From Australia to PFAC Palawan

A SHORT TALK WITH HO THI KIM XUAN

ANDREW:  Good to finally see you on Facebook, Kim Xuan. My daughter Sarah loved the beautiful koala bear that you gave as a gift.  I hope to see you again in the years to come.  If you have the time, please visit our PFAC Palawan Blog and read some interviews I did during the recently concluded PFAC Palawan Grand Reunion.  Here's the link to the blog.
http://pfacasylum.blogspot.com/

KIM XUAN:  Hi, Andy.  I am glad to hear that you're well and that your daughter loved the koala bear.  It's just a small gift, but it definitely came from our hearts and thought.  I've seen the PFAC Palawan official  blog and read some of the postings/entries.  I have lots of friends on Facebook and they told me about the PFAC Palawan Blog.

ANDREW:  Terrific!  Have you seen the interviews I did with the PFAC Palawan reunion participants?  I interviewed Marissa, Nam, and Tristan from Germany.

KIM XUAN:  Oh yes.  It's very nice of you to do all these interviews.  I enjoyed reading them. I didn't know Tristan and Marissa prior to the reunion.  They seem like marvelous people.

ANDREW:  I tutored Tristan English when he was in the camp. He and I were very close.

KIM XUAN:   I remembered you taught me English.  Your brother Sammy was my teacher too.  Well, before I was promoted to your class.

ANDREW:  Of course, I know you were my student, and my fav. You were an honor student in my class.  I was your last teacher in PFAC before you immigrated to Melbourne, Australia.

KIM XUAN:   I remembered.  I came to your place and said goodbye to both of you and Sammy.  The only thing I couldn't believe is that both of you are still very youthful.  I thought you would've been older by now.

ANDREW:  Well, thanks.  In my case, I stay positive, smile, laugh, eat healthy, work out and maintain an energetic social life.  All those years, prior to our reunion in Palawan this year,  I had been wondering how you had been.

KIM XUAN:  I'm not a Facebook fan.  As a result, I'm very disconnected to PFAC.

ANDREW:  Being away from my family, I just feel that I have to be on Facebook to maintain my connection with everyone of them

KIM XUAN:  Make sense to me.  Well, I had to work so hard as soon as I arrived in Sydney.  Three days after I landed, I went to high school.

ANDREW:  You did an awesome job achieving your goals.  You are the epitome of what is possible for immigrants if they work hard, stay focused and believe in themselves.  I'm exceedingly proud of you.

KIM XUAN:  Thank you, but honestly speaking, I wanted to become a doctor, but for some reason, I couldn't pursue it.  I got offered dentistry at Sydney University as well, but somehow I was scared of this job so I chose commerce and science, another way to become an actuary, but it wasn't my interest so I ended up with banking.

ANDREW:  You did a fantastic job with your chosen career. You are an HTC-PFAC baby... our pride.

KIM XUAN:  Thank you.

ANDREW:  My advice is that you do whatever makes you happy. In life, happiness is not defined by how much money you make or how popular you can be. Self contentment and inner peace always play a great role in being happy. Well, I have to go.  I'm teaching in an hour and need to get ready.  It was great talking with you, Kim Xuan. Hugs.

KIM XUAN:  Me, too bye!

Hello PFAC!

Palawan is once again a place that I will cherish for the remaining of my life.  Hopefully I will have another opportunity to return sooner than 30 years later.  I have compiled some photos and sent them to the benefactors in Australia for their support with Bancao Bancao Elementary School. Here they are.  Cheers

Kim Ho

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Journey to the SAFE HAVEN

BOAT PEOPLE TRUE SURVIVAL STORY

By Nguyen Thai Hoa 

(Group 37 El Nido, Palawan)

Crossing the ocean was challenging but a great journey.

I was barely sixteen years old when I bravely crossed the vast South China Sea in search of freedom. I went on a small fishing boat with a group of my compatriots and we decided to head to a safe haven. After three excruciating days sailing, eating and drinking too little, our engine suddenly broke down. Then there was a rainstorm with strong winds that brought gigantic waves. I was so afraid that the boat would capsize. I was wet, cold, and starving. I couldn’t move my feet because they were numb. The fearful children started crying and screaming, calling their mothers. I looked up in the air and saw that the sky was dark. There was no sunshine at all. It seemed as though that the nights and days had become one. “Will this be the end of my life?” I whispered to myself.

The boat owner had stopped navigating and just let the boat drift to nowhere. We were almost out of food and water. I ate dried salted fish to ease me of my hunger. We shared every drop of the water that we had. Many people on the boat were crying while praying. We saved drinking water for the children so that they wouldn’t suffer from deadly dehydration. We were desperate for food and water. To make matter worse, we discovered that the boat was leaking. Instead of panicking, we remained focused and took turns to scoop the sea water out so that it wouldn’t fill the boat and sink it.

I was asked to run errands up and down the lower deck while the boat mechanic was trying his best to fix the broken engine. Thirty-four hours later the sun came up and it burned our skins. We were extremely hungry and thirsty. I thought I was going to die. As I was about to close my eyes to pray, the boat engine started running again. With renewed hope we looked up the sky and thanked God. The boat started heading to its destination. Finally, we landed on Philippine Islands where we were welcomed by the very friendly and generous Filipino people.

 

Note:  Although the pictures above are authentic Vietnamese 

refugees pictures, they have nothing to do with the story.

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