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Buddhism has been, [br]through the centuries,

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the basis of Cambodian culture.

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On April 17th, 1975,

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Pol Pot took power

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and one of the first things he did

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was to prohibit and persecute religion.

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We know very little about the horror

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that buddhist monks went though

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during the three years, eight months

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and twenty days that [br]Democratic Kampuchea lasted.

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And we risk

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their stories being lost forever.

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In November, my friend [br]Raquel Vasquez and I

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got a scholarship

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to investigate about the persecutions

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of buddhist monks throughout that period.

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We didn´t think twice:

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we left everything and, [br]along with this team,

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we went and stayed in Cambodia.

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Our base camp was in Phnom Penh,

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from where we closely followed

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the Khmer Rouge trials.

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We also investigated to find

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buddhist monks of the Pol Pot era

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that were still alive [br]and wouldn't be scared

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to share their stories and talk

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about such a delicate subject.

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They were very elderly

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and confused dates and places.

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Their accounts

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were like a puzzle

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that we needed to put together.

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That's how we went [br]all through Cambodia

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and parts of Vietnam, visiting villages,

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pagodas and tracking the roads

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through which these monks were forced

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to emigrate.

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We have learnt from buddhist monks

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that they went from [br]being spiritual leaders

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to leeches in their own society.

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They were forced to get married

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and consumate these marriages;

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they were forced to join the army;

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to work as forced labour;

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to abandon their beliefs

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or keep them internally.

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Their family and friends were killed

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just for knowing how to read

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or just because [br]they were wearing glasses.

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The tranquility and [br]even the sense of humour

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that they told their story with

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never ceased to amaze us.

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It's because when you believe that death

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is the beginning rather than the end,

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you can't allow yourself to feel rage

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or revenge because [br]it might be perpetuated

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for eternity.

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We learnt that buddhism is

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the central axis around which

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the Cambodian lifestyle revolves.

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Everyday Nom PePhnom Penh[br]is died in orange

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with all the monks

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that move around the city

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going from home to home.

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Cambodians, who live in a humble way,

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share their money and food with them

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every day.

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It's been a long time:

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too long to make justice

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and too short to forget.

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Now we see, with this perspective,

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that violence

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against people's identities

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is still a tragic reality.

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That is why we want [br]to make a contribution

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to this public space: the testimonies

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of these monks that [br]we have gathered in Cambodia.

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(Applause).