Les Camps de réfugiés du Vietnamien à la frontière de Thaïlande-Cambodge --The Vietnamese Refugee Camps at Thailand-Cambodia border: NW9,NW82, Phnom Chat (Phnomchat), Nong Chan, Red Hill, Nong Samet, Phnom Dongrek (Dangrek), Site A, Site II, Ban Thad
Send stories and pictures to hungfng2.vnlr@blogger.com
Welcome
Somewhere along the Thailand border, we arrived, lived and anguished in one of those refugees camps...We existed among many thousands other Cambodian refugees, in a Vietnamese refugee camp among other huge refugee camps, like a tiny island in the vast archipelago, a floating debris in a sea of inhumanity. There we lived, prayed, and survived probably one of the harshest time in our lives.
These are only the pictures in our possession, and our stories. If you stumble across this blog site, please post any pictures, stories for our children to understand how their parents escaped, have lived, and are building a life as they have today....
(Article and photos courtesy of Van Kim) OUR FORMER SCOUTS OF TRAN HUNG DAO TROOP OF 30+ YEARS THEN & NOW. OUR FIRST OFFICIAL REUNI...
Transit Camps
The refugees at the border camps eventually got interviewed, accepted, and settled in a third country: Australia, Denmark, Malaysia, French, Sweden, and many others. Many got accepted by the US. All the refugees who were accepted for resettlement were transported to Panatnikhom transit camp for a month or so to complete the paper work, and to be screened for health before flying to the final destinations.
For those who went to the US, they had to go to either Bataan or Galang to study English and to learn about the life in America
Below are the links to the stories and pictures of the camps that had become part of our journey to freedom. Gaylord Barr captured those moments at Pulau Galang and Bataan when he worked at the camps as an English teacher. Trinh Huy Chuong, a refugee from border camp, had the luxury of a camera to capture the pictures at Panatnikhom during the short time he was there.
Thank you Gaylord and Chuong for sharing these priceless memory.
BATAAN REVISITED -Venerable Abhinyana
-
Because I Care
THE SKY WAS OVERCAST as we left Manila— my two companions and I— on the
morning of December 19th 1999 for what used to be the Bataan Refug...
We, the Vietnamese Land Refugees, wish to re-connect with those MSFs who once upon a time had extended their helping hands to us during the years of 1982-1989 on those refugee camps along Thailand-Cambodia boder...As we are organizing a Reunion of all VNLRs...on the 22 of June ,2013 in Montreal, Quebec,Canada...If you happened to know them ...Kindly relay this message and ask them to contact with us at chuongVNLR@gmail.com. We thank you in advanced...In the photo are MARIE-CLAUDE MSF at Red Hill refugee camp, Thailand April, 1983, with Joseph Quan Vu .
Vài hình ảnh sinh họat tại nhà thờ Emmanuel Site 2 North - 1986
(Photo courtesy of Tri Le)
We don't want to miss anyone...no one should be left behind without
notice...Please by all mean spread the news...encourage each
other...pooling...hand on hand...come altogether, see each other in
person, hug each other tighter...longer than ever before....because we
all know, after that we will again bid farewell for another time...but
this time some of us will be never seen again....Let the new generation,
our children, our sibling , our offsprings...carry over and
forever...so that we all live....Please help us to make this reunion
possible and memorable, unforgettable....No reunion in this earth will
be the same..(Chuong)
Les délégues de la Croix Rouge Internationale furent authorisés à nous visiter chaque semaine et à apporter du riz et des poissons secs.
L'eau était un gros problème, particulìerement pendant la saison de soleil (saison sèche) Souvent, chaque personne recevait juste cinq litres d'eau par jour, pour boir, faire la cuisine, et même pour se laver...
In the recent days, we’ve received lot of questions from our fellow VNLRs, regarding the destination of the Reunion: Montreal city, Canada. As an effort to provide you some inside takes and know-how’s about this city, with hope they will be an aid tool for your travel needs heading to meet beloved friends from everywhere.
Bon voyage! Have an awesome reunion!
