tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post7820080936926943950..comments2023-09-13T17:18:31.708+08:00Comments on annamanila's: MORE EXPAT TALES: Boat People 2 - The Story of LocUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-13915969942010543882007-09-25T15:46:00.000+08:002007-09-25T15:46:00.000+08:00Hi Anna!I am retired and a new blogger. Thanks fo...Hi Anna!<BR/><BR/>I am retired and a new blogger. Thanks for that post on Vietnamese refugees. You will find more stories in my blog . You might want to check it out: www.mytaketwo.com.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.<BR/><BR/>DannyDanny Mendiolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06599535261312054993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-71356833981434329082007-07-02T23:59:00.000+08:002007-07-02T23:59:00.000+08:00Off topic, Anna. I have something for you in my Tu...Off topic, Anna. I have something for you in my Tuesday entry. Check it out, ok? ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-36210169510969196552007-07-02T23:07:00.000+08:002007-07-02T23:07:00.000+08:00Hi Mye PinoyOn the train all the way home after Lo...Hi Mye Pinoy<BR/><BR/>On the train all the way home after Loc told me his story, I kept trying to recall what I was doing when I was seventeen (I was in college not doing anything particularly memorable). Listening to a boat person’s story at first hand has a hundred times more dramatic impact than reading about it in a weekly magazine or seeing the same scene in the movies. Makes you feel very humble and very thankful for the things we so often take for granted.<BR/><BR/>Hi Houseband00<BR/><BR/>And thank you for sharing my pride in being Filipino. This business of stereotyping national character is risky and very politically incorrect but abroad, we Pinoys do have a rep for being kindly and hospitable. I have no idea why the boat people were treated so appallingly by their next-door neighbours (apparently, some boats in distress were towed back to open sea or were victimized not only by pirates but by ordinary fishermen) but it’s the old “pakikisama” cultural habit with us. We may not have much to eat but come in out of the rain, anyway, share our kanin and tuyo.<BR/><BR/>Hi Evi<BR/><BR/>We hadn’t migrated yet, we were still in the Phils when the first refugee camps were opened. Can’t remember that the boat people figured at all in my consciousness at the time; they were just people we read about in the news and felt vaguely sorry for.<BR/>It’s really different when you get to know them close up. Then they become real people with real families and real worries.<BR/><BR/>Hi Cacofonix<BR/><BR/>My wife and I are products of the state university too, and we were there in the time of the actibista. Gerry Barican, Mon Paterno III and Joe Mari Velez were in our graduating class. Yes, we know all about the bright “young lives tragically snuffed out” in the course of following their romantic ideology. I don’t ask “Why?” anymore. The answer, from a Bob Dylan classic of the time, is blowing in the wind.<BR/><BR/>Hi Leah<BR/><BR/>Yes, I think they’re both still in the pubic service. Haven’t come across Loc for some time but I saw Ba fleetingly coming through Melbourne Int’l Airport on a Qantas flight from Manila a couple of years back. He was doing passport control checks; I wasn’t in his queue but I caught his eye and we exchanged waves and smiles. He looked to have gained some weight. They’re both OK, I would think; they survived the boats and the camps, they’ll survive anything.<BR/><BR/>Hi Vernaloo<BR/><BR/>You’re welcome, Vernaloo. Don’t worry about drowning; in such a situation, you just think to yourself, this is not good, I’m out of here and drowning is not an option. But OK, for insurance maybe you should take up swimming. Good healthy exercise and you never know, might be life-saving too.<BR/><BR/>Hi Jerry<BR/><BR/>Outstanding ? You could be right --- but only if the distinction or honor to be awarded is based on for-better-or-worse impact upon society criteria. On that basis, Time Magazine routinely considers both Osama Bin Laden and Dubya Bush for its Man of the Year award every year-end Really depends on the award criteria but there’s a lot of subjective considerations that come into play for a “distinguished alumnus” award.<BR/><BR/>Arthur Garcia was a knockabout koboy-kolokoy guy in high school, not an ideologue at all. To this day, we who were his high school mates are still amazed that he would turn radical in college, go to China and come back and co-found the NPA with Commander Dante. Such is life. <BR/><BR/>I ‘m not really much into ideology. I’m for whatever works best, and I very much believe in the freedoms, and also I’m getting old and would like to avoid divisions among my own high school mob. We had Arthur and we also had others who went on to become (or married or begot or had family members who were) police and military officers, government men, small businessmen-entrepreneurs, etc., who believed in the things that Arthur stood against, with the same fervor that Arthur believed in what he fought and died for. Too late to paper over the differences now. Peace, Jerry.<BR/><BR/>Hi Major Tom<BR/><BR/>Yes … and let me also say that Ba and Loc may not be representative boat people. Unfortunately, some bad elements also got out through the boats – drug dealers, crooks, etc. The boat people were people like you and I, ordinary people caught up in events that truly test character and fortitude. Like all ordinary people, some rose above the hardships and the horror; and some just got dragged along or under.<BR/><BR/>Hi Jigs<BR/><BR/>More power to you. Radical is OK by me but at the end of the day I hope your best effort comes down on the side of bringing a bit more happiness to people rather than sadness… we can all do with more of the former.<BR/><BR/>Hi Pining<BR/><BR/>Amen. It seems to me those who are plucky tend to get lucky.<BR/><BR/>Hi Gina & Heart of Rachel & Dimaks & Belle<BR/><BR/>It was a pleasure relating these true stories. If you do get to meet one or a few boat people, please take time to get to know them better. They have stories to tell and more often than not, their stories will touch you deeply.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-44127867826934723862007-07-02T00:02:00.000+08:002007-07-02T00:02:00.000+08:00i've known several vietnamese nationals who came h...i've known several vietnamese nationals who came here by boat, too. it was their only chance to escape the horrors of war by braving through those perilous journeys in an overcrowded leaky boats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-79354764792417548372007-07-01T20:14:00.000+08:002007-07-01T20:14:00.000+08:00hence everyone deserves a second chance.. beautifu...hence everyone deserves a second chance.. beautiful and inspiring life story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-1350547094567552032007-07-01T15:02:00.000+08:002007-07-01T15:02:00.000+08:00Hi Anna. Thanks for sharing Rolando Lampa's moving...Hi Anna. Thanks for sharing Rolando Lampa's moving story about Loc. