ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophal Ear - Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia.

Why you should listen

Elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council in November 2015 for a 3-year term, encompassing more than 20,000 residents in unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, California, Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he lectures on political economy, security, development and Asia.

Previously, he taught how to rebuild countries after wars at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and international development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He consulted for the World Bank, was Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations in East Timor and Advisor to Cambodia's 1st private equity fund Leopard Capital. A TED Fellow, Fulbright Specialist, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, he sits on the board of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Refugees International, Partners for Development, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the Southeast Asia Development Program, Diagnostic Microbiology Development Program, the Journal of International Relations and Development (Palgrave), the International Public Management Journal (Taylor & Francis), Journal of South-East Asian American Education & Advancement (Purdue), and Politics and the Life Sciences (Cambridge University Press).

He is the author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013) and co-author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge, 2013). He wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary film "The End/Beginning: Cambodia" (47 minutes, 2011) based on his 2009 TED Talk and has appeared in four other documentaries.

A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

More profile about the speaker
Sophal Ear | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

Sophal Ear: Escapando do Khmer Vermelho

Filmed:
685,840 views

Parceiro TED Sophal Ear conta a incrível história da fuga de sua família do Camboja sob o regime do Khmer Vermelho. Ele relata a determinação e a astúcia de sua mãe para salvar seus filhos.
- Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I normally teach courses on
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Eu geralmente dou cursos
00:15
how to rebuild states after war.
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de como reconstruir estados após guerras.
00:19
But today I've got a personal story to share with you.
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Mas hoje tenho uma história pessoal para compartilhar.
00:21
This is a picture of my family,
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Esta é uma foto da minha família,
00:24
my four siblings -- my mom and I -- taken in 1977.
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meus quatro irmãos, minha mãe e eu, tirada em 1977.
00:28
And we're actually Cambodians.
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Nós somos cambojanos.
00:30
And this picture is taken in Vietnam.
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E esta foto foi tirada no Vietnã.
00:32
So how did a Cambodian family end up in Vietnam in 1977?
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Como uma família cambojana foi parar no Vietnã em 1977?
00:36
Well to explain that, I've got a short video clip
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Para explicar isso, eu tenho um video clip
00:39
to explain the Khmer Rouge regime
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que explica o regime do Khmer Vermelho
00:41
during 1975 and 1979.
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entre 1975 e 1979.
00:44
Video: April 17th, 1975.
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Vídeo: 17 de abril de 1975.
00:48
The communist Khmer Rouge
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O Khmer Vermelho comunista
00:50
enters Phnom Penh to liberate their people
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entra em Phnom Penh para libertar seu povo
00:53
from the encroaching conflict in Vietnam,
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do crescente conflito no Vietnã,
00:55
and American bombing campaigns.
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e dos bombardeios americanos.
00:59
Led by peasant-born Pol Pot,
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Liderado pelo camponês Pol Pot,
01:02
the Khmer Rouge evacuates people to the countryside
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o Khmer Vermelho evacua pessoas para os campos
01:06
in order to create a rural communist utopia,
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para criar uma utopia rural comunista,
01:09
much like Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution in China.
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assim como a Revolução Cultural de Mao Tse-tung na China.
01:15
The Khmer Rouge closes the doors to the outside world.
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O Khmer Vermelho fecha as portas para o resto do mundo.
01:19
But after four years the grim truth seeps out.
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Mas depois de quatro anos, a verdade cruel vem à tona.
01:23
In a country of only seven million people,
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Num país de somente sete milhões de habitantes,
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one and a half million were murdered by their own leaders,
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um milhão e meio foram assassinados por seus próprios líderes,
01:29
their bodies piled in the mass graves of the killing fields.
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seus corpos empilhados nas covas coletivas dos campos de matança.
01:33
Sophal Ear: So, notwithstanding the 1970s narration,
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Sophal Ear: Então, apesar da narração dos anos 70,
01:36
on April 17th 1975
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em 17 de abril de 1975
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we lived in Phnom Penh.
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nós morávamos em Phnom Penh.
01:40
And my parents were told by the Khmer Rouge
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E o Khmer Vermelho mandou que nós
01:43
to evacuate the city because of impending American bombing for three days.
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deixássemos a cidade por causa do iminente bombardeio americano por três dias.
01:47
And here is a picture of the Khmer Rouge.
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Aqui está uma foto do Khmer Vermelho.
01:49
They were young soldiers, typically child soldiers.
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Eram soldados jovens, geralmente soldados crianças.
01:52
And this is very normal now, of modern day conflict,
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E isto é muito normal agora, nos conflitos modernos.
01:55
because they're easy to bring into wars.
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Porque é muito fácil levá-los para a guerra.
01:58
The reason that they gave about American bombing wasn't all that far off.
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A razão que eles deram para os bombardeios americanos não era tão absurda.
02:02
I mean, from 1965 to 1973 there were
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De 1965 a 1973, mais
02:04
more munitions that fell on Cambodia
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bombas caíram no Camboja
02:08
than in all of World War II Japan,
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do que no Japão na Segunda Guerra Mundial,
02:10
including the two nuclear bombs
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incluindo as duas bombas nucleares
02:12
of August 1945.
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de agosto de 1945.
02:15
The Khmer Rouge didn't believe in money.
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O Khmer Vermelho não acreditava em dinheiro.
02:18
So the equivalent of the Federal Reserve Bank
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Então o equivalente ao Banco Central
02:20
in Cambodia was bombed.
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no Camboja foi bombardeado.
02:22
But not just that, they actually banned money.
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Mas não só isso, eles literalmente baniram o dinheiro.
02:25
I think it's the only precedent in which
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Acho que foi a única vez que
02:27
money has ever been stopped from being used.
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dinheiro parou de ser usado.
02:29
And we know money is the root of all evil,
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E sabemos que o dinheiro é a razão de todos os males,
02:31
but it didn't actually stop evil from happening in Cambodia, in fact.
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mas não impediu que mal acontecesse no Camboja, de fato.
02:35
My family was moved from Phnom Penh to Pursat province.
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Minha família foi movida de Phnom Penh para a província de Pursat.
02:39
This is a picture of what Pursat looks like.
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Esta é uma foto para dar uma ideia de como o Pursat é.
02:41
It's actually a very pretty area of Cambodia,
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é na verdade uma área muito bonita no Camboja,
02:44
where rice growing takes place.
