DC-Cam: A daily task of remembering, a daily task of moving forward

The Documentation Center of Cambodia will pay tribute to victims of the Khmer Rouge regime who have no surviving relatives, at a memorial ceremony to be held at the Library of the Urns, Wat Langka Preah Kossamaram, in Phnom Penh, at 7:30 am on May 27, 2025 at Wat Langka, located in the heart of the capital.

May 20 is a national day in Cambodia. The Documentation Center of Cambodia usually chooses a specific place to commemorate the deceased with a funeral ceremony, with the participation of survivors in remote areas, temples and monasteries, allowing Cambodians to attend in person. Although the ceremony takes place on a modest scale, it has a profound meaning for Cambodians who believe in Buddhism, karma, merit, destiny and forgiveness, all of which are considered fundamental to daily life.

For the Documentation Center of Cambodia, May 20 is a day of remembrance, ongoing work and support for survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime living in remote areas who lack the means and resources to build gathering places. The Center has established several shrines in villages and communes, with the active participation of survivors who have proposed locations in the fields and farms where they once lived their daily lives.

In 2025, the Cambodia Documentation Centre decided to organize a ceremony at Wat Langka, the site of 464 urns, previously abandoned, mourned and forgotten. These urns were discovered under the Buddha throne at Wat Langka ten years ago. In recent years, Wat Langka has collaborated with the Documentation Center of Cambodia to organize and preserve the urns in a dedicated collection known as the “Library of Urns”, a term derived from Pali. The Library of Urns serves both as a research center for the study of urns and as a space for contemplation, inviting reflection on the lives of the dead and the living. According to Buddhist tradition, the shapes and styles of the 464 urns reflect the status and role of those who perished here, as well as the social hierarchy of those left behind from the war through the Pol Pot era to the present day.

The urn library is the first of its kind in Phnom Penh. Beyond religious beliefs and the concept of forgiveness, the creation of the urn library aims to promote the study of the causes and effects that led to the abandonment of these 464 urns.

Questions arise: Who were these 464 people? What were the circumstances of their deaths? When did they die? Where are their family members? Is it possible to locate surviving family members? In addition, the urn library reflects aspects of Buddhist culture concerning the preparation and preservation of the remains of the deceased.

In addition, Wat Langka offers a space to help destitute people in emergency situations who need a place to bury their deceased or conduct other ritual ceremonies. The temple also offers facilities for meditation and study, welcoming both Cambodian citizens and foreign visitors.

The preservation and protection of these urns are in line with the principles set out in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in force since 1948. Before the current legal definition of genocide was established, Raphael Lemkin identified the destruction of cultural objects and heritage as an act of cultural genocide. The effort to identify, honour and preserve these urns - almost lost when the Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh 50 years ago - is an essential complement to the ongoing effort to confront and redress the cultural genocide that occurred in the past and persists today.

This event is dedicated to honoring the souls of the deceased and imparting merit to them for the next life. The ceremony will be attended by the Venerable Hour Sarith, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Religion at Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University and Director of Wat Langka Preah Kossamaram, as well as four monks, nuns, relatives of the deceased and staff from the Documentation Center of Cambodia. The event is open to the public for viewing the remains and visiting Wat Langka.