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he went through in life. I admire his faith, courage and determination for a chance of a better life.Heart of Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07542152478039483575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-2965507119413255392007-07-01T09:19:00.000+08:002007-07-01T09:19:00.000+08:00Just finished reading the 2 installments of "Boat ...Just finished reading the 2 installments of "Boat People". Very moving stories of survival. Thanks Mr. Lampa for sharing them.Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058517968742018210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-90976183776893132012007-07-01T06:26:00.000+08:002007-07-01T06:26:00.000+08:00what a journey!Imagine what people go through just...what a journey!<BR/>Imagine what people go through just to escape poverty...he's one of the lucky ones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-37351404563656019172007-06-30T23:52:00.000+08:002007-06-30T23:52:00.000+08:00Hi Anna, got to read the two parts. It was really ...Hi Anna, got to read the two parts. It was really touching but really sad. I can't believe they had to go through all that. I hope one day i get to affect and be part of people's lives in a radical way.Jigshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236104827263902867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-64792019481730068582007-06-30T16:23:00.000+08:002007-06-30T16:23:00.000+08:00Like myepinoy stated previously, this is a very mo...Like myepinoy stated previously, this is a very moving story and I couldn't believe such dangers and hardships had happened in real life. But the good thing is that the story of Loc and Ba now have good endings. Yet it is so sad for those who have perished trying to escape the communist regime in Saigon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-24363840021114778202007-06-30T13:26:00.000+08:002007-06-30T13:26:00.000+08:00I remember the Clampdown on a Standout post, Anna....I remember the Clampdown on a Standout post, Anna. So Rolly was one classmate who didn't like the idea of an NPA leader being designated outstanding alumnus.<BR/><BR/>I don't want to start a debate here, but if this post ignites one then let it be.<BR/><BR/>I know where Rolly is coming from but at the same time I'd agree with Anna that Arthur Garcia was outstanding in his own. way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-27796822531644213792007-06-30T12:14:00.000+08:002007-06-30T12:14:00.000+08:00if that is my experience I could have died not bec...if that is my experience I could have died not because of a gunfire but because of drowning hehe<BR/><BR/>seriously thanks for sharing this to us Anna. One of the many Filipino traits that we should be proud of :)vernaloohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07653720128817138648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-37407300324178927112007-06-30T11:00:00.000+08:002007-06-30T11:00:00.000+08:00There was this Vietnamese guy at work and I was so...There was this Vietnamese guy at work and I was so surprised he greeted me in Tagalog so fluently. Found out he was a refugee as well and was in the Phil for so many years. He eventually married a Pinay. And when we see each other, we talked to each other in Tagalog. <BR/>He was affected in the last lay-offs at work...so dont know where he is now.<BR/><BR/>Rolly, your posts are inspring, it is very moving to read the stories of Ba and Loc. They are definitely heroes in their own rights. I hope they are doing well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-20720514190389413972007-06-30T07:33:00.000+08:002007-06-30T07:33:00.000+08:00Reminds me of my driving instructor and hairdresse...Reminds me of my driving instructor and hairdresser, both Vietnamese and products of the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan - they were very young at the time, but both have been extra kind to me because they feel an instinctive affinity towards Filipinos. From what I heard, that particular center was a haven (mainly because of the kindness of those who tended to them) after their harrowing boat experiences. <BR/><BR/>As for the ideological movement, I've had contemporaries at the state university whose young lives were tragically snuffed out in the course of romancing its sad, bitter reality. They were very bright students. I saw old eyes in present-day Cuban youth as a result of the regime that Che Guevarra initiated.<BR/><BR/>Indeed, sadly, reality beats romance every time. Touching and inspirational story as usual…thanks again for sharing.cacofonixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03800806291584241121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-54166752309409665182007-06-30T05:25:00.000+08:002007-06-30T05:25:00.000+08:00now that i've read your friend's article, i have a...now that i've read your friend's article, i have a better understanding of refugees. many years ago, my aunt used to work for a refugee camp in bataan. i had the opportunity to pay her a visit and i stayed in the camp. i mingled with the vietnamese refugees. one day, we went to the beach. they were all dressed up for a party and there i was in shorts and sleeveless shirt. at that time, it didn't dawn on me about their lives as refugees. here's the link to a photo i have of the boat they used to flee... http://www.lasedweb.net/travel19ver2.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-52288336606525905132007-06-29T23:12:00.000+08:002007-06-29T23:12:00.000+08:00Hi Anna,I've been reading the last two posts with ...Hi Anna,<BR/><BR/>I've been reading the last two posts with such great concern and admiration. Especially the last one where I felt proud in being a Filipino.<BR/><BR/>Please thank Mr. Lampa for me for sharing his incredible stories. =)houseband00https://www.blogger.com/profile/06257116490799226976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4800590664272013743.post-22156663166860772802007-06-29T20:37:00.000+08:002007-06-29T20:37:00.000+08:00Very moving and interesting post. This line tells ...Very moving and interesting post. <BR/><BR/>This line tells all - "I think of the NPA and their vision of an alternative society and my mind’s eye locks into a 17-year old orphan boy swimming to freedom through a hail of bullets."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com