Clarke native will travel to Cambodia for human rights

By Rebecca Maynard

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 www.globalyouthconnect.org/cambodia2007.doc .

"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."