At 22, Kuong Ly of Woburn already has the makings of the human rights lawyer he wants to become. Drawing on his family’s experience living for seven years in Southeast Asian refugee camps before immigrating to the United States in 1990, he is determined to make a difference in the lives of refugees around the world.
Ly, a junior at Boston College, has immersed himself in human rights issues since his freshman year. He has advocated for affordable housing in Boston through the Asian Community Development Corporation, used a scholarship to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Cambodian genocide, volunteered with Never Again Rwanda through a fellowship, and conducted research through the Cambridge-based Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.
Ly spent this past semester abroad, studying Mandarin and women’s rights at Peking University in Beijing, where he also interned at the United Nations Development Fund for Women.
Also this month, he became the only Massachusetts resident to be named a 2007 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.
Awarded to 65 students from among 585 nominees nationwide who are seeking careers in public service, the honor provides $30,000 for graduate study, as well as leadership training and internship opportunities in the federal government.
Ly plans to attend graduate school overseas before returning to the United States to attain his law degree. Ultimately, he hopes to help enact international laws governing the education of refugees and persecution of rapists who prey on women in refugee camps.
While refugee camps are designed as temporary living situations, Ly said his own experience demonstrates that families can languish for long periods of time. Because refugees can become dependent on food, clean water, and other aid in order to survive, they may lose the skills required to care for themselves when they return to society.
“I’m proud to be an American living in the United States, but all of us from privileged societies have a social and ethical responsibility to help others,” Ly said.
“Instead of seeing Africa as Africa, we should see its people as our own brothers and sisters. We’re all tied to these issues of human rights, and together we can find a solution to the problem.”
Source: Boston Globe
PHNOM PENH – Much international attention on Cambodia is focused on petroleum discoveries made by US supermajor Chevron offshore in the Gulf of Thailand. But the real prize is the overlapping claims area (OCA) further offshore to the west, an area long contested with Thailand.
