越南 side.
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然後我們到了越南的洪努,
04:36
And then onwards向前 to Chau Doc文件.
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再轉輾來到橋達。
04:38
And this is a picture圖片 of Hong香港 Ngu非淋菌性尿道炎, Vietnam越南 today今天.
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這裡有一張越南洪努現在的照片,
04:40
A pretty漂亮 idyllic田園 place地點 on the Mekong湄公河 Delta三角洲.
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那是在湄公河三角洲上的美麗田園,
04:42
But for us it meant意味著 freedom自由.
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但對我們來說,那裡代表著自由,
04:44
And freedom自由 from persecution迫害 from the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂.
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讓我們得以逃離赤柬軍的迫害。
04:49
Last year, the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 Tribunal法庭,
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去年,在聯合國的協助下,
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which哪一個 the U.N. is helping幫助 Cambodia柬埔寨 take on,
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柬埔寨終於開始運作赤柬法庭,
04:54
started開始, and I decided決定 that as a matter of record記錄
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而我決定要在歷史上留下記錄,
04:56
I should file文件 a Civil國內 Complaint抱怨
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我打算對赤柬提出告訴,
04:59
with the Tribunal法庭 about my father's父親的 passing通過 away.
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為我死去的父親做些事情。
05:02
And I got word last month
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就在上個月,我接到消息,
05:05
that the complaint抱怨 was officially正式 accepted公認 by the Khmer高棉 Rouge胭脂 Tribunal法庭.
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赤柬法庭已接受了我的告訴。
05:08
And it's for me a matter of justice正義 for history歷史, and accountability問責 for the future未來,
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對我來說,這雖然是為過去伸張正義,但也是為未來舖路,
05:13
because Cambodia柬埔寨 remains遺跡 a pretty漂亮 lawless不法 place地點, at times.
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因為柬埔寨現在偶爾還是缺乏法治觀念。
05:18
Five years年份 ago my mother母親 and I went back to Chau Doc文件.
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五年前,我和母親一同回到橋達,
05:22
And she was able能夠 to return返回 to a place地點
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回到那個曾經讓她
05:24
that for her meant意味著 freedom自由, but also fear恐懼,
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同時感受到自由與恐懼的地方,
05:27
because we had just come out of Cambodia柬埔寨.
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因為那是我們離開柬埔寨後居住的地方。
05:30
I'm happy快樂, actually其實, today今天, to present當下 her.
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我很高興,今天能為各位介紹我的母親。
05:34
She's here today今天 with us in the audience聽眾.
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她今天也在聽眾席裡,
05:36
Thank you mother母親.
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謝謝你,母親。
05:38
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Marie Wu
Reviewed by Terry Lin

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophal Ear - Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia.

Why you should listen

Elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council in November 2015 for a 3-year term, encompassing more than 20,000 residents in unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, California, Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he lectures on political economy, security, development and Asia.

Previously, he taught how to rebuild countries after wars at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and international development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He consulted for the World Bank, was Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations in East Timor and Advisor to Cambodia's 1st private equity fund Leopard Capital. A TED Fellow, Fulbright Specialist, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, he sits on the board of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Refugees International, Partners for Development, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the Southeast Asia Development Program, Diagnostic Microbiology Development Program, the Journal of International Relations and Development (Palgrave), the International Public Management Journal (Taylor & Francis), Journal of South-East Asian American Education & Advancement (Purdue), and Politics and the Life Sciences (Cambridge University Press).

He is the author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013) and co-author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge, 2013). He wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary film "The End/Beginning: Cambodia" (47 minutes, 2011) based on his 2009 TED Talk and has appeared in four other documentaries.

A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

More profile about the speaker
Sophal Ear | Speaker | TED.com