Shaun Newman Podcast - SNP Archives #38 - Syhai Khamvongsa

Episode Date: January 19, 2022

Born in Laos 1960. After the communists took control, at age 19, he escaped Laos by swimming 2km in the dead of night across the Mekong River to Thailand. Syhai holds nothing back in this gripping tale of how a young man risked everything to come to the land of the free.  He's a husband, father & community pillar. Let me know what you think Text me 587-217-8500 SNP Presents February 5th snp.ticketleap.com/snp-presents-solutions-for-the-future/ Support here:⁠ https://www.patreon.com/ShaunNewmanPodcast

Welcome to the podcast, folks. Happy Wednesday. I hope everybody's having a great hump day. I hope everybody's cruising along this week. I don't know about the weather everywhere. Everyone else is at, but man, we've had, I don't know, plus five to like minus 24 with a windshield that makes it minus 30. This, we live in a strange part of the world. Regardless, I love it.

I'm sure many of the people here love it as well. We got some big news. SMP presents solutions for the future. Saturday, February. 5th. It's going to feature Danielle Smith, a former leader of the Wild Rose, Andre Mamari. He's a lawyer with the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms, Shane Getson, a current MLA here in Alberta, and Dr. Eric Payne, I think a lot of people will remember him, pediatric neurologist from the Alberta Children's Hospital.

That's Saturday, February 5th. You can buy tickets in the show notes. I got the link for tickets. Just remember January 29th, you have to have your ticket purchased. won't be show up on February 5th and walk through the door. It's a closed event, so you got to purchase early. So January 29th, that's some pretty big news for, well, myself, the podcast. We're looking to bring in some different thoughts, different people. Night will include a great meal coming from Rolling Greens, a little prime rib, some keynote speakers, and then after they're all done, a little break,

and then we'll come back up and have an interactive roundtable. So that means the audience is going to get to participate. via asking some questions and voting the questions up and down. You'll get a feel for it when you're there if you come. And that way the conversation goes where you guys want it to go. So that's Saturday, February 5th. Remember, you've got to have your tickets by January 29th. And you can do that.

The link is in the show notes or just check out my social media. Okay. Now, here is today's episode sponsors, The Deer and Steer Butchery, the Old Norman and Kathy James family. built butcher shop on the north side of Highway 16 and Range Road 25. Back in 1995, when it was first rolling along, it was used by local hunters around the area for custom cutting and wrapping. Fast forward to now, and they've given it a facelift. They've really, you know, cleaned the place up, so to speak, and hired Barry the butcher,

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If I still got it wrong, well, I guess you can fire me. Jim Spanerath and the team over at Three Trees, Tap and Kitchen. New beverages on Tap always. Man, I love sneaking in. The wife and I went for a meal the other night. We had no kids, which was kind of odd, you know. That doesn't happen too often. So we went for a great meal at Three Trees, Tap, and Kitchen.

And I tried out a little bit of their Fourth Meridian, a little blonde. It was rather tasty. And we did the hanging meat thing. I assume everybody knows what this is. But both of us, Mel and I, we both got the hanging meat skewer, whatever it is. Man, that is tasty. Anyways, I'm practically making myself hungry over here. Mel laughed at me as we were on the way to three trees because she's like, did you book us

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If you're looking for a small little one-person office like this guy, he's got that. If you've got multiple employees, he's got that as well. so give away to call 780808 5025 and if you're heading into any of these businesses make sure you let them know you heard about from the podcast right now on to the ram truck rundown brought to you by auto clearing jeep and ram the prairie's trusted source for kreisler dodge jeep ram fiat and all other things automotive for over 110 years born in lao in 1960 after the vietnam war and living in communist controlled lao for four years at age nineteen is escaped by swimming two kilometers across the mikong river he's a husband father, and community pillar. Talking about Si Hai Convonza. So buckle up. Here we go. It is March 21st, 2021.

