Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Hi, my name is Sarah Nguyen and i just came across your blog. I havent had the chance to read it all yet but i have a feeling you could maybe help my with an english project i'm currently working on?? I'm writing a creative piece about a Vietnamese refugee who stayed in a Songkhla camp and then moved to Australia. If you could give me any descriptions of the camp and just any memories of the place it would be so very helpful.
Thank You,
Sarah Nguyen
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Monday, October 12, 2009
Panat Nikhom on Facebook!
| Hi Melissa, I've responded to your posts before. I'm writing to let you know that there is now a Panat Nikhom group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10265840187 You might want to tell your blog subscribers about this. FYI: I'll be in Thailand this December and will take a bunch of pictures. I'll send in some to your blog as well as post them on Facebook. Nghi |
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Minor Center Virtual Home
+++ Minors Summer Camp 2009 +++
Did you live in the Minor Center in Sikiew, in Banthad, or in Panat Nikhom?
Did you live in the Children Center in Songkhla?
If you did, we want you at the Vietnamese Unaccompanied Minors Summer Camp 2009. This will be our first camp, and hopefully a first of many. Visit our website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minorcenter
If you live in one of these refugee camp and know someone who used to be a Minor, please let him/her know about our Summer Camp.
Sincerely,
Minors of Sikiew, Songkhla, KlonYai, Banthad, PanatNikhom
__How to know if you are a Minor__
Contributors: The ex-Minors
05/22/2009
1. Obviously, you got to the camp without your parents.
2. When you first got to the center, the hair was short. When you left, you got the long hippy hair.
3. All your belongings can be packed into a small suitcase.
4. You own your own flash light.
5. You wrote your name on your sandals.
6. You learn how to play ping-pong during your stay at the center.
7. You learn to master domino during your stay at the center.
8. Many of your friends have nick names. You might have one too.
9. In Songkhla, you sneaked out of the center to sleep on the beach at nights, sometimes.
10. In Panat, you sneaked over to Transit.
11. In Panat, you know friends who got caught sneaking over to Transit, and the Police shaved off their hair and eyebrows; and they ended up looking like monkeys.
12. You call your care-takers Thay / Co
13. You know at least one Priest.
14. Unknown foreigners would visit. Some brought gifts.
15. You travel around camp in pack.
16. When shower, you showered in group
17. You go to church in group
18. You see your friends off to their final country.
19. A bunch of kids came out to see you off to your final country.
20. You have to wake up very early to exercise, even though some of us still "xay ke".
21. Everyone knows about our curfew "back at the centre before 8pm or else".
22. Everyone has at least one scar or two because " phai leo hang rao".
23. You participated in at least one musical show and play while at the center.
24. You always get misty eyes when you hear the song "Long Me" because the memory was still so fresh.
25. When competing in camp sports tournaments, our team was always the youngest.
26. Our team cheer leading section was always the largest since almost everyone in the center would come out to watch.
27. You religiously checked the walls outside the camp's post office for your name hoping for rescue money
28. The moment you received $100 by Registered Mail, you immediately bought a box of yellow or silver Mama noodles as security and blew the rest
29. One's popularity suddenly rises after receiving rescue money.
30. You barely knew the words to the mandatory prayer before each meal but felt obligated to move your lips to show compliance
31. You unknowingly mastered the most eco-friendly act known to man of wetting your hair & body/ shampooing / showering / rinsing / brushing / otherwise executing complete personal hygene routine with ... less than a pitcher of water.
32. You knew who 'anh Joe' was.
33. You effortlessly learned most or all of the church songs sang by the choirs during Saturday and Sunday services held at the center.
34. Out of admiration, appreciation, respect or other reasons, you became or seriously considered becoming a converted Catholic during your time there at A11.
minorcenter : Minor Center Sikiew & Panatnikhom
Source: groups.yahoo.com
minorcenter: Minor Center Sikiew & Panatnikhom
Did you live in the Minor Center in Sikiew, in Banthad, or in Panat Nikhom?
Did you live in the Children Center in Songkhla?
If you did, we want you at the Vietnamese Unaccompanied Minors Summer Camp 2009. This will be our first camp, and hopefully a first of many. Visit our website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minorcenter
If you live in one of these refugee camp and know someone who used to be a Minor, please let him/her know about our Summer Camp.
