Peter L. Pond
Encyclopedia
The Reverend Peter Lawrence Pond (1933–2000) was a New England
clergyman, activist and philanthropist
who worked with Cambodian orphan
s on the Thai
-Cambodia
n border. He was Executive Director of the Providence
-based Cambodian Crisis Committee and was a co-founder of the Thai Friends Relief Foundation as well as the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia.
on February 13, 1933, Pond was named after his ancestor, the explorer Peter Pond
. He described his childhood with his divorced father as "deprived of love" and said that this deprivation shaped his desire to help others. He attended The Rectory School
and the Pomfret School
, and graduated from Yale
in 1954 with a degree in American Studies and, against his father's wishes, he entered Yale Divinity School
in 1955.
As a divinity student at he flew to Hungary
in 1956 to establish a camp for children displaced
by the violence of the Hungarian Revolution. After graduating in 1960 he worked with impoverished children in Puerto Rico
and in New England, in a program on gang violence run by the Indo-Chinese Advocacy Project. In order to raise additional funds for his programs, Pond worked as the Director for Resettlement
at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, as a consultant for Lutheran Social Services of New England, as a consultant for the Peace Corps
in Colombia
and Chile
and for VISTA
on Navajo
reservations in the US.
chapter in Aguirre
, Puerto Rico
that served the children of sugarcane
cutters. At the request of Don Luis Munoz Marin
, the first elected Governor of Puerto Rico
and his wife, Pond initiated in Cayey, Puerto Rico a chapter of the YMCA with the specific focus of finding ways to keep youth
and young adults "civically occupied". This program was called YMCA-Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico with an operational base in Henry Barracks, an old army post. The initial group of volunteers was composed of 200 community leader
s, 40 university students, 25 teachers and 85 high school students. The group committed to work voluntarily in community development
projects for 80 hours per month for a minimum of one year.
In the spring of 1965 Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico was renamed Voluntarios en Servicio a Puerto Rico Asociados (VESPRA), after Pond sought and obtained funding from the Office of Economic Opportunity
in Washington, D.C.
As a result of Pond's efforts, a joint training session called VISTA
/VESPRA I was conducted in Cayey where sixty community leaders and university students were trained and assigned to communities in Puerto Rico and the eastern United States. In the summer of 1966, Pond and his associates, together with the New York
Society for Ethical Culture, co-sponsored the Encampment for Citizenship
in Henry Barracks with participants from over 50 countries, where they learned the fundamentals of community development, self-government, and civic responsibilities
. By 1967 Pond's efforts in fostering community development had moved into the slums of San Juan
utilizing local leadership and volunteers from the universities. Systematization of the training program gave VESPRA national visibility.
, where his mother, Josephine Stanton, wife of Edwin F. Stanton, the first United States Ambassador to Thailand
after World War II
, was living at the time. Pond wanted to establish an "indigenous Peace Corps" in Thailand and met with members of the Thai Royal Family. But the plight of refugees fleeing Cambodia
after the end of the Pol Pot
regime caught his attention, and he went immediately to volunteer at Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp
on the Thai-Cambodian border. "It was a suffering I had not known," Pond later recalled, "and I felt compelled to be a part of it. I had just never seen such a broken people as the Cambodian people. There was so much devastation, so much incredible sadness that I was crying and very shaken."
In June 1980 the Thai Government decided to forcibly repatriate thousands of refugees. Pond and the Preah Maha Ghosananda
organized a protest against the forced repatriation of refugees from Sa Kaeo and Pond was imprisoned "in a shack filled with human excrement" for several days. When Queen Sirikit
heard about how Pond had been mistreated by Thai soldiers, she ordered his release and made amends by offering him three wishes. Pond selected three Cambodian orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond
, to take back to the US. After his release Peter asked the United Nations
for permission to begin a foster care
program in the US for Khmer
orphans, but was refused because it was felt that it was more appropriate for the children to return to Cambodia.
In all, he adopted
16 Cambodian children, mostly orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond
and Rhode Island's first Cambodian physician, Dr. Soneath Pond. He also worked with Thai
street children
in the Patpong
section of Bangkok
and provided food for detainees at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center. In 1983 he was invited by Rosalynn Carter
to join the White House
’s National Cambodian Crisis Committee, created in 1980 as a clearing house for donations and relief efforts. That same year Pond and the Maha Ghosananda visited Pope John Paul II
to discuss ways of achieving peace in Cambodia. In April 1984, he was asked to testify before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the refugee situation in Thailand, along with Kitty Dukakis.
In 1989 Pond and the Maha Ghosananda founded the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia, a Bangkok-based project designed to bring monk
s and refugees together from all the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, including those run by the Khmer Rouge
, to teach peace and nonviolence through Buddhism
. As a result of his work, Pond received an honorary doctorate from Providence College
in 1992.
