Tristan, from Palawan to Germany

Dr. Tristan Nguyen- PFAC Palawan Son

"I'd like to convey my deepest gratitude to all PFAC teachers and international volunteers. They are heroes of the modern world.  They deserve all our love and respect.  God bless all of them."

Andrew:  Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen!  I'm sitting here with Tristan Nguyen, who flew all the way to Palawan from Munich, Germany to take part in our amazing, wonderful, emotional 2015 PFAC Palawan Grand Reunion.  Tell us, Tristan... when exactly did you come to the refugee camp and when did you leave?

Tristan:  I arrived in PFAC Palawan in May 1985 and I stayed in the camp for a little over six months.

Andrew:  So you stayed here for over six months?  And where did you resettle?

Tristan:  Munich, Germany!

Andrew:  Munich!  Wow.  Munich is a beautiful city.  And so when you resettled in Germany what was your next step?

Tristan:  I went to a language school to learn German. 

Andrew:  Right.  When you look back to your time in the refugee camp, what do you remember most?

Tristan:  I remember the highly dedicated teachers who taught me English.  They were very kind to me.  I remember you Andrew, who used to come to our billet every Saturday to give us free English pronunciation and vocabulary lessons.  I remember the beautiful beach, the domestic airport and the tears from the eyes of my countrymen as they said good bye to friends and volunteers in the camp. I also remember the mini cinemas in the camp where we used to watch Vietnamese and American movies.

Andrew:  Oh yeah?  What exactly do you do in Germany?  What's your profession?

Tristan:  I'm a university professor for economics and finance.

Andrew:  That's amazing.  If the refugee camp were still open today, do you think you would go back and work as a volunteer?  Why and why not?

Tristan:  It's a really difficult question to answer.  Well, of course I would spend some months to help my compatriots. But sometimes I think it's really hard to come here because I have my private life in Germany. The reason why I really admire the former volunteer teachers and international volunteers for coming here to help the refugees is because it's not easy to do what they did for the refugees but they did it with all their hearts. 

Andrew:  You're absolutely right.  Please name three people who had touched your life during your stay in the camp?

Tristan:  I think I remember Jane, I think she was from Scotland.

Andrew:  Jane's from England.

Tristan:  Oh, she's from England?  Hmmm.  Well, the one thing I remember about Jane is her blond hair.  Yeah.  Jane has blond hair and I like blond hair.  The second one I remember is Boy. I don't really remember his real name but we just call him Boy.  I'm very happy that he is here with us.  And last but not least is Andy.  I remember he used to sing "Hello, is it me your looking for?"  At that time I didn't understand English very well.  And when he sang, "And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand time", I thought I heard "slip" instead of "lips".

Andrew :  That's hilarious.  Tristan, many Vietnamese have chosen to resettle in the United States, Canada, Australia, Switzerland or France.  Why did you decide to immigrate to Germany?

Tristan:  In my case it was not a choice; it was destiny.  My father was rescued by a German ship and was resettled in Germany many years before I came to the camp.  That's the reason why I came to Germany... to be reunited with my father.

Andrew:  Oh I see.  Do you have any regrets about going to Germany?

Tristan:  Oh I love Germany and I'm extremely proud to be a German citizen.  Germany is my country and I have no regrets.  Not at all. As I said, it was destiny.  In the beginning it was hard for me to learn the culture and language but five years after I came to Germany I got used to the German culture and society.   

Andrew:  Do you have any message to the former teachers and volunteers in the camp who gave up their precious times in order to help the Vietnamese refugees?

Tristan:  I'd like to convey my deepest gratitude to all of them. They are heroes of the modern world.  They deserve all our love and respect.  God bless all of them.

Andrew:  How do you feel being a part of this beautiful and touching PFAC Palawan Grand Reunion?

Tristan:  I'm extremely happy and at the same time very emotional to see all the people and some of the teachers again after so many years.

Andrew:  I know how you feel.  Okay, Tristan, thank you very much for sharing your heart with us.  Good luck to you.  Continue to shine.  You are an asset to the Philippines, to Vietnam, to Germany and to the world in general. I hope you can join us again in our future reunions.

Tristan:  You will definitely see me again. No doubt about it.

Tristan in PFAC Palawan in 1985 with his family and friends.  This picture was photographed by Andrew Taylor.

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