More Than a Number Project

I am currently working on a project led by Light of Cambodian Children. More Than a Number is the first-ever effort to collect Khmer refugee transit photos and survival stories.  The exhibit will open on April 17, 2010 at the American Textile History Museum.


"More Than a Number is first-ever effort to collect photographs, transit numbers, and stories from Cambodians who fled the brutal and torturous Khmer Rouge regime’s 1975-1979 genocide.  The photos symbolize the moment in each refugee’s life when the years in filthy refugee camps and holding centers were over, and they were accepted for asylum in a new country.  They could finally glimpse a hopeful future in the United States, France, Canada, or Australia.  Ironically, although these transit photos were taken for the purpose of documenting refugees leaving the holding centers, the photos are also eerily reminiscent of those gloomy and strange photos taken at Tuol Sleng Prison prior to the execution of roughly 21,000 women, children, and men.  More Than a Number was chosen as the title for this historic project as it captures succinctly the fact that the people shown in the photos were beyond resilient.  They were and are extraordinary, dynamic human beings who rose out of the ashes and made something of themselves and their children in their new lands."


The exhibit will highlight Cambodian life before, during, and after the genocide. Featuring artwork by Rachel Faller and Khmer artists, Chanthou Oeur and Yary Livan, transit number photos and stories collected from Cambodian American individuals, survivor video testimonies by Socheata Poeuv of Khmer Legacies Project, dance costumes, textiles, and more. 


If you are in the Lowell, MA area, I hope you can view this exhibit.
Exhibition Dates: April 17-July 25, 2010
American Textile History Museum (athm.org)
491 Dutton Street, Lowell, MA 01852


More Than a Number” is a project of Light of Cambodian Children, Inc., with collaboration from the American Textile History Museum, Middlesex Community College Electronic Imaging Class, Voices of Cambodian Children, Lowell National Historical Park, Angkor Dance Troupe, Khmer Legacies Project, Cultural Organization of Lowell, Lowell Community Health Center,Amara Boutique and Fashion, and the New England Quilt Museum.

Funding is provided by the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, Richard & Nancy Donahue Charitable Foundations Trust, Mass Humanities, Lowell Cultural Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Enterprise Bank, Tephtida Restaurant, Hannaford Supermarket, Community Teamwork, Inc., The Elephant Walk Restaurant Group, Minuteman Press, and by individual support.