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onde as plantações de arroz predominam.
02:46
And in fact they were forced to work the fields.
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E eles foram forçados a trabalhar nos campos.
02:48
So my father and mother ended up in
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Então meus pais foram parar
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a sort of concentration camp, labor camp.
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num tipo de campo de concentração, um campo de trabalho.
02:54
And it was at that time that my mother got word
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E foi nesta época que minha mãe ficou sabendo
02:56
from the commune chief
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através de um chefe do grupo
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that the Vietnamese were actually asking
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que os vietnamitas estavam pedindo
03:01
for their citizens to go back to Vietnam.
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que seus cidadãos voltassem para o Vietnã.
03:04
And she spoke some Vietnamese,
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Ela falava um pouco de viatnamês
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as a child having grown up with Vietnamese friends.
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como uma criança que cresce com amigos viatnamitas.
03:09
And she decided, despite the advice of her neighbors,
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E ela decidiu, apesar da opinião dos vizinhos,
03:13
that she would take the chance
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que ela arriscaria tudo
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and claim to be Vietnamese
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e iria declarar-se viatnamita
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so that we could have a chance to survive,
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para que tivesse uma chance de sobreviver.
03:19
because at this point they're forcing everybody to work.
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Porque a esta altura todos eram forçados a trabalhar.
03:21
And they're giving about --
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E eles davam --
03:23
in a modern-day, caloric-restriction diet, I guess --
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hoje em dia, uma dieta de restrição calórica, eu acho --
03:26
they're giving porridge, with a few grains of rice.
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davam mingau de aveia e alguns grãos de arroz.
03:30
And at about this time actually
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E mais ou menos nesta época
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my father got very sick.
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meu pai ficou muito doente.
03:34
And he didn't speak Vietnamese.
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E ele não falava viatnamita.
03:36
So he died actually, in January 1976.
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E ele morreu, na verdade, em janeiro de 1976.
03:39
And it made it possible, in fact,
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E isso tornou possível, de fato
03:42
for us to take on this plan.
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que nós executássemos o plano.
03:44
So the Khmer Rouge took us
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Então o Khmer Vermelho nos levou
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from a place called Pursat to Kaoh Tiev,
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de um lugar chamado Pursat para Koh Tiev.
03:48
which is across from the border from Vietnam.
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Isso fica do outro lado da fronteira do Vietnã.
03:51
And there they had a detention camp
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E lá eles tinham um campo de detenção
03:53
where alleged Vietnamese would be tested, language tested.
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onde os supostos viatnamitas seriam testados, testados no idioma.
03:57
And my mother's Vietnamese was so bad
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E o viatnamês da minha mãe era tão ruim
04:00
that to make our story more credible,
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que para tornar nossa história mais verossímel
04:04
she'd given all the boys and girls new Vietnamese names.
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ela nos deu novos nomes viatnamitas.
04:07
But she'd given the boys girls' names,
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Mas ela deu para os meninos nomes de meninas
04:09
and the girls boys' names.
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e para as meninas nomes de meninos.
04:12
And it wasn't until she met a Vietnamese lady
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Até ela conhecer uma senhora viatnamita,
04:14
who told her this, and then tutored her for two days intensively,
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que lhe falou isso e então a ajudou no idioma por dois dias intensamente
04:18
that she was able to go into her exam
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e então ela foi fazer o exame
04:21
and -- you know, this was a moment of truth.
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e é claro, esse era o momento da verdade.
04:24
If she fails, we're all headed to the gallows;
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Se ela falhasse, iríamos direto para a forca.
04:27
if she passes, we can leave to Vietnam.
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Se passasse, poderíamos deixar o Vietnã.
04:29
And she actually, of course -- I'm here, she passes.
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E ela -- é claro, eu estou aqui -- ela passou.
04:33
And we end up in Hong Ngu on the Vietnamese side.
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E fomos para Hong Ngu, do lado viatnamita.
04:36
And then onwards to Chau Doc.
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E dali fomos para Chau Doc.
04:38
And this is a picture of Hong Ngu, Vietnam today.
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E esta é uma foto de Hong Ngu, Vietnã, hoje em dia.
04:40
A pretty idyllic place on the Mekong Delta.
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Um lugar bastante pitoresco no delta do Mekong.
04:42
But for us it meant freedom.
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Mas para nós isto era liberdade.
04:44
And freedom from persecution from the Khmer Rouge.
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E liberdade da perseguição do Khmer Vermelho.
04:49
Last year, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal,
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Ano passado, o tribunal do Khmer Vermelho,
04:52
which the U.N. is helping Cambodia take on,
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o qual a ONU está ajudando o Camboja a conduzir,
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started, and I decided that as a matter of record
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começou, e decidi que para constar
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I should file a Civil Complaint
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eu deveria entrar com uma Ação Civil
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with the Tribunal about my father's passing away.
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no tribunal sobre a morte do meu pai.
05:02
And I got word last month
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E fiquei sabendo mês passado
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that the complaint was officially accepted by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.
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que a ação foi oficialmente aceita pelo tribunal do Khmer Vermelho.
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And it's for me a matter of justice for history, and accountability for the future,
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E para mim é uma questão de justiça para a história e responsabilidade para o futuro.
05:13
because Cambodia remains a pretty lawless place, at times.
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Porque o Camboja continua sendo uma terra sem lei, ainda.
05:18
Five years ago my mother and I went back to Chau Doc.
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Cinco anos atrás minha mãe e eu voltamos a Chau Doc.
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And she was able to return to a place
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E ela conseguiu voltar para o lugar
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that for her meant freedom, but also fear,
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que para ela significou liberdade, mas também medo,
05:27
because we had just come out of Cambodia.
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porque tínhamos acabado de sair do Camboja.
05:30
I'm happy, actually, today, to present her.
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E estou muito feliz em poder apresentá-la.
05:34
She's here today with us in the audience.
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Ela está aqui conosco na platéia.
05:36
Thank you mother.
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Obrigado, mãe.
05:38
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Fers Gruendling
Reviewed by JEFFERSON NETTO

