August 2013 ~ TRẠI TỊ NẠN ĐƯỜNG BỘ VIỆT NAM TẠI BIÊN GIỚI

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....

Send stories and pictures to hungfng2.vnlr@blogger.com and they will be posted here for all to see.

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.

- Pulau Galang Refugee Camp - Indonesia
- Bataan - Philippines Refugees Processing Center (PRPC)

- Panatnikhom

August 13, 2013

Dư Âm Hội Ngộ- Lời Cảm Tưởng Trong Buổi Họp Mặt Trại Tỵ Nạn Đường Bộ Thái Lan- Anh Đỗ Chí Siêu

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

1 comment

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests, respected seniors, parents, fellow refugees, friends and family.

We, people from different parts of Vietnam, Southeast Asia were once together on the border of Thailand and Cambodia, where we became Vietnamese Land Refugees sharing one dream.

Today, it is my extreme pleasure to welcome all of you to our 30 year refugee reunion. And I am honored to have been asked to take part in this very special event.

Sieu is speaking at the re-union

On behalf of the host committee, I would like to thank all of you, who travelled from a long distance to this beautiful city of Montreal to help make the history of this reunion unique and possible.

Your participation is a remarkable testament to our perseverance.

First of all, I would like to specifically, express my deep appreciation to our dignitary Father Thomas Dunleavy, who risked his life for us during those times in the refugee camp.

Although, the situation in the camp was extremely dangerous, Father Tom never gave up on taking care of us.

For example, he would bring us a lot of mosquito nets to protect us from getting malaria disease. Father Tom also brought us a lot of clothing to keep us warm from the bitter coldness of the coming winter.

Even after all the Vietnamese land refugees were liberated from the Refugee Camp more than 30 years ago, Father Tom continues his remarkable mission to support less fortunate families and vulnerable children.

Father Tom gave us hope and love. He strives to make the world a better place for us. Father Tom, it is truly a blessing to have you here with us today.

I also want to particularly extend a hearty welcome to our hero, Ms. Martine Bourquin, the International Committee of the Red Cross delegate. As the medical professional, Ms. Bourquin never quit in visiting us despite of the bomb explosions around the refugee camp.

Sieu is presenting Certificate of Appreciation
from San Francisco city to Martin Bourquin

Ms. Bourquin always made sure that our fellow refugees stayed physically and mentally healthy. Ms.
Bourquin risked her life because of us. And we are extremely grateful to have her with us today.

We thank you all for your contributions.

As I am standing here today, I want to give my voice and express my gratitude to those heroic acts by the international Committee of the Red Cross, American Red Cross, Thai Red Cross, The Japanese Volunteer Center, Christian Outreach, Medical San Frontier, Care, COERR, JRS and many other nonprofit charity organizations. We want to thank them for they gave us strength and courage. They put their lives in jeopardy because of us.

We also have one unique, respected individual, which we shall always remember, Doctor Louis Braile, was a senior physician from American Red Cross, who once upon a time dedicated his life for us in the refugee camps.

Many times when I think about that, I burst in tears and I cry. Without their humanity and contribution, we would not be here today.

Their compassion and their labor of love are embedded in our history; the story of this Vietnamese Land Refugee should be passed on to our children and to our younger generation. It shall never be forgotten.