Memories of PFAC Palawan (Part 8)

HTC-PFAC TEACHER CRISTINA DACUAN  

Shared some of her  memories of PFAC Palawan. If you are a former member of the VOLAGS in the former VRC or PFAC, please send me a PM if you wanna share your memories.

 

 

 

 

HTC-PFAC DRUM and LYRE CORPS

PFAC Palawan Interviews

Teacher Sammy Taylor.

PFAC Palawan:  So... Sammy, I stumbled upon one of the many  pictures of the HTC-PFAC Drum and Lyre Corps while visiting the PFAC Palawan Facebook page, and for some reason I felt kind-a sentimental seeing you, Jan Top Christensen and Sister Bernandette.

Sammy:  That group was my baby. I love every minute of my interactions and bonding with the refugee youths as we practiced every afternoon after classes.

PFAC Palawan:  I feel you, but please tell me.  What inspired you to train those students?

Sammy:  The idea was actually conceptualized by our dearest HTC-PFAC Executive Director, Sister Bernadette. She called me one day to her office to tell me that she was thinking of buying those musical instruments and starting a drum and lyre group and that she wanted me to train the students. I immediately fell in love with the idea and assured Sister Bernadette that I would do it in a heartbeat.

PFAC Palawan:  You said yes, just like that? And knowing that it would entail an enormous amount of work? 

Sammy:  Well, substantial amount of work was definitely a requirement, but I didn't mind that at all because when you love what you do, it's not work but a hobby.  I am a professional singer and I love every form of entertainment, especially music.  But the point is, the refugees, especially the youths, needed to do something productive to fill their precious times in the camp while awaiting resettlement.  Teaching them how to play the xylophone and the drum was a great way to help them take away their boredom and distance themselves from smoking, alcohol, and stuff like that. 

PFAC Palawan:  Wow!  Impressive and truly amazing.  How often did you practice?

Sammy:  We rehearsed five days a week every afternoon after their English classes.  Everyday brought energy to everybody.  To me... to them... to the students and the school, and to the whole camp in general.                

PFAC Palawan:  I can imagine.  Was participation in the band extended to everyone or just to HTC-PFAC students?

Sammy:  Everyone, but I'd say, ninety-nine percent of the participants were HTC-PFAC students. 

PFAC Palawan:  Awesome.  Was there any age limit ... requirement?  I mean... 

Sammy:  Quite honestly, I can no longer recall, but the participants were between the ages of eight and fifteen. 

PFAC Palawan:  Where did the band play?  I mean on what occasions?

Sammy:  They played in parades, school graduations, PFAC sporting events, Bon Voyage parties, Christmas parties, Tet and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. 

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PFAC Palawan:  Fascinating!  Do you have any message to your former HTC-PFAC Drum and Lyre Corps members who might see this interview on line?

Sammy:  Yes!  My service to the Vietnamese refugees, United Nations, and PFAC Palawan was one of the best and probably the most significant highlights of my life not just as a teacher but as a person in general. I appeal to you my dear Vietnamese refugees to not ever forget your foundation which played a big part of who you are today.  Your membership and participation in the band was not accidental.  God brought us all together for a purpose... to entertain, to educate, and to inspire others. And we all succeeded, didn't we?  Thank you for supporting our beautiful music together.  If in the future we have the opportunity to reconnect or reunite, I will definitely be here with open arms and warm heart.  You can find me on Facebook under Sam Taylor.  God bless you all.

PFAC Palawan:  Thank you, Mr. Taylor, I mean, Sammy, for this splendid interview.  I feel that I have grown emotionally and intellectually from this.

Sammy:  So have I, PFAC Palawan.  Let's keep the fire of PFAC Palawan burning.

Minh Chuong, Alexander Cao, Linh, Thuan, and Minh Dang

OOO

PFAC Palawan Reunion in Manila

Aren't we glad we have the PFAC Palawan Blog and Facebook Page to share our beautiful memories and reunions like this?

 

Joebel, Sen Kagahastian, Rohima, Steven, Kieu Phung, Jan Top, and Dr. Vic 

 

Conversations taken from PFAC Palawan Facebook Page.

Kieu Phung: From left to right: Joebel, Sen Kagahastian, Rohima, Steven, Kieu Phung, Jan Top Christensen, and Dr. Vic Salas.
Sen Kagahastian:  Beautiful picture!  Great to see all of you again. Thanks, Madam Kieu! May I share?

Kieu Phung: Sure chi.

Khanh Mai Tran: Hi Kieu!  Thank you for posting and sharing this photo. Where did you meet Joebel?

Kieu Phung: Mai oi. Joebel o Manila, gap may lan roi. Mai con nho Dr. Vic Salas khong? Ong noi khi nao Mai qua choi nhan cho ong hay de ong den tham Mai.

Kieu Phung: Sang nam hop mat thien nguyen vien van khong cao uy khong?

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Tuanhien Tran: Hi everybody head quarter PFAC ! Chao c. Kieu con nho em kg? Em la Tuan trong Dam Viet, Thaï, Hung.... O khu 6 Gan Nha chi o PFAC. 2 bac con khoe kg? Cho goi tham ca nha.Nguyen bay Gio thé nao roi chi? Cho em goi loi tham no

Kieu Phung: Hello em bay gio em o dau? De chi nhan Nguyen lien lac cho em. Ca nha chi van khoe. Nguyen da co gia dinh mot con gai. Chi dang o Manila chong chi Jan Top lam dai su Dan Mach o day. Neu qua Phi ghe lai chi choi.