I am joined by Sehii Convonza. Hopefully I said that name right? Right. Yeah. First off, thanks for joining me, sir. Yes. Now, basically, See, hi, I just want to talk about your life

and see where it goes take as long as you need for the questions. If you need to, you know, ask any follow-ups for me to clarify by all means, okay? Great. So you were born in 1960 in Laos. What I start with everyone is. What are some of the first memories you have as a child, obviously back in Laos? Yeah.

I born in Laos in one village in Laos, like a... close to the Sebelkai River, central of Laos, province, Kambun. Yeah. And then I born in there, and that time is Vietnam War time era. Yeah, big war. people are hard to living in there. I go to school after six years old and go to primary school in my village.

After I done primary school, allowed six years. because allow education is the main thing is six years is done for school. Six years? Six years? Six years for primary school. Yeah. And you can go to work or you continue to college or any teacher school or technique school, something like that.

But I, after I done six years school, I done primary school, then I continue to go to teacher school, training to be teacher. That's a loud education program, you know. After I done primary school and I go to teacher school after training to be teacher in big city, Savannah, Kitt, Lowe. Like a college or LeSay or Technicist or Technic school, you know. like in Canada, Canada is different. You have to done high school, you know, before go to college or something like a technique school or something like that. Yeah. So how old were you when you started school then? I think six year or a little bit close to six years. Yeah, very

So you started school at six years old. Yeah. And then how many years were you in primary school for? Six years. So am I doing my math there correct and going at 12 years old? You were going into teachers. You're done school. Done a primary school.

Yeah. Then I have to leave my parent to go to Vick City to training to be a teacher. Go school in Vick City. Yeah. I leave my parents when I, you know, 12, 13 years old. But the big city is not far from my village to only 86 kilometers from my village. Yeah, from my village. When I go to teacher school, they call Egonokman, 7.5.5.

kids, that means to be a teacher. And while I stayed, why I go to school is I stay at the school, like I did got a school. Like I did not, what you call that? I have stayed at school, eat in the school, does government pay for stay in the school? what do they call in Canada here so like a like you spent you stayed on campus and yeah it can't stay in there and you know that's a government program to pay for students to live and learn and in there this time I still young I First time I leave my parents, oh, probably I cannot do.

I don't know what I... You know, like what? When I start and meet lots of friends and that. Then after month and I used to, I like it that, you know, because a lot of students at that school at that time. 400 students in the... 400 students at the... Yeah, yeah, in the campus.

At the college or the teacher college. Yeah, teacher college, yeah. So what year, how old would you have been when you finished teacher college then? Uh, for that long, six years. Oh, so... I learned training in there six years, yeah. So you actually would have been graduating at the same age? Oh, yeah.

graduate here just with a degree. Yeah. Did you have, when you were 12, when you were done primary school, did you have, you can go do X, Y, Z, or was it you're going to teacher college? Yeah, you can show, you know, if you got money, you can go Lise or better college or technique or something like that. But if I go to Lise or college like a technique, you have to get money you all. Government not pay for learning or training. But teacher is government program to pay for live and learn until you done school. If you done school, you have to serve government.

not not go to do something else. You have to be teacher. Yeah. That's thing there. And one thing I, when I learned in primary school, is mostly loud language on the first six years and a little bit French.

Learn basic French a little bit. After I've done primary six years, go to teacher school and more French language in the school, in the college. Yeah. Yeah. Learn a lot of things like history, geography, or mathematics, physics, chemistry, all French that is there. But no English. No English language, no. Only French.

We learn English a little bit, just basic, but not very much. It must have been a hard adjustment, I would assume, coming to Canada. Oh yeah, yeah. Not knowing the language. Yeah, it's hard. That's why I should, I talk about before I come to Canada now. So after I done school, you know, six years on primary. primary school and six years in college yeah yeah after I graduate college

I go teaching in some some school in Cameroon province yeah teaching I go no money. The government got no money to pay for that time. Because common it comes, that's not very lucky either. I got to know what does no money mean? No money they got no pay. Like no money here, see howe means like you're eating you're eating craft dinner and you're drinking water and but you still got a roof over your head and clothes on your back. and maybe you have Netflix. That's what no money kind of means here.

