Vietnamese refugees boat being attacked by Thai pirates - This envelope contains a series of tiny ariel photos taken in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
I kept this envelope in my work desk for close to 30 years until I retired to remind me of the reality that many refugees had faced before immigrating to Canada. It had been given to me by a Vietnamese man who had escaped Vietnam by boat. His boat had been set upon by Thai pirates but somehow he survived the ordeal by being picked up by a freighter. I suspect that he eventually made his way to either the Thai, Hong Kong or Palawan, Philippines refugee camp, eventually arriving in Toronto as a sponsored refugee. Eventually I worked settling refugees in Ontario.
If you look closely, you will see the one boat filled with refugees, and a number of Thai fishing boats with no nets attacking their boat, robbing them, tossing the men and children overboard, and making off with their women. The man who gave me this set of photos told me that he had lost his family in this manner. He somehow got his hands on these ariel photos, likely while he was in his refugee camp. These photos may well have been part of the evidence which motivated the world to become aware of the plight of the seabound Vietnamese refugees and to start their Boat Movement. His name may have been Van Nghia Tran. I can't remember correctly or read his script properly. Many freighters, even if they sighted refugees bobbing in the water ignored them as it would be costly to stop and troublesome to deal with the paperwork.
I eventually on my own dime visited the old refugee camp near Puerto Princesa on the Island of Palawan Philippines. I viewed what was left of the camp as it had become a military base and took a look at the new, improved and safer camp.
A related subject: www.flickr.com/photos/30797556@N08/6250387262/in/photolis...
www.flickr.com/photos/25857074@N03/5260443084/in/photolis...
Vietnamese refugees boat being attacked by Thai pirates - This envelope contains a series of tiny ariel photos taken in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
I kept this envelope in my work desk for close to 30 years until I retired to remind me of the reality that many refugees had faced before immigrating to Canada. It had been given to me by a Vietnamese man who had escaped Vietnam by boat. His boat had been set upon by Thai pirates but somehow he survived the ordeal by being picked up by a freighter. I suspect that he eventually made his way to either the Thai, Hong Kong or Palawan, Philippines refugee camp, eventually arriving in Toronto as a sponsored refugee. Eventually I worked settling refugees in Ontario.
If you look closely, you will see the one boat filled with refugees, and a number of Thai fishing boats with no nets attacking their boat, robbing them, tossing the men and children overboard, and making off with their women. The man who gave me this set of photos told me that he had lost his family in this manner. He somehow got his hands on these ariel photos, likely while he was in his refugee camp. These photos may well have been part of the evidence which motivated the world to become aware of the plight of the seabound Vietnamese refugees and to start their Boat Movement. His name may have been Van Nghia Tran. I can't remember correctly or read his script properly. Many freighters, even if they sighted refugees bobbing in the water ignored them as it would be costly to stop and troublesome to deal with the paperwork.
I eventually on my own dime visited the old refugee camp near Puerto Princesa on the Island of Palawan Philippines. I viewed what was left of the camp as it had become a military base and took a look at the new, improved and safer camp.
A related subject: www.flickr.com/photos/30797556@N08/6250387262/in/photolis...
www.flickr.com/photos/25857074@N03/5260443084/in/photolis...