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Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , June 27 , 2018

PUBLIC AGENDA

WEDNESDAY , JUNE 27

Town of New Windsor Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 555 Union Ave ., New Windsor . City of Newburgh Police Community Relations and Review Board . 7 p . m . City Hall , 83 Broadway , Newburgh .

THURSDAY , JUNE 28 Newburgh City Council , 6 p . m . Council Chambers , Third Floor City Hall , 83 Broadway , Newburgh . Special meeting to vote on the resolution authorizing the construction bid of ADA Compliance curb ramps .

THURSDAY , JULY 5 Town of Newburgh Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

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The Mid Hudson Times ( USPS 000-5947 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , NY 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , NY POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Mid Hudson Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY 12550 .

By WAYNE A . HALL

Determined to heal Newburgh ’ s long history of violence and neglect , ten chaperoned Newburgh Free Academy students left June 15 on a fact-finding trip to Cambodia to absorb how that country is recovering from a genocide that killed an estimated two and a half million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979 , according to Yale Univeristy ’ s Cambodia Genocide study .

“ Our project involves studying recovery and healing from trauma in Newburgh and Cambodia ,” says NFA trip participant Christina Martinez , 17 just before she and her classmates left Newark Liberty International Airport June 23 for a 18-hour 10-minute flight of 8,734 miles to Phnom Penh , Cambodia .

One of the first stops in Cambodia ’ s past for these students who speak of changing their world , is the infamous Cambodian prison where torture was daily , food scarce , and almost no medical attention was given to prisoners .

Before they died many were tortured beyond human endurance .

In Cambodia the Newburgh students are also visiting killing fields such as Choeung Ek an orchard now memorialized near the country ’ s capital as a mass grave site for thousands of Cambodians .

“ This is such an amazing opportunity for each of us ,” she added , “ and we can ’ t wait to meet everyone over there .”

Before they left Newburgh , the NFA excelsior Academy students were already learning about the horrors they would find in Cambodia ’ s genocide .

“ We watched a movie called , “ First They killed my father ,” a chilling torture story said Martinez .

Back in Newburgh plans are being made for a public memorial to the systemic violence that racked Newburgh for decades , creating an urban horror .

Students Ignacio Salim Colton Andress Elise Goings-Perrot Cristina Martinez Eliana DeLeon Juan Pepi Emanuel Santana Tamara Guzman Jeremiah Palemon Cherokee Morning Alexis Camacho Aiyanna Beltran

Educators Kevin Rothman Christine McCartney Jacqueline Hesse Bonnie Kaplan

“ We want to create in Newburgh some kind of memorial to the city ’ s past and for all the people trying to change that past ,”

A delegation of Newburgh Free Academy students and staff recently returned from Cambodia .

she said .

“ Our goal for going to Cambodia is to learn how community spaces can serve as a place for healing . As they have in Cambodia ,” says senior Iggy Salim .”

“ And traveling will give us opportunity to not only explore a different culture but we get to see exactly how these places of healing work and how we can replicate a similar idea in our hometown of Newburgh ” says Salim .

Newburgh is struggling to heal “ the effects of much generational trauma from cycles of poverty , systemic oppression and acts of violent crime ,” says the flier for the Cambodia trip .

Raising money for the trip depended partly on parents of trip goers like the Martinez family and also donations from Newburgh Kiwanis and others .

“ My father helped me sell raffle tickets and took part in Newburgh Illuminated festival where we sold handmade jewelry ” says Martinez . “ My parents have been very supportive .” The cost to students was $ 2,500 each .

Plans are already being made by these young people for a Newburgh memorial to Newburgh ’ s long history of violence , drugs , poverty and crime .

Students chosen for this trip were winners in a writing contest about why they were interested in going and what they expected to find .

Global to Local is an award winning global service learning program in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District and provides students with the opportunity to travel to foreign countries to “ expand their world views and learn how particular communities deal with needs and then use the knowledge and skills gained during travel to act as project managers for community impact projects ” such as the memorial being planned for Newburgh to mark its history of high crime rates , poverty , neglect and infastrucure decay and stop and go public funding .

Says Martinez , “ I hope to come back home and use everything I learned to make people , especially the youths know that even though they are living many miles from other countries what they do here in Newburgh affects the world . I am so lucky to be part of this .”

After seeing the memorials in Cambodia and the healing being done there , NFA students returned to Newburgh to get behind a planned memorial that is to stand for Newburgh ’ s losses to crime and poverty . They ’ ve already got a memorial designer in mind .