What did no money back then while you're teaching me? Yeah. No money when I could teach over there, I could teach six months. They not salary, not pay, government got no money to pay for a teacher or for anything in there, for teacher there. But they give you just eat, like food or something.

The school, I go to training. It's another teacher school. They train to be teacher. And they stay in the camp, too. And we are staying in the camp with them too. See, can I get you to put the paper on the table? Oh. You're just playing with it.

That's all. I can hear it in the audio. Oh, sorry. No, all good, all good. So when the government's given you food, what are you eating? Oh, just students and teachers stay in the same camp, and they got food. They can buy beef or pork, they live or pork,

and they kill butcher by themselves and cook. No market, no nothing, not go buy like that. Because where I'm teaching is the old region from a community area in the mountain. I had never been there before on my life. Like they sent me and a few friends who teach at the community original region. We never been in there before. But go teach there anyways. Yeah, go teach in there.

They say not to the mountain. Yeah. I never been like that. But it's nice mountain like a bam or something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like going to the Rocky Mountains except it's. But I never been like that on my life before. So it's tough for me to go up there.

And, you know. All the while this is going on, you've still got a war going on, like, all around you. No? No. When I done school, it was over, because in 1975, community come to Laos, take over the Laos, you know. I graduate teacher school in 19, what is, 78. Yeah, 1978, yeah. 1975 is wars over, commune come take over, law.

Well, can we talk then for a sec? If you're born in 1960, that means for essentially the first 15 years of your life, the war is going on. Yeah. What were the warriors like? And I asked from a position of being a very young guy and a very safe on the other side of the world you've seen Canada now for a majority of your lifetime. Yeah. Oh, war is not very good to living with them there.

So it's very scared day by day, you know. I think that time is very, very 19, let's see, 19, 16. 60 to 75 is very heavy war in the Vietnam War. But Vietnam War, but they come to Laos too. It's spread to Laos. Only 50% Laos is covered by community and by freedom like us at that time. It's very dangerous.

I never know. I never went to a communist area. Are you saying communist area? Community or Lao, communist, like a minute, one side, the communist, So you're talking about the Communist Party, or while the war is going on,

that although it's happening in South and North Vietnam, it spills over into Lao because you're a border, your neighbor right on side of it. And you're on the side of the monarchy, the U.S., the Democrats, the Republicans, and the other side is funded essentially by the communist, which would be Russia and they'd be in line with North Vietnam. Yes, that's right. Now, I had read that an ungodly amount of bombs had been dropped,

even in Lao, spilling over from the Vietnam War. You had grown up in all that time. Is that just like background noise then? Or is that like very close to where you're living? Or is that far away lands? Here is a little bit far away, but I can hear the bomb drop every morning and shaking the ground to my village where I live in. Because Laos is not a big country, like our province, go to Laos to Vietnam, it's probably 150 kilometers.

It's not very far. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they dropped the bomb probably under 100 kilometers because of half of loud, separate commune and freedom. Right. So I hear the bomb in the morning that dropped like a form of spooky or what they call that. they call that B 52 drop the bomb I can hear wake it up in the morning it

very quiet and hear the bomb drop boom boom boom boom and shaking the ground something like that yeah a lot but I didn't see the airplane drop but I can hear the noise yeah That's what they say they drop bomb in law more than what, more than drop the bomb in World II. Yeah. Right now, we still cover with bomb. People still accident, bomb explosion anytime when they dig the ground or go work on the

plan, field. something like that. Yeah, that's a very, very dangerous there. Yes, what See-Hai is referring to for those who are falling along is in the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped 2 million tons of bomb on Lao.

Yeah. And in all of World War II, they dropped 2.1 million tons. Yeah. And so, well, look at the math. Like, that's unbelievable. Yeah. Almost wipe it out. But, you know, but war is war, