HISTORY CONNECTS THE STORIES of the two Marthas. One, Martha Ballard, a midwife and the main character in a book of historical fiction, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. The second Martha is Martha Brown, local author, educator, speaker, musician and political candidate for state representative in my district. She shared her personal reflections about a trip to Cambodia on Thursday evening at the Faribault library in a presentation titled “Cambodia—Healing a Broken County.”
I’d just finished reading Lawhon’s book earlier Thursday so the commonalities between a story set in the late 1700s in postrevolutionary America and Brown’s recent trip to Cambodia connected in my mind. In both stories exist violence, trauma, strength, power and resilience within an historical context.
THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE
I’ll start with Brown. She focused on the time before and after the 1975-1979 Cambodian Genocide in which some 2 million Cambodians were murdered under the rule of Khmer Rouge, the Communist political party then in power. She also touched on the illegal and secret bombings of Cambodia by the U.S. in 1969 against North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia. That, too, claimed untold civilian lives.
I don’t want to get into historical details here or a political discussion about the Vietnam War. Rather, I intend the focus to be on those who suffered in Cambodia and those who survived. Just as Brown focused her hour-long talk. She arrived in Cambodia expecting to see trauma from the genocide. But instead, she said, she found recovery, healing and joy. She saw survivors of the genocide as part of the healing.
A HORRIFIC HISTORY NOT HIDDEN
The history of the genocide has not been hidden nor erased in Cambodia. “They don’t bury their history,” Brown said. I jotted that quote in my notebook, mentally connecting that to current day America and ongoing efforts by the current administration to erase/hide/rewrite history. We all know the quote—”Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”—by Spanish Philosopher George Santayana. We would do well to contemplate and hold those words close.
In her presentation, Brown did not avoid the hard topics of children recruited and indoctrinated to participate in the Cambodian Genocide killings of educators, doctors, ordinary people, even those who wore eyeglasses. Perpetrators were never punished, went back to their lives, now live among the population. This was hard stuff to hear, especially about the brainwashing of children to kill. “We need to teach our children well,” said Brown, ever the educator who cares deeply about children.
LESSONS LEARNED IN CAMBODIA
Her passion was evident as she spoke of hugging survivors, of apologizing for the U.S. bombings of Cambodia, of crying while in the southeast Asian country. She learned that how you live and treat people is more important than wealth. She learned that people can be poor and still be happy. She learned about the differences in a society that focuses on community rather than self.
When Brown’s talk ended, others shared and a few of us asked questions, including me. Mine was too political to answer in a non-political presentation. But I asked anyway about the internal and external factors contributing to the rise and fall of empires. Brown hesitated, saying only that we could draw our own conclusions from her talk.
A MUST-READ BOOK
Then I wrote “The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon” on a slip of paper. Not to give to Brown, but rather to the local director of Hope Center serving survivors and victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and their families. I handed the paper to Erica Staab-Absher after hugging her. “You need to read this book,” I said.
In this book of historical fiction, the author bases her writing on real-life midwife Martha Ballard, who documented her life in a journal. Ballard was witness to violence, sexual assault, injustices, secrets, manipulation, power, trauma and much more. This book will resonate with anyone who has survived a sexual assault or cared about someone who has been so viciously attacked. I cannot say enough about the value of reading this book and how empowering it was to me as a woman. It is a love story, mystery and a documentation of strength and resilience.
Resilience. Strength. Healing. Those three words come to mind as I connect the work of a New York Times bestselling author and a talk about the Cambodian Genocide at my southern Minnesota library. By reading and listening, I learned. To read a book pulled from the shelves at my public library and then to listen to personal reflections about a trip to Cambodia on the second floor of that same library are freedoms I no longer take for granted. Not today. I choose to remember and learn from the past. And hope we do not repeat it.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
“Anonymous mother” & a call to action November 5, 2025
Tags: "I Am Minnesota", art, commentary, Faribault, immigrants, immigration, Kate Langlais, Martha Brown, Minnesota, Paradise Center for the Arts, portraits, stories
I ALMOST MISSED IT. “Anonymous Mother’s Story” positioned next to “The Young Mother” charcoal portrait in the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit by Faribault artist Kate Langlais. But there it was, tucked in the corner near the light switches in the Paradise Center for the Arts main gallery.
The exhibit features some 20 portraits and stories of first and second-generation immigrants from my community. None is more relevant than that of the young mother who now faces deportation and separation from her infant. Here are key words in her story: young mother. here legally. green card. application suddenly canceled. awaiting deportation. ankle bracelet. cruel and inhumane.
We’ve all heard countless media reports of people snatched from the streets and elsewhere by masked agents of the federal government, unlawfully detained without due process, separated from family, deported… That is, indeed, cruel, inhumane, heartbreaking and wrong. Even when immigrants are following all of the rules, all of the laws to legally live here, they find themselves targeted.
To read the story of this young mother from my area, to see the faceless portrait, and then to also view a photo taken by Martha Brown, candidate for Minnesota House District 19a, deeply touched me. Brown photographed only the young woman’s legs and the wheels of her baby’s stroller. That was absolutely the right and compassionate thing to do.
The intentionally-framed image is more effective and powerful than if Brown had photographed the woman’s face. Every single person who sees this image should understand the reasons for anonymity. In a statement with the photo, Brown urges southern Minnesotans to reach out to their U.S. congressman “to stop this cruel and inhumane treatment.”
Langlais’ inclusion of the anonymous mother’s portrait and story, along with Brown’s photo and words, is perhaps the most important part of the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit. And to think, I nearly missed it there in a corner of the gallery. Don’t miss this exhibit, which closes on November 15 at the Paradise Center for the Arts. It’s located in historic downtown Faribault, a place many immigrants call home.
FYI: The Northfield Public Library is hosting “Bridging Communities: A Celebration of Somali Culture” from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, November 8. The event features interactive dance workshops led by the Somali Museum of Minnesota Dance Troupe; a performance by the Faribault Middle School Choir; and a participatory sing-along of Somali songs. Other activities include henna art, face painting, bilingual Somali storytelling, a scavenger hunt with prizes and more. The library is collaborating with Somali community partners and St. Olaf and Carleton colleges to bring this event to Northfield.
NOTE: I photographed the “I Am Minnesota” exhibit with permission of the Paradise. I also received permission from Martha Brown to include her photo in this post.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling