To sookjai01: Sabaidee

[Waylim]

Sabaidee Sookai,

Thank you very much for you kind comment and for sharing your personal story, a story I knew too well and sometimes I have nightmare about it, even if it was from a long time ago. It is a story of courage and taking chance in life. Your leap of faith you have taken was even more compelling than my own story, I don’t know if I would have the courage to do what you have done at the age of 17, leaving your family to swim across the river to a different land all by yourself. As for me, it was my parents’ decision. Now I understand what it must be like for them to make such a decision that potentially could get us all killed. In order to have a better future for their children, that was the risk they took. And for us, it has a happy ending. It is a story I told to our next generation who really don’t seem to care. I hope you have a chance to go back to Savanakhet and visit your family. It was one very emotional trip for me.

Check out this photo and story that took me a longtime to consider before posting. One that you will understand better than most people. http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=5&p=1182665

Thank you and hope to hear from you sometimes and like to see some photo from you of Laos perhaps.

Way

[sookjai01]

Thank you so much for your post. I remember going thru the same registration process as you and your family. I was less fortunate then you, however, that I did not have money to take those pictures to shared with the world the same way you did. You probably luckier than me that you get to come straight to the US after leaving Ubon camp. As for me, I was sent to Philippines to learn to speak English for almost a year before departed to the US. The ICM, I believed is the group is called, sent me to Boston, MA and that's where I am still living today. I went back to Laos many times, on average about once a year, since I have been here. My first trip back to Laos was in 1995 and I won’t be able to described in words for you how emotional I was as the tears of joy falling down my cheeks after setting foot on the ground in front of my aunt’s house in Seno. Seeing my 5 younger brothers, I am the elder of the six boys, and relatives for the first time after 16 years is like reaching the heaven except that I am not dead yet.
anyway, fast forward over to today. A few years ago, my mom went back to Laos, who came to visit me in the US since 1994 and living with me ever since, went back and built a house in Seno a few hundred meters from the main bus station. I now considered Seno, your hometown, as mine hometown as well, since our family have moved there permanently.

To be continued...

[Waylim]

Sabaidee Sookjai,
I’m so sorry it took so long for me to reply to your message and thank you so much for your share story and pouring out you emotion. I know what you mean to be walking on the same little street where we grew up. I sometimes wish I’m a better writer, so I can write a book to tell my story, which is also your story and my others. As time passed, people forget what we have been through, even we ourselves forget after such a long time. Until I returned home, all those emotion come rushing through.

I know I’m lucky and don’t think you are less fortunate. It really doesn’t take much to buy a decent camera. I know my maybe a little more expensive because that is my hobby and passion. But you don’t need an expensive one to take good photos. I strong encourage people to take photos, especially of something that is so personal to your heart, like your homeland with a history.

My family didn’t come directly to the U.S from Ubon. We were sent to Chunbuly, another camp together with the Cambodian refugee to study English for 4 to 6 months. We would have been sent to the Philippines too if we applied a few months later.

Well, we are here now, and doing well. I’m happy for you that you have been home many times, I like to travel to different places, so I didn’t go back as many times as I like, but I know I will go back again in a few years, even though my parents are not originally from Laos. My mother is Cambodian and my father, Chinese, but I have always consider Laos as my homeland in my heart. Most of my family are here now and my sister who I visited in Seno passed away a few months after I visited her. So now there are only my nieces and Nephews there. I have a couple of childhood friends in Seno and Savanakhet, so I will always go back there once in a few years.

Anyway. Thanks again for sharing your story. I’m glade to have post these photos and maybe I find some more different photos from Seno or Savan to post.

Way

[Waylim]

Hi sookjai,
I post another photo from Savanakhet of the same place. Unfortunately I stayed mostly in Seno with friends and family, and didn't take too many photos.

I hope everything is well. It must gets really cold to be in Boston as a tropical born person

Sabaidee,
Way