By Lay Lon

Abstract

These two Khmer-character songs represent a glimpse of the Cambodian people and culture of Lowell.

Both songs were created by a dedicated team of artists. First, Ouk Sam Art, a senior musician, composed the music. He is one of a few Khmer Rouge survival composers. Second, Mai Vathana is the production facilitator and lyric editor; he is an active member of the Khmer Writers Association in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Third, Pech Chakriya and Toeng Buntem are the singers. Fourth, I, Lay Lon, am a lyric writer and Khmer-character song producer.

“Loneliness” is a Khmer-character song about an old woman who survived the Khmer Rouge and now lives in Massachusetts. She and her two children were refugees in Thailand in the 1980s and they were later sponsored to live in the United States. Last year, I met her at the Cambodian Buddhist temple in Revere, Massachusetts. She could not walk well. She used a walker to get to the bus station, where she had to wait in freezing temperatures. We spoke and I was able to give her a ride home. She said that the United States has great wealth, but that she, living in a nursing home, feels lonely and distant from children. This is an arrangement that would not be normal in Cambodia.

“Missing Lowell” is a song dedicated to the strength of Lowell’s Cambodian community. It expresses a desire to return to it and help it grow.

រងារណាស់-ពេជ្រ ចរិយា (“Loneliness”)

នៅតែនឹកក្រុងឡូវែល ("Missing Lowell")

Biographical Statement - Lay Lon

I graduated with a Bachelors of Arts (BA) in English from UMass Lowell on February 1, 2023. My concentration was in journalism and professional writing.

I was born in Takeo province, a southern part of Cambodia. My farmer parents did not want me dropping school like most boys and girls in the village, although they could not support my schooling. When I was twelve and finished my 6th grade, they sent me to live in a Buddhist monastery to continue my studies.

Living in the temple for 15 years provided me the opportunity to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia in December 2018 and a Bachelor of Art in Buddhist Philosophy from Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University in December 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.