Devoutly religious, Pond was at different times in his life a Lutheran, a Congregationalist, a Unitarian-Universalist, and a Roman Catholic.
program, two soldiers stopped Pond's car and demanded that Pond help recruit soldiers for the Khmer Rouge. When Pond refused they threatened him with a sawed-off shotgun
and shot him twice, nearly killing him. In spite of this, he returned to work a few months later and continued until his death in 2000.
His adopted son Arn Chorn-Pond
said of Pond, "Peter [is] very lonely himself...People do not understand what he do. They think he wants something, but Peter don't want anything. What he does is from his heart. It is pure help. This guy is so simple we don't understand. It is so simple we make it complicated. Maybe we are so modern we can no understand pure love."
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
clergyman, activist and philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
who worked with Cambodian orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
s on the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
-Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n border. He was Executive Director of the Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
-based Cambodian Crisis Committee and was a co-founder of the Thai Friends Relief Foundation as well as the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia.
Early career
Born to a prominent family in Milford, ConnecticutMilford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...
on February 13, 1933, Pond was named after his ancestor, the explorer Peter Pond
Peter Pond
Peter Pond was born in Milford, Connecticut. He was a soldier with a Connecticut regiment, a fur trader, a founding member of the North West Company, an explorer and a cartographer.-Biography:...
. He described his childhood with his divorced father as "deprived of love" and said that this deprivation shaped his desire to help others. He attended The Rectory School
The Rectory School
The Rectory School is an independent, coeducational, junior boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, USA. The school was founded by Rev. Frank H. Bigelow in 1920...
and the Pomfret School
Pomfret School
Pomfret School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States for grades 9 through 12 plus a post-graduate year. Pomfret School was founded in 1894, on the principles of intellectual rigor and the development of character...
, and graduated from Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1954 with a degree in American Studies and, against his father's wishes, he entered Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
in 1955.
As a divinity student at he flew to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in 1956 to establish a camp for children displaced
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
by the violence of the Hungarian Revolution. After graduating in 1960 he worked with impoverished children in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and in New England, in a program on gang violence run by the Indo-Chinese Advocacy Project. In order to raise additional funds for his programs, Pond worked as the Director for Resettlement
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, as a consultant for Lutheran Social Services of New England, as a consultant for the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and for VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993....
on Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
reservations in the US.
Foundation of the Puerto Rican Peace Corps (later VESPRA)
In 1963 Pond founded a YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
chapter in Aguirre
Salinas, Puerto Rico
Salinas is a small municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of Guayama...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
that served the children of sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
cutters. At the request of Don Luis Munoz Marin
Luis Muñoz Marín
Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...
, the first elected Governor of Puerto Rico
Governor of Puerto Rico
The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor has been elected by the people of Puerto Rico...
and his wife, Pond initiated in Cayey, Puerto Rico a chapter of the YMCA with the specific focus of finding ways to keep youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
and young adults "civically occupied". This program was called YMCA-Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico with an operational base in Henry Barracks, an old army post. The initial group of volunteers was composed of 200 community leader
Community leader
A Community Leader is a designation, often by secondary sources , for a person who is perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the community...
s, 40 university students, 25 teachers and 85 high school students. The group committed to work voluntarily in community development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
projects for 80 hours per month for a minimum of one year.
In the spring of 1965 Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico was renamed Voluntarios en Servicio a Puerto Rico Asociados (VESPRA), after Pond sought and obtained funding from the Office of Economic Opportunity
Office of Economic Opportunity
The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda.- History :...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
As a result of Pond's efforts, a joint training session called VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993....
/VESPRA I was conducted in Cayey where sixty community leaders and university students were trained and assigned to communities in Puerto Rico and the eastern United States. In the summer of 1966, Pond and his associates, together with the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Society for Ethical Culture, co-sponsored the Encampment for Citizenship
Encampment for Citizenship
The Encampment for Citizenship was a summer camp founded by Algernon D. Black in 1946 through the New York Society for Ethical Culture. The camp program's aim was, according to the society, for "young adults of many religious, racial, social and national backgrounds" to learn "the principles and...
in Henry Barracks with participants from over 50 countries, where they learned the fundamentals of community development, self-government, and civic responsibilities
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. By 1967 Pond's efforts in fostering community development had moved into the slums of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
utilizing local leadership and volunteers from the universities. Systematization of the training program gave VESPRA national visibility.
