Salisbury councillor, Cambodian genocide survivor lashes colleagues concentration camp comparisons
Most of her family was murdered in one, but this councillor’s colleague has refused to apologise to her for comparing basic technology to concentration camps.
North & North East
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A councillor who spent her youth in a Cambodian concentration camp has called for a public apology by her colleague who compared simple technology to her experiences.
Councillor Sarah Savry Ouk spent time in the camp with her mother after her father was accused of being a spy and executed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Ms Ouk told The Advertiser her mother spent a decade in the camp while Cambodia was under the control of dictator Pol Pot.
She said her mother had witnessed the shooting of her father and could only stand by as her eight-year-old brother and seven-year-old sister were also murdered.
Ms Ouk decided to speak out about her painful experiences in the wake of fellow councillors Severina Burner and Grace Bawden making comments on social media.
“(They) have no idea what we went through,” Ms Ouk said.
“There was not enough food, or water, you can only imagine how horrible it was.
“My father was shot in front of my mum, my brother and sister were shot, I was the only one who survived.”
In those social media comments, which Ms Ouk has labelled “disgraceful and disrespectful”, they compare the council’s controversial smart city technology to concentration camps.
In another post Ms Bawden labelled mayors, councillors and general managers as “kapos” – the term used for concentration camp prisoners enlisted by the Schutzstaffel to keep watch over other prisoners.
Ms Ouk said their comments had prompted “memory flashbacks” for both her and her mother, and when she informed her mother of what her colleagues had said, she broke down.
“The trauma we went through is still there,” she said.
“When I told my mum, she just broke out in tears – how can they compare it to Australia?
“I was trying not to talk about it because it is something that is not nice to remember, I don’t want to absorb it.
“This is going to traumatise me and the pain we went through.
“When I came back home after the council meeting I couldn’t sleep.”
It is estimated the Cambodian genocide was responsible for the death of as many as 2m people.
At a meeting on Tuesday night the council voted unanimously to request Ms Bawden and Ms Burner apologise publicly for their comments.
Ms Ouk said she expected an apology.
“It’s disgraceful and disrespectful, I need a public apology,” she said.
Responding to questions from The Advertiser, Ms Burner remained defiant.
“I have nothing to say or apologise for,” she said.
“I don’t know what your issue is with Cr Bawden.”
Ms Bawden did not respond to the same questions.
The pair have consistently shared conspiracy theories online in contrast to their own council’s movements towards installing smart city technologies.
Those technologies, which would be part of the council’s John Street precinct upgrade, include security CCTV footage, Wi-Fi access around the area, car park indicators and maintenance sensors.
The debunked conspiracy has become popular online and claims smart cities are part of a World Economic Forum plan to take over the world and control the public.
The conspiracy spurred protests at Tuesday’s council meeting with about 100 people turning out to oppose the technology.
Ms Ouk was not the only member of the council impacted by the conspiracy duo’s comments.
Councillor Moni Mazzeo stood up on Tuesday night and described how members of her family had Germany as migrants in the immediate aftermath of the second world war.
“I find likening smart cities to concentration camps deeply offensive and disrespectful to millions of victims of the Holocaust, including some of my own family, who were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime,” she said.
“Concentration camps were places of unimaginable horrors where prisoners were subjected to forced labour, starvation, disease, torture and mass murder.”
At the council’s November meeting, the council, including Ms Burner and Ms Bawden, voted unanimously in favour of a motion on the John Street project.
The motions included reference to elements of a “smart city” including provision for CCTV, Wi-Fi and electric vehicle charging.
Another councillor, Sharon McKell, told ABC she was a strong advocate for the installation of CCTV.
She said her advocacy began after her daughter, Emma Jade Pawelski, was murdered in 2005.
Police have so far been unable to solve the crime, and Ms McKell said CCTV footage would have assisted in finding who was responsible for the murder.
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