Dara Duong provided a presentation about his life history and the Cambodian genocide to the Seattle city employees in July 2005.

The Museum was founded by Dara Duong, a survivor from the 1975-1979 Killing Fields of Cambodia.

There were five family members including his father that were killed by the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot) regime when he was 5 years old. For over 10 years Dara lived in the refugee camps along the Cambodian and Thai border. He resettled in the US in 1999.

Dara wanted to share the story of his life under the Khmer Rouge with the world, so it would not happen again. At the same time Dara wanted the children of Cambodian immigrants, who have grown up in the US, not to forget about Cambodia’s recent history, great culture, traditions and literature.