Cambodian diaspora in Japan share their histories

Rei Foundation Limited has partnered once more with Cambodian artist and photographer Kim Hak on a fourth iteration of his Alive series. Alive IV is a project and exhibition shown in Tokyo and Yokohama that features approximately 40 photographs and accompanying texts that centre on the personal belongings of people who fled Cambodia during and after the civil unrest of the 1970s, who now reside in Japan.

Many Cambodians were forced to flee their country to escape oppression, massacre and war under the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s. They left their homes with few possessions: only the most valuable or practical items were brought along on this difficult journey. From 1975 to 1997 around 260,000 Cambodians resettled in all over the world.

Born in 1981, Kim Hak became interested in this period of history and the personal memories of what happened to his parents' generation. In 2014 he started visiting survivors of the Khmer Rouge era and documenting their belongings and their stories. Beginning by interviewing his own parents in Battambang, Cambodia, Alive has since developed into chapters in Brisbane, Australia in 2015, and in Auckland, New Zealand in 2018 (also supported by Rei Foundation), creating opportunities for dialogue between individuals and generations about the experiences of survivors in these communities.

In 2020, Kim Hak travelled to Japan on a fellowship from the Japan Foundation Asia Center with the goal of meeting and creating work with Cambodian communities in Japan. Alive IV, the fourth chapter in the series, is structured around the stories of 13 Cambodian families, which include both former international students unable to return to their country due to the turmoil in Cambodia in the 1970s, and those who came to Japan as refugees in the 1980s having been displaced by Khmer Rouge.

Their possessions, such as watches, family photos and earrings, operate as vessels for memories from their homeland, their journeys to escape and their experiences as exiles. Kim Hak visited with each family, in Kanagawa, Tokyo and Saitama prefectures. First he interviewed them, and then photographed important objects they had retained during their journeys of resettlement. Alongside the photographs Kim Hak also created a written text that tells the story of the object, and by extension, the person.

Suwai Setharin’s story

Many Cambodians living in Japan were there on study visas when the Khmer Rouge took over the country. They found themselves stranded in a foreign country, a place they had planned to be only temporarily.

Penn Setharin grew up in Phnom Penh, the oldest of eight siblings and an excellent student – her mother was a teacher. In 1974, Setharin became the first woman in Cambodia to receive a scholarship to study in Japan. After a year, she heard she could continue studying in Japan and wrote to her mother with the news, but heard nothing back, which was worrying. Eventually, Japanese newspapers began to report that Cambodia had fallen under the Khmer Rouge.

During this difficult period, she lost all contact with her family, but learnt of what was happening in vivid dreams. In one, she was picking papayas at her house in Phnom Penh. Suddenly, to her total confusion, Khmer Rouge soldiers started shooting. In another, she dreamed of being a journalist, interviewing her own mother. She asked how many children she had lost during the Khmer Rouge, and her mother replied that she had lost four children, but the other three had survived.

Between 1975 and 1979, Setharin volunteered in refugee camps as a translator with a group of Japanese volunteers. It was during this time she found a cousin and three of her siblings, and, confirming her dream, she learnt that her remaining four siblings and her parents had all died. She brought her surviving siblings to live in Japan together. Setharin took part in Kim Hak’s project, sharing her story and important objects. One image shows Setharin reading, with papayas, in reference to her premonition, sitting in the background. Setharin remains a scholar, dividing her time between Japan and Cambodia, where teaches Anthropology and Methodology of Translation at Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Sok Phorn’s story

Sok Phorn’s objects give us some insights into the industriousness of people living in refugee camps after the Khmer Rouge fell. Phorn became an adult while in the camps, tailoring dresses (like the one pictured above) to fit her small frame.

Phorn married at 18, and her husband ran a business recording cassette tapes with old Khmer songs, to sell in the camp. In 1997 the pair received news that they could move to Japan. Phorn’s husband packed around 300 cassette tapes with him hoping to continue the business in Japan, but Cambodians in Japan were no longer interested in old Khmer songs, so the business couldn’t succeed. The couple kept the cassette tapes in their home anyway, unwilling to throw them out.

Kanna Hagiwara's story

Hagiwara Kanna, whose Cambodian name is Chheang Seng Teakkhena, was a child when Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. During her childhood she was separated from her family, forced to work in a children’s unit, and traveled great distances to reach camps and reunite with family members; she witnessed terrible suffering of her fellow refugees during this time. Her aunt, who lived in Japan, eventually found her and brought her to live in Japan.

Cambodian families who came to Japan as refugees often faced descrimination as their families tried to access housing, jobs and education. Kanna’s family were among the first Cambodian refugee families to live in Japan, settling in Totori prefecture. When Kanna and her cousin tried to attend in the local school, initially the school would not allow them to enrol because they were refugees. The incident was covered in newspaper and television. Kanna remembers that they had to visit the provincial hall to debate the issue. They were eventually allowed to join the school, but it was a traumatic time for Kanna. “As refugees, we only wanted happiness in the new land after we had experienced war and many difficulties.”

Kim Hak’s Alive IV was shown at Spiral Garden in Tokyo from 19 to 28 August and at Elevated Studio Site-A Gallery in Yokohama from 9 to 25 September in 2022. Along with well attended openings, the exhibitions were complemented with events that included Cambodian cultural performances, public talks, workshops with community youth and tours for local media.

The exhibition has provided an opportunity for both Cambodian communities in Japan and Japanese audiences to engage in new conversations about the diverse experiences of Cambodian migrants during and in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime. It is the hope of Rei Foundation Limited that these conversations help us all move towards a world of greater understanding and acceptance across physical and cultural boundaries.