Sincerely,
Minors of Sikiew, Songkhla, KlonYai, Banthad, PanatNikhom
__How to know if you are a Minor__
Contributors: The ex-Minors
05/22/2009
1. Obviously, you got to the camp without your parents.
2. When you first got to the center, the hair was short. When you left, you got the long hippy hair.
3. All your belongings can be packed into a small suitcase.
4. You own your own flash light.
5. You wrote your name on your sandals.
6. You learn how to play ping-pong during your stay at the center.
7. You learn to master domino during your stay at the center.
8. Many of your friends have nick names. You might have one too.
9. In Songkhla, you sneaked out of the center to sleep on the beach at nights, sometimes.
10. In Panat, you sneaked over to Transit.
11. In Panat, you know friends who got caught sneaking over to Transit, and the Police shaved off their hair and eyebrows; and they ended up looking like monkeys.
12. You call your care-takers Thay / Co
13. You know at least one Priest.
14. Unknown foreigners would visit. Some brought gifts.
15. You travel around camp in pack.
16. When shower, you showered in group
17. You go to church in group
18. You see your friends off to their final country.
19. A bunch of kids came out to see you off to your final country.
20. You have to wake up very early to exercise, even though some of us still "xay ke".
21. Everyone knows about our curfew "back at the centre before 8pm or else".
22. Everyone has at least one scar or two because " phai leo hang rao".
23. You participated in at least one musical show and play while at the center.
24. You always get misty eyes when you hear the song "Long Me" because the memory was still so fresh.
25. When competing in camp sports tournaments, our team was always the youngest.
26. Our team cheer leading section was always the largest since almost everyone in the center would come out to watch.
27. You religiously checked the walls outside the camp's post office for your name hoping for rescue money
28. The moment you received $100 by Registered Mail, you immediately bought a box of yellow or silver Mama noodles as security and blew the rest
29. One's popularity suddenly rises after receiving rescue money.
30. You barely knew the words to the mandatory prayer before each meal but felt obligated to move your lips to show compliance
31. You unknowingly mastered the most eco-friendly act known to man of wetting your hair & body/ shampooing / showering / rinsing / brushing / otherwise executing complete personal hygene routine with ... less than a pitcher of water.
32. You knew who 'anh Joe' was.
33. You effortlessly learned most or all of the church songs sang by the choirs during Saturday and Sunday services held at the center.
34. Out of admiration, appreciation, respect or other reasons, you became or seriously considered becoming a converted Catholic during your time there at A11.
minorcenter : Minor Center Sikiew & Panatnikhom
Source: groups.yahoo.com
minorcenter: Minor Center Sikiew & Panatnikhom
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Journey from 1978
Let's help Matthew find some type of closure and answers he's looking for. Anyone with pictures or articles can either reply to this post, email me, or Matthew himself. Thanks.
G’day Melissa,
I came across your blog while searching for Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp 1978, after reading your blog, many memories came flooding back (some good and some not so good). It’s been awhile since I decided to search for this topic, for I was one of the many Vietnamese refugees which landed in Songkhla, but my journey reaching to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in 1978 was some what difficult and not as straight forward I we have planned.
I’m still searching for what happen after we left Vietnam on island near Phu Quoc and landed in Bangkok after 15 days at sea (virtually out of food and water, and on top of that we meet many pirates along the way who rob our foods, these are mainly Thai fisherman with guns). You see, the authority in Bangkok refuse to let us on land into the city of Bangkok, they just top up our food and water supply and instructed us to head to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in our own boat. We were given a map on how to get there. We pleased with then that we can not go any further as the women and children are very sick and needed medial attention, all this was refused.
As we set off again from Bangkok to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in our own boat and not know where we are going, half way though the journey we encounter heavy storm and our boat started to take in water at a very fast rate. If we continue on this course our boat will surely sink, hence the captain of the boat decided to head straight for the nearest land mark. As we approach one of the beaches (I’m not sure which one) our boat sank, luckily we were very close to land so we managed to get everyone (included all the women and children) safety on the beach. By this time its was very dark, so we all hurdle together in a small group to shelter ourselves from the strong wind. As we stood there with our wet cloths only in a strange land (as all our belonging sank along with the boat), some local residence (I assume these were local Thai men) three or four of them came and grab three of the women in our group, we gave chase and managed to get them back. We decided to make a lot of noise and just before mid-night the locally authority came and send us to a Buddhist Temple, there we stay for four months before we were moved to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp. The Buddhist monks and the village people were very kind to us, they give us foods and clothing to change out. We will always grateful for their kindness.
What am I searching for is the location where we landed after our boat sank, and to locate the Buddhist Temple and the people that lives around there. I’m also trying to find if there is any local newspaper article written about us during that time. There are still many things which I can’t remember, so find these things, I hope to put the pieces together.
I would be appreciated if you can help in any way. For your info, we landed at the beach just 15 days after TED (Chinese New Year) in 1978.
Regards,
Matthew
G’day Melissa,
I came across your blog while searching for Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp 1978, after reading your blog, many memories came flooding back (some good and some not so good). It’s been awhile since I decided to search for this topic, for I was one of the many Vietnamese refugees which landed in Songkhla, but my journey reaching to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in 1978 was some what difficult and not as straight forward I we have planned.
I’m still searching for what happen after we left Vietnam on island near Phu Quoc and landed in Bangkok after 15 days at sea (virtually out of food and water, and on top of that we meet many pirates along the way who rob our foods, these are mainly Thai fisherman with guns). You see, the authority in Bangkok refuse to let us on land into the city of Bangkok, they just top up our food and water supply and instructed us to head to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in our own boat. We were given a map on how to get there. We pleased with then that we can not go any further as the women and children are very sick and needed medial attention, all this was refused.
As we set off again from Bangkok to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp in our own boat and not know where we are going, half way though the journey we encounter heavy storm and our boat started to take in water at a very fast rate. If we continue on this course our boat will surely sink, hence the captain of the boat decided to head straight for the nearest land mark. As we approach one of the beaches (I’m not sure which one) our boat sank, luckily we were very close to land so we managed to get everyone (included all the women and children) safety on the beach. By this time its was very dark, so we all hurdle together in a small group to shelter ourselves from the strong wind. As we stood there with our wet cloths only in a strange land (as all our belonging sank along with the boat), some local residence (I assume these were local Thai men) three or four of them came and grab three of the women in our group, we gave chase and managed to get them back. We decided to make a lot of noise and just before mid-night the locally authority came and send us to a Buddhist Temple, there we stay for four months before we were moved to Songkhla Vietnamese Refugee Camp. The Buddhist monks and the village people were very kind to us, they give us foods and clothing to change out. We will always grateful for their kindness.
What am I searching for is the location where we landed after our boat sank, and to locate the Buddhist Temple and the people that lives around there. I’m also trying to find if there is any local newspaper article written about us during that time. There are still many things which I can’t remember, so find these things, I hope to put the pieces together.
I would be appreciated if you can help in any way. For your info, we landed at the beach just 15 days after TED (Chinese New Year) in 1978.
Regards,
Matthew
Monday, October 27, 2008
Your Panat Nikhom post
Hey Melissa, I just saw your reply to my post. I didn't notice it for like a whole month as I'm not familiar with the Blogger layout. Anyway, regarding your comment about the availability of information and historical remembrance of the camps, unfortunately, all of that is dying out--even in Vietnamese enclaves. I was raised in Little Saigon, Orange County (home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam), so you'd think it would play a part in the culture of our youth--but not so. The people who were kids at the time don't care to remember or are too ashamed, and there's huge a rift between the older generation refugees and their English speaking offspring so there's no passing on of culture. That's why I'm thankful you put up this blog. Keep up the good work!!! Nghi |
Friday, September 19, 2008
Story of Tao
Hello Melissa,
My story is the same as so many others. Compared to many of my friends in Songkhla Children's Center, and many in the camp, my journey/life was often considered a fortunate one.
I came to the US late 1981. Attached is the story I wrote in my Sophmore year. Even back then, I was always hesitant to tell my story in the "first person". I guess I didn't want people to feel sorry for me, to pity me etc. There were so many others who had it much worse than I did.
Now, much older, I think I will start putting my story and my friends' stories on paper, so that we don't lose them. We need to remember them. Everyone needs to know where they came from...
Sincerely,
Tan H.
ps. Sorry, for the confusion. I was trying to ask Tony B. (the person who left the comment) if he was in the Children's Center. Not you. You came to Songkhla as a family; only unaccompanied minors stayed at the Children's Center. The center was funded by Father Joe Devlin. :)
Go to facebook.com, and search for Songkhla Refugee Children Center. You will find the map with the exact location of Songkhla camp.
There is an island that can be seen on the map. That island is visible on one of the pictures in your blog.
Will post pictures when I have them scanned.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Panat Nikhom
| Hello, Wow!!! This is the best blog ever!!! I've been trying to find a place for pics or just updated information about the two refugee camps but have not been able to do so. If you have more pics of Panat, or as my mom calls it, "Ban Nat," hahha, can you post more? Or if there's some information site that I'm not aware of, can you send me some links. I'm actually very surprised at how hard it is to find anything about the camps--I guess people just forget. Thanks for putting this up! And congrats on the engagement, by the way! And if I have pics, I'll send them to you at this address--gotta check with my mom to see if we have any. Nghi |
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