[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 167 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)] [Senate] [Page S10408] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REMEMBERING THE VENERABLE ROS MEYMr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, today I commemorate the extraordinary life of Venerable Ros Mey, the head Buddhist monk and president of the Wat Thormikaram Khmer Temple in Providence. Although he passed away on December 12, 2010, at age 85, his teachings of peace will live on in the vibrant Cambodian community of Rhode Island in which he served. Venerable Mey was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Providence at age 62 and dedicated himself to his faith, his congregation, and to praying for peace in Cambodia with his fellow worshipers. Venerable Mey's journey to Rhode Island was a perilous one. He and his family endured forced labor under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975 until their escape to Thailand four years later. They made their way to Rhode Island as part of the first wave of refugees from Cambodia. Only several thousand of the 80,000 monks in Cambodia survived the Khmer Rouge. Venerable Mey turned the adversity he experienced into peaceful teachings by dedicating his life to the Cambodian community in our State. In 1998 he became head monk and president, succeeding the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, also a renowned peace activist. Venerable Mey was a driving force behind a new worship hall at the Wat Thormikaram Temple, which is a spiritual center for Cambodian Buddhists in Rhode Island and across the Nation. His surviving family, the thousands of Rhode Islanders whose weddings and births he officiated, the Cambodian community, and the people of our State will remember his teachings of peace. ____________________