Work with Cambodian refugees
After his second divorce in 1976, Pond felt a desire to start over and decided in 1979 to move to ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where his mother, Josephine Stanton, wife of Edwin F. Stanton, the first United States Ambassador to Thailand
United States Ambassador to Thailand
This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Thailand.Thailand has had continuous bilateral relations with the United States since 1882. Relations were interrupted during World War II when Bangkok was occupied by Japanese forces. Normal relations were resumed after the war in 1945.The...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was living at the time. Pond wanted to establish an "indigenous Peace Corps" in Thailand and met with members of the Thai Royal Family. But the plight of refugees fleeing Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
after the end of the Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
regime caught his attention, and he went immediately to volunteer at Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp
Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp
Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp was the first organized refugee relief camp established on the Thai-Cambodian border by the Royal Thai Government with support from international relief agencies including the United Nations. It was opened in October 1979 and closed in early July 1980...
on the Thai-Cambodian border. "It was a suffering I had not known," Pond later recalled, "and I felt compelled to be a part of it. I had just never seen such a broken people as the Cambodian people. There was so much devastation, so much incredible sadness that I was crying and very shaken."
In June 1980 the Thai Government decided to forcibly repatriate thousands of refugees. Pond and the Preah Maha Ghosananda
Preah Maha Ghosananda
Maha Ghosananda, , was a highly revered Cambodian Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition, who served as the Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism during the Khmer Rouge period and post-communist transition period of Cambodian history...
organized a protest against the forced repatriation of refugees from Sa Kaeo and Pond was imprisoned "in a shack filled with human excrement" for several days. When Queen Sirikit
Sirikit
Somdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat , is the queen consort of Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand. She is the second Queen Regent of Thailand...
heard about how Pond had been mistreated by Thai soldiers, she ordered his release and made amends by offering him three wishes. Pond selected three Cambodian orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a human rights activist committed to preserving traditional Cambodian music.-Early life:Chorn-Pond was born in Cambodia in 1966 into a Battambang family of performers and musicians...
, to take back to the US. After his release Peter asked the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for permission to begin a foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
program in the US for Khmer
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
orphans, but was refused because it was felt that it was more appropriate for the children to return to Cambodia.
In all, he adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
16 Cambodian children, mostly orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a human rights activist committed to preserving traditional Cambodian music.-Early life:Chorn-Pond was born in Cambodia in 1966 into a Battambang family of performers and musicians...
and Rhode Island's first Cambodian physician, Dr. Soneath Pond. He also worked with Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
in the Patpong
Patpong
Patpong is an entertainment district in Bangkok, Thailand, catering mainly, though not exclusively, to foreign tourists and expatriates. While Patpong is internationally known as a red light district at the heart of Bangkok's sex industry, it is in fact only one of numerous red-light districts...
section of Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and provided food for detainees at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center. In 1983 he was invited by Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
to join the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
’s National Cambodian Crisis Committee, created in 1980 as a clearing house for donations and relief efforts. That same year Pond and the Maha Ghosananda visited Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
to discuss ways of achieving peace in Cambodia. In April 1984, he was asked to testify before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the refugee situation in Thailand, along with Kitty Dukakis.
In 1989 Pond and the Maha Ghosananda founded the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia, a Bangkok-based project designed to bring monk
Bhikkhu
A Bhikkhu or Bhikṣu is an ordained male Buddhist monastic. A female monastic is called a Bhikkhuni Nepali: ). The life of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis is governed by a set of rules called the patimokkha within the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline...
s and refugees together from all the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, including those run by the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
, to teach peace and nonviolence through Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. As a result of his work, Pond received an honorary doctorate from Providence College
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
in 1992.
Devoutly religious, Pond was at different times in his life a Lutheran, a Congregationalist, a Unitarian-Universalist, and a Roman Catholic.
Attempted murder
Pond also assisted refugees in Khmer Rouge camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, and on June 23, 1989, as he was leaving the Khmer Rouge refugee camp Site 8 where he had been trying to establish a literacyLiteracy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
program, two soldiers stopped Pond's car and demanded that Pond help recruit soldiers for the Khmer Rouge. When Pond refused they threatened him with a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
and shot him twice, nearly killing him. In spite of this, he returned to work a few months later and continued until his death in 2000.
The controversial man
Those who knew Peter Pond often had mixed feelings about him. Described as "Quixotic, obsessive, even fanatic in his quest" to save Cambodian orphans, he was said to be- "one of those individuals who is single-minded of purpose that I think a lot of people find either intimidating or aggravating or downright bizarre. He has put himself on the firing line consistently, not just in front of bullets, but on the political firing line, with the US, the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, volunteers, the Thai Government...Peter's philosophy has basically been, 'To hell with the system.' If it is not serving these children, go around it, subvert it, do anything you need to, even if it means breaking the law, if it serves the cause. His means are not always politic or even polite, but he is so totally devoted to serving the Cambodian people, particularly the Cambodian children, I think he must be forgiven..."
His adopted son Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond
Arn Chorn-Pond is a human rights activist committed to preserving traditional Cambodian music.-Early life:Chorn-Pond was born in Cambodia in 1966 into a Battambang family of performers and musicians...
said of Pond, "Peter [is] very lonely himself...People do not understand what he do. They think he wants something, but Peter don't want anything. What he does is from his heart. It is pure help. This guy is so simple we don't understand. It is so simple we make it complicated. Maybe we are so modern we can no understand pure love."