LYNN — The Khmer community in Lynn rallied for peace and justice for Cambodia at City Hall on Saturday.
At the gathering, local leaders and residents voiced their concerns about the recent violence at the Cambodia-Thailand border.
This year’s conflict between Cambodia and Thailand has resulted in the deaths of at least 101 civilians and soldiers, and has displaced more than half a million people, according to Reuters.
Councilor-at-Large Hong Net was born in Cambodia and spent his childhood in a labor camp during the rule of the Khmer Communist Party. He fled to Thailand in 1979 when Vietnamese forces took over Cambodia. After about three years in Thailand in a refugee camp, he was sponsored by an American family to come to the U.S.
Net expressed his gratitude for the support shown to the Cambodian community in Lynn on Saturday.
“I was proud to stand in unity with my Cambodian American community in Lynn — not in support of war, but in our shared call for lasting peace in Cambodia and for all humanity. We demand the right of the Cambodian people to live with dignity, safety, and hope,” Net wrote on Facebook.
Net’s daughter Anna delivered a speech at the rally calling for a ceasefire to end the violence along the Cambodia-Thailand border.
“What is happening at the Cambodia-Thailand border is tearing families apart. Thailand forces continue to move deeper into Cambodian land, and with every step, more innocent lives are lost. Civilians are being killed. Parents are fleeing with their children. Homes are being abandoned out of fear. Our people are not soldiers, yet they are the ones paying the price,” she said.
She added, “Our sacred places that hold centuries of history, faith, and identity are being damaged and destroyed. Attacking these sites is violating humanitarian law and erasing pieces of who we are. And still, the violence continues as if that destruction was not enough.”
She continued, “Cambodia does not want war. We do not have a massive military. We do not have endless resources. We cannot afford a war, but more importantly, we cannot afford more loss. We cannot afford more children growing up with trauma, more elders losing the land they’ve lived on their entire lives. This conflict has brought suffering to innocent civilians on both sides. Cambodia and Thai families are grieving. They are displaced; they are scared. War does not choose sides; it only creates victims.”
She concluded her message: “We are here today to say enough. Cambodia wants peace. We demand protection for civilians, respect for our land and our culture, and an end to the violence. We raise our voices because silence allows suffering to continue. We speak because our people deserve safety, dignity, and peace. Peace does not surrender. Peace is survival, and peace is what Cambodia deserves.”
According to Ward 3 Councilor Coco Alinsug, Lynn is home to more than 4,500 people of Cambodian descent, roughly 4% of the city’s population. He posted to social media to show solidarity for everyone affected by the war.
“The tension at the Cambodia-Thailand border has turned into violence, forcing innocent families into fear and uncertainty. This isn’t just a political dispute… It’s affecting real people, real lives, and homes are being threatened,” Alinsug wrote on Facebook.
He added, “Children are scared, communities are caught in the middle of something they didn’t ask for, and because of this, this also worries a lot of our residents here. I joined the community and fellow officials today as we pray for the families, the soldiers, and everyone impacted. We pray for peace, safety, stability, and a future without war.”
The rally was also attended by Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan and State Rep. Sean Reid.
Reid said, “Thank you to Councilor Net for his leadership on this issue and for organizing this important event, and to everyone who came out in support of our Cambodian community. The message was clear that we must learn from history and reject senseless acts of violence, in this case, toward a country that has already endured so much.”