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sophal Ear - Development economist
Sophal Ear leads research on post-conflict countries -- looking at the effectiveness of foreign aid and the challenge of development in places like his native land, Cambodia.

Why you should listen

Elected to the Crescenta Valley Town Council in November 2015 for a 3-year term, encompassing more than 20,000 residents in unincorporated La Crescenta and Montrose, California, Sophal Ear, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he lectures on political economy, security, development and Asia.

Previously, he taught how to rebuild countries after wars at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and international development at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He consulted for the World Bank, was Assistant Resident Representative for the United Nations in East Timor and Advisor to Cambodia's 1st private equity fund Leopard Capital. A TED Fellow, Fulbright Specialist, Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, he sits on the board of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Refugees International, Partners for Development, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the Southeast Asia Development Program, Diagnostic Microbiology Development Program, the Journal of International Relations and Development (Palgrave), the International Public Management Journal (Taylor & Francis), Journal of South-East Asian American Education & Advancement (Purdue), and Politics and the Life Sciences (Cambridge University Press).

He is the author of Aid Dependence in Cambodia: How Foreign Assistance Undermines Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2013) and co-author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World (Routledge, 2013). He wrote and narrated the award-winning documentary film "The End/Beginning: Cambodia" (47 minutes, 2011) based on his 2009 TED Talk and has appeared in four other documentaries.

A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, he moved to the United States from France as a Cambodian refugee at the age of 10.

More profile about the speaker
Sophal Ear | Speaker | TED.com

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