Learning resource
Witness to History
Witness to History is the published 1973 travel journal of Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, issued by the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam).[1] Its full title is Witness to History: The Journal of Cambodia's Queen Mother, and DC-Cam distributes it as an informal-education text for Cambodian students and the public.[1]
The journal
In 1973 the Queen Mother traveled with King Father Norodom Sihanouk to the zone of Cambodia held by the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK). They flew from Peking to Hanoi, then went mostly by vehicle down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, along sections of the Sihanouk Trail, to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. The journey took about 39 days.[1]
The trip had three aims. The first was to survey Cambodia's eastern borderlands, which three years of war, bombing and occupation had made unreachable. The second was to meet Cambodians in the region and learn their condition and needs. The third was to show the people that the Royal Couple led the Cambodian Resistance.[1] The Queen Mother wrote down her thoughts and observations by hand, in French, and the journal records the hardships and risks of the journey.[1]
Publication
In 2021 the Queen Mother authorized DC-Cam to publish an official English translation of her journal. The Royal Ambassador Julio A. Jeldres translated it, and more than 1,000 English copies went to embassies, academic institutions and the international community.[1] She also authorized an official Khmer translation, made from the English and completed in 2023. DC-Cam finished both translations with core support from USAID, after twelve years of seeking permission to translate and publish the journal.[1]
More than 10,000 Khmer copies went to Cambodian institutions and the public, and another 100,000 copies were printed for distribution across the country. The journal is given free of charge to adolescent girls in Cambodia to support their education and growth as leaders, and DC-Cam presents it as a reference on female leadership.[1] Electronic versions of the English and Khmer translations are on DC-Cam's website.[1]
Reading classes and distribution
Through 2023, DC-Cam held outdoor and indoor reading-history classes, book distributions and community history forums with the journal in provinces across Cambodia. By August 22, 2023, 12,000 copies had been handed out, and by October 27, 2023, the total was 23,904.[1] On August 5, 2023, 50 Khmer Rouge survivors in Koh Sotin and 40 trainee teachers at the Kampong Cham Regional Teacher Training Center received copies. Five days later, 40 Cham Muslim fishermen and young people in the Koh Sotin Cham Muslim Community received copies. From August 21 to 25, 2023, 195 copies went to 33 commune offices in three districts of Takeo Province.[1]
Related works
DC-Cam lists Witness to History among its teaching materials, together with A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) and a teacher's guidebook for that textbook.[2] The guidebook was developed for genocide education in Cambodia with 24 national and international teachers, experts and scholars. DC-Cam planned for it to be used across Cambodian high schools, reaching an estimated one million students in grades 9 to 12, and for more than 3,000 high school teachers to be trained to teach the textbook through its Genocide Education Project.[2]
In August 2026, DC-Cam's Queen Mother Library published a second book with a related title, Witness to History: The Storied Life of Cambodia's Queen Mother. The bilingual Khmer and English book, about 100 pages long, marks the Queen Mother's 90th birthday. Its five sections cover her life and royal service, her historical legacy, royal decrees, work to preserve and restore that legacy, and birthday wishes from King Norodom Sihamoni.[3] It records her Cambodian Red Cross work, her role as First Lady, and her titles from Samdech Preah Cheay in 1992 to the 2004 title that names her Preah Voreak Reach Meada Cheat Khmer.[4] In a letter dated August 8, 2026, King Norodom Sihamoni thanked Youk Chhang for completing it.[4]
DC-Cam has also set up a permanent exhibition named Witness to History at the preserved Borei O'Svay site.[5]
Access
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Documentation Center of Cambodia, Witness to History: The Journal of Cambodia's Queen Mother
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Documentation Center of Cambodia, Teacher's Guidebook
- ↑ Cambodianess, New Book Traces Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk's Life Through Cambodia's History (August 16, 2026)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cambodgemag, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk: A New Book Traces Her Story (August 13, 2026)
- ↑ Khmer Times, Royal University of Phnom Penh media students to premiere 11 documentaries, including 'Borei O'Svay' (September 15, 2026)