*
* * *
When: Saturday, the 22nd of June , 2013 , Reception begins at 11:00 , suggesting to arrive earlier so
you can have a tour on the most magnificent and wonderful St-Joseph
Oratory. In fact, it is the biggest and
tallest Catholic Church in the North America continent. Where: At "L'Auberge" (Reception Hall) attaching to the St-Joseph's Oratory 3800 Queen Mary Road Montreal, QC, H3V 1H6 link: http://www.saint-joseph.org/
Montreal is best known of Gastronomical city due to its rich and diversity of multi-cultural ethnics, fine cusine from Asia to Mediterrian, Europe to North American, Mexican, Cuban…you won’t be starved Program: We publish and update program frequently as event and time begin to come in place, please check back often http://ttnbg.blogspot.com/2013/04/chuong-trinh-so-khoi-cho-ngay-hoi-ngo.html
* * *
*
Note:
We are grateful to have organized this Reunion right here at the
Oratory of St-Jospeh which is established and administered by the
Congregation of Holy Cross <CSC : Congregation de Ste-Croix>, this
church also sponsored many VNLRs from Site 2.
Đền Thánh Giu-Se Montréal...Chính nơi đây mộ của Saint Frère
André được đặc giữa lòng của Nhà thờ, dân Bản Địa rất tin và
họ đến cầu nguyện xin được ban Hồng Ân....Rất nhiều người đã
được tọai nguyện...
How to get there:
By Air:
Montreal Airport code: YUL.
There are many non-stop flights between the USA,
Internationals and Montreal.
THE USA:Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, IL, Cleveland, OH,
Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX, Denver, CO, Detroit, MI, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Fort
Myers, FL, Hartford, CT, Houston, TX, Las Vegas, NV, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL,
Minneapolis / St-Paul, MN. New York (JFK), NY, New York (LGA), NY, New York
(Newark), NY, Orlando (INT), FL, Philadelphie, PA, San Francisco, CA, Tampa, FL,
Washington (Dulles), DC, Washington (Reagan), DC INTERNATIONAL:Acapulco, Mexico,Amsterdam, Netherlands, Athens, Greece, Barcelone,
Spain, Basel-Mulhouse, Switzerland, Bordeaux France, Brussels, Belgium, Dublin,
Ireland, Frankfurt, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland, London (Gatwick), U.K., London
(Heathrow), U.K., Lyon, France, Madrid, Spain, Marseille, France, Munich,
Germany, Nantes, France, Nice, France, Paris (Charles-de-Gaulle), France, Paris
(Orly), France, Rome, Italy, Toulouse, France, Venice, Italy, Zurich,
Switzerland.
NEAREST AIRPORT:
USA: Plattburgh, NY(45
min. of driving from Montreal), Albany NY (3 hours of driving from Montreal),,
Manchester, NH (4 hours of driving from Montreal),, Burlington VT (90 min of
driving from Montreal), , Syracuse NY (3
hours of driving from Montreal).
By car:
From the USA/ New
England states, Pennsylvania, Washington DC: I-85, I-87, I-89, I-91 all will
lead to Quebec-Canada-USA border.
Driving Distances to Montreal from Major North American Cities
(in miles):Boston:300, Buffalo:380, New York:360, Ottawa:120, Philadelphia:460, Pittsburgh:565, Portland:250. Quebec City:150, Toronto:325.
TRAVEL DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS: Have proper identification
Make sure you carry proper identification for yourself and any children traveling with you to assist in confirming your legal right or authorization to enter Canada upon your arrival.
Identification for U. S. citizens and permanent residents
If you are a U.S. citizen, ensure you carry proof of citizenship such as a passport, birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or naturalization, a U.S. Permanent Resident Card, or a Certificate of Indian Status along with photo identification.
For all modes of entry, we recommend you carry a valid passport for all travel abroad, including visits to Canada from the United States. A passport may be required by your airline or alternative transportation authority, as it is the only universally-accepted identification document.
Identification for international visitors
The Government of Canada requires that all travelers carry a valid passport because it is the only reliable and universally-accepted travel and identification document for the purpose of international travel.
International transportation companies such as airlines may require travelers to present a passport. Therefore, travelers may face delays or may not be allowed to board the aircraft or other mode of transportation, if they present other documents.
When you enter Canada, a border services officer may ask to see your passport and a valid visa (if you are arriving from a country for which one is required). We remind all travelers you must carry proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate, a certificate of citizenship or naturalization or a Certificate of Indian Status along with photo identification.
LANGUAGES: French and
English are official languages in Canada.But at the Reunion, we even can speak Vietnamese, Khmer and Cham as well
J
CURRENCY: At the time
of the Reunion, the US dollar is slightly stronger than Canadian dollar. {as of
today th5 th of April 2013: 1USD = 1.01 CAD}.Most oflocal merchants would
accept USD but may be at par only (i.e 1US=1CAD).Tip: Exchange your cash at “Exchange office” without commissionprior to shopping or use your plastics
(credit cards).
WEATHER and CLIMATE:
Montreal is famous for its snowy falling and storms…but not at the time of
Reunion…It will be summer…and summer in Montreal is hot, very hot and humid too.Please consume lot of water during those hot
summer days.
MISCELLANEOUS:
UNIT: metric system is used in
Canada (i.e Kilometer, Kilogram, meter…as is in Vietnam) TRANSPORT: You can discover Montreal by Metro (Subway), bus, taxi, bike... for a nominal fee, a bus and subway pass offer a whole-day, 3-days, week, month... A well known place is Ville Marie...a city "UNDERGROUND" with many high-end brand stores for you to shop.
WHERE TO STAY:
Major chain Hotels are located
around Montreal and Downtown core , but the rate at downtown is very high.Because summer is festive seasons here with
many international events take place ( International Jazz, Grand Prix F1, Roger
Tennis tournements, …) .
Montreal is best known of
Gastronomical city due to its rich and diversity of multi-cultural ethnics,
fine cusine from Asia to Mediterrian, Europe to North American, Mexican, Cuban…you
won’t be starved…
We think we are not qualified to
describe all details about a city that has many choices to offer. We wish to
link you to the Tourism of Montreal, where you can find more info.Please enjoy!
However, we are always here to
help you….please drop us a line, on cell , facebook…whatever is convenient
for you…some one will assist you in a timely manner. We also welcome any suggestion, questions ... We continue update and bring you informed of any progress and approach developments ...please check back from time to time for more information .Thank you!
UP NEXT: The Re-union agenda - program, who will be with us,...etc...
Dear netters:Please send sign and send the petition out. Your prompt action might make a difference to the 600-700 Vietnamese in Dong Rek Camp, Thailand.
There are indications that our advocacy on behalf of this group in the past
has worked. Things are looking quite a bit better now. However, they
can turn worse at any time. Your action now is critical and will help.
Please pass the petition around to your friends and organizations that you
know.
Cordially,
Thang.
Congressman Stephen J. Solarz
1536 Longworth House Office Building
New Jersey and Independence, S.E.
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Solarz:
We are writing to request your intervention on behalf of 600-700
Vietnamese "land people" in Dong Rek Camp, Thailand. These
people escaped Vietnam by crossing Cambodia into Thailand in the
early 80s.
The Thai government's position is that these people should be
resettled as bona fide refugees as stipulated by an international
agreement in 1989. This agreement, the Comprehensive Plan of
Action, was signed in June 1989 by over 70 countries, including
the United States.
After over ten years in oblivion, these land people were
interviewed by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) in September of this year. Their biodata
were then passed to Thailand's Ministry of Interior for further
processing. Our understanding is that if resettlement nations
are not prepared to take this group for resettlement, they will
eventually be returned to Vietnam.
At this moment, the US Embassy in Bangkok may be still reluctant
to take this group even they all have arrived before the cutoff
date and therefore should be considered bona fide refugees. A
large number of them should also be qualified for resettlement to
the United States under the Lautenberg Amendment.
We need your support in pressing the US State Department to take
the lead in resettling a number from this group as pre-cutoff
refugees. This is one small but pressing problem that ought to,
at long last, be resolved in justice and humanity.
Sincerely,
Other members of congress:
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
1039 Longworth House Office Building
New Jersey and Independence, S.E.
Washington, DC 20515
Senator Frank Lautenberg
506 Senate Hart Office Building
Constitution and 2nd, N.E.
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Mark O. Hatfield
711 Senate Hart Office Building
Constitution and 2nd, N.E.
Washington, DC 20510
Shortly after those petitions had submitted. Here was the good news for the Land People: (trong đó có một lá thư của Cha Pierre Ceyrac sj)
The Aid To Refugee Children Without Parents,Inc. received yesterday,
3/20/93, the following fax from Father Pierre Ceyrac, a 79 year-old
internationally known Jesuit priest, who has spent the past 8 years
working with Vietnamese Land Refugees in Site II, Thailand, regarding
the new positive development if the situation of former Dong Rek land
refugees, also known as "Platform cases", who previously lived in
Section 19 of the Site II:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Aranyaprathet, March 20, 1993.
Dear Mr. Huu,
Some good news, at last!
Section 19 ( some 715 people ) will move to Phanat Nikhom on 7th
April!
Much work has to be done still, to have them all included in the CPA (
not yet included).
On the same days (7th April and following days) the "new arrivals"
will move to Sikiew for Screening.
Congratulations for your good work.
Yours, P. Ceyrac
Note:
Under the CPA, those who arrived before the cut off date of 14-Mar-89
are supposed to be considered refugees and are to be resettled. All
Vietnamese land people in Dong Rek did arrive before the cut off date
but was steadfastly denied the "pre-cutoff refugee" status by the
UNHCR. The UNHCR's rationale for this position is that only those arriving
in a first asylum camp run by the UNHCR before the cut off date
qualified as "pre-cutoff refugees" and Dong Rek is not under UNHCR
(but is run by the United Nations Border Relief Operation, UNBRO).
As long as they remained in Dong Rek, they would be treated, not as
Vietnamese refugees, but as Cambodians, displaced persons
who are not granted refugee status and do not have UNHCR protection;
they will not be considered by the CPA at all. This move to Phanat Nikhom
(which is run by the UNHCR) is good news because it implies that they
are officially under the protection and responsibilities of the UNHCR
which provides them the opportunities to be interviewed for resettlement
in third countries. The good news is not about the physical
conditions or relative hardships of living in those camps.
________________________________________________________________
Sau gần 30 năm nhìn lại, nhớ về những ngày tháng tuyệt vọng , gian khổ ...của Trại Tị Nạn Đường Bộ. Hy vọng mỗi người Việt Tị Nạn Đường Bộ sẽ không bao giờ quên công ơn của các vị Ân Nhân của chúng ta...Từ Cha Pierre Ceyrac, Cha Thomas Dunleavy, Cha John Bingham, Cha Jean Houlmann, đến các Thiện Nguyện viên của các Tổ Chức Cứu Trợ Quốc Tế, các Nhân sĩ, Nghị sĩ, thân hào, Dân biểu...có nhiều người chúng ta chưa bao giờ nghe , hay biết đến song họ đã nối vòng tay nhân ái, hô hào vận động cho số mạng của mỗi người chúng ta...Hình ảnh các Cha vẫn ngày ngày vào trại ...với hy vọng tất cả chúng ta được cặp bến bờ Tự Do, chính các Cha là những người đưa tiễn chúng ta lên đường định cư và cũng các ngài là những người cuối cùng rời trại...
Trong khuôn khổ để nhớ lại những công ơn đó, Hội Ngộ trại Tị Nạn Đường Bộ ngày 22 tháng Sáu này, sẽ là một cơ hội chính thức cho chúng ta nghiêng mình kính cẩn tri ân và nói lên những lời CẢM ƠN chân thành đến các vị Ân Nhân sẽ có mặt hôm đó, cũng như vắng mặt và những ân nhân nay đã Khuất mặt.
Pour les enfants, sur tout, les conditions de vie devenaient beaucoup plus alarmantes...maltrution..santé défaillante....
Jean Marie, un frère Jesuit du Luxambourg, que j'ai recontré la premìere fois dans ce camp, c'est lui qui a pris toutes ces photos, et qui est devenu non plus grand amie...
Mois après mois, la population du camp se multipliait à cause l'affluencedes réfugiés. Dans le camp, on pouvait trouver toutes sortes des gens:
Jeunes, vieillards, ingéniers, professeurs , vendeurs , fermiers
We don't want to miss anyone...no one should be left behind without notice...Please by all mean spread the news...encourage each other...pooling...hand on hand...come altogether, see each other in person, hug each other tighter...longer than ever before....because we all know, after that we will again bid farewell for another time...but this time some of us will be never seen again....Let the new generation, our children, our sibling , our offsprings...carry over and forever...so that we all live....Please help us to make this reunion possible and memorable, unforgettable....No reunion in this earth will be the same..(Chuong)
Father Tom and a young Daddy with 2 kids...Where are they now?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this couple?
All my friends..please
Where are you now?
Are you still out there?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this young man?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this young man?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this young man?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this couple?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of these young men?
Sorry I forget your name...Anyone knows whereabout of this young man?
Monday, April 29, 2013
