Professor Khatharya Um is a scholar of political science and Southeast Asian studies. She has also devoted herself to educating younger generations. In her keynote speech, she spoke about the severe hardships she experienced as a refugee, the history of her energetic activities as a scholar, and her expectations for people’s contributions to solve refugee issues.

She started her speech by mentioning the fact that currently more than 100 million people are forced to flee their homelands, pointing out that refugee issues are an urgent issue for the world. Taking the impacts of environmental destruction and an excessive reliance on imported labor as examples, she emphasized, that the number of refugees are increasing chronically.

Before becoming the first Cambodian-American woman to earn a Ph.D., she had an extremely hard journey after fleeing to the U.S. with her family. Speaking first hand of her own experiences, her words weighed heavy on the audience as she expounded why many traumatized refugees remain silent. She explained, “Historical traumas like genocide damage the human soul.”

After talking about her first exposure to the political sciences and her policy on research activities, Professor Um looked back on her days of research at the University of California, Berkeley. She stated: “I am responsible not only for advancing knowledge but also for uplifting our own communities and bringing light and justice to our daily lives.” She has aimed to conduct research that focuses on Asian people, feeling doubts disappointed about by the lack of Asian studies by actual Asian people. Furthermore, she said of her hopes as an educator: “I want to empower students to reclaim the history that has been bequeathed to them. In this way, they will regain not only their identity, but also their future potential."

Toward the end of her speech, she switched her focus again to ongoing global interdependence in the world today, claiming: “The wounds inflicted by indifference run deep. The only thing that can heal those wounds is compassion.” With heightened expectations for Japanese people, who understand the importance of peace, she passionately expressed how the small actions of each individual form enormous power. She then urged the audience to use their imagination, act with courage, and hand down a prosperous world for future generations. She concluded her speech by quoting a poem by the American poet Amanda Gorman:

“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

During the forum, Professor Um discussed and exchanged views on current efforts to address immigrant and refugee issues with Professor Tamura Keiko.

Professor Tamura started the discussion by presenting data on the current status of immigrants and refugees in Japan. She cited the criteria for recognition and the level of public interest are factors that contribute to the low number of refugees accepted by the government. In response, Professor Um said: “I think that there may be fear of and resistance to refugees who come from non-developed countries.”

In the U.S., Professor Um founded a mutual-aid organization of refugees and has devoted her efforts to supporting refugees through education at university. “Students with experience across diverse academic faculties increase their opportunities to actively contribute to society and share their wonderful experiences,” she stated with a smile.

She also said: “Since immigrant and refugee issues span several generations, it is not easy to bridge the generation gap and overcome the ‘silence.’” She has maintained her sympathy to the pain that those people feel when looking back on their traumatizing past and their hopes of not handing down that pain.

Answering a question from the audience about whether Japanese people could do anything to address immigrant and refugee issues, Professor Um stated: “It is important to share information and understand the current situation.” In conclusion, Professor Um gave the audience a warm message: “People’s voices resonate together like an echo to form a powerful voice that can be heard throughout the world.”