Dith Pran

Dith Pran- A Cambodian native that was hired by the New York Times for reporting. He starting working with Sydney in 1972 and by 73 their relationship was so close he decided to work exclusively with Schanberg. As the war seemed imminent Pran allowed his wife and 4 children to relocate to the United States leaving him behind to report the situation from the inside. Even after the Khmer takeover seemed imminent Pran continued working with Sydney, from within the country, on the story at hand.

When they were captured by the Khmer his Cambodian citizenship helped save his life and the lives of his crew. After much persuasion he was able to convince the Khmer to let Sydney and the fellow journalist go while personally succumbing to the war at hand. While living in the killing field camps Dith was beat, starved and forced to labor under extreme conditions. After 4 years under these conditions Pran finally decided to try to escape. It took crossing 60 miles open territory littered with land mines and Khmer forces. Once crossing over into the Thai border he was able to once again meet up with Sydney and relocate to the United States.

Arriving in the United States was not the end of a journey for Dith but still the beginning. He remained an active participant in helping bring to life the horrors that happened to his country. In collaboration with his wife they were able to set up the Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project which helps Cambodian refugees locate family members that were misplaced during the war. Pran advocated for peace until his death in 2008. On his death bed he states “everybody please stop the killing fields. Do not allow this to exist again. One is enough, too many. If they can do that for me, my spirit will be happy.”