Source: Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-cambud0307.artmar07,0,6285768.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
Many members of the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut fled the "killing fields" of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime three decades ago. Their crucible now is a pitched legal battle over whether they can build a temple on 10 acres they own in Newtown.
The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether Newtown's denial of a special permit for the temple rises to a violation of state and federal laws that bar political entities from putting undue burdens on the exercise of religious freedom.
With elders dying off, the Cambodian Buddhists say the risk is grave that their religion and culture will die as well. Theirs would be the first Cambodian Buddhist temple in Connecticut.
"Time is running out. The older generation is dying," said Pinith Mar, who fled a Cambodian refugee camp at age 13 and is now an engineer with the state Department of Transportation. Because the Khmer Rouge systematically killed monks and the educated, Cambodian Buddhism and the culture it represents dwell in those who escaped annihilation.
"If they are gone, I have nowhere to go," Mar said of the elders who can teach him and his 8-year-old twin sons the rites and traditions of his religion.