Nguyễn Tấn Phát: Hi chị. Cho Phát gởi lời thăm mọi người nhé.

Kieu Phung: Cam on em. Khi nao gap lai cung rat la cam dong. Hay la sang nam minh to chuc grand reunion?

Nguyễn Tấn Phát: Dạ tháng 4 dịp Easter bọn em sang chị. Rất nhớ mọi người , dì Sen, cô Rohima...

Kieu Phung: Goi cho chi ngay gio. PM chi nghe.

Kieu Phung: Thang 4 sang nam grand reunion?

Dave Chu: Thanks, Kiều. Please convey our best regards to everyone, especially Jan and Joebel!

Dave Chu: Ai dza.. I spent a lot of time to find Joebel's old PFAC Palawan picture!  Here it is. Joebel is the second one on the left next to my younger brother Hien.

Kieu Phung: Dave Chu, next year (in April) we have a reunion in Palawan.

Dave Chu: Thanks for letting me know. I will make plans. Let's see.

 

Benny Ong: wow nice to see you guys..together again.

Kieu Phung: Benny, sorry, we missed you this time. Jan's fault. To next time then.

Benny Ong: It's okay, Madam.  Actually, Chi Sen had asked me if I would be going.  I told her I had no invitation. Hu hu hu... Nevertheless, I am so happy to see former PFAC Palawan volunteers get together. I will join you next time for sure.

Kieu Phung: Sorry he made a mistake. He has been so busy lately. Hope that you can catch the last of Danish days at SM Aura tomorrow.

Nida Ermita Magallanes:  Oh I missed this reunion.

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PFAC Palawan Pictures from Hien and Dave Chu

PFAC Palawan Pictures

KIEU PHUNG and JAN TOP

ORIGINAL EXODUS
Like Kieu’s family, John Vien The Nguyen, a reverend, and his family also left Vietnam, during the "original exodus" in 1975, when the war in Vietnam was still raging.  As they were leaving the country, Nguyen, then 11 years old, remembered that the propeller of the boat they were on, got snagged in steel cable, and took "hours" to untangle.  "Meanwhile the shelling was all around us, and there were a lot of people killed. I remember the waves were pretty bad, and I went to the front of the ship just to feel the waves, although I didn’t know how to swim," he said.  After three days in the rough seas, a barge, already carrying "thousands" of people, rescued them. That barge was then towed to a US ship, where they joined thousands of other rescued refugees.

"When we arrived, the first thing I recalled was eating one fourth of an apple, and taking a shower from a faucet," said Nguyen, whose family were sheltered at the US naval base in Subic in northern Philippines, before they were transferred to Guam and finally resettled in the US mainland. Later, as a student for Catholic priesthood in the US, Nguyen would return to the Philippines to volunteer at a Vietnamese refugee camp in island of Palawan between 1983 and 1984. And for the last three years, he has been back in the same island, serving as a priest to do a "partial repayment of the kindness" the Philippines showed to the Vietnamese refugees. Nguyen said that he was "extremely happy" to learn that the Philippine government said it would not turn away Rohingya refugees, if they made it to the Philippine shores.

PALAWANESE
It was also at the Palawan refugee camp, where Kieu Phung's family disembarked, as they awaited for their asylum papers to Canada. By then, it was only the Philippines that allowed entry of Vietnamese refugees.  Kieu said that despite the number of refugees, the camp in Palawan was well maintained. While there, she studied English and learned how to use a typewriter and to sew clothes. She also volunteered at the local office of the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). "We had no problem with the local people. We can go to the local market, and there’s even a little Vietnamese bakery. I think that was something that the Vietnamese refugees who stayed here were very grateful," she said, adding that Vietnamese refugees who went through Palawan would affectionately refer to themselves as "Palawanese".

 Danish Ambassador to the Philippines Jan Top Christensen, served as the UNHCR head at the Palawan camp from 1987 to 1990. He said Philippine authorities worked closely with the Vietnamese refugees in making them responsible in running the camp.  "In many circumstances, they really showed compassion and human charity, and I think this is a good example that I wish many other countries would follow, particularly in this time when you see so many, tragic situations."

But not all who tried to escape Vietnam made it out alive. Two of Kieu’s friends, for instance, vanished without a trace. One boat turned over as it was approaching the shores of Palawan, drowning four or five members of one family, said Christensen. And there was the story of Group 52 Bolinao, Vietnamese refugees who survived at sea for weeks, but had turned into cannibalism.

ACT OF KINDNESS
In all, about half a million Vietnamese made it to the Philippine refugee camp in Palawan from 1979 to 1993, according to a website chronicling the camp’s history.  After staying for a year in Palawan, Kieu and her family made it to Canada in 1989. Like her father, she pursued medicine, graduating at McGill Medical School in Montreal in 1997. In the same year she married Christensen, who would become a diplomat after working for UNHCR. Now they are back in the Philippines.

"My husband waited for me during all these years," said Kieu, who is now doing research on dementia at Manila's University of Santo Tomas, while her husband is serving as Denmark's top diplomat here.  For Philippine-based human rights lawyers Anna Nguyen, VyHanh Nguyen and Hoi Trinh, whose parents were all Vietnamese refugees, the ordeal of the Rohingyas also "seems too familiar".
Anna Nguyen, an Australian lawyer of Vietnamese roots, said that countries often view refugees like the Rohingyas as a burden.
"Just because my parents were refugees it doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m going to be a burden. I’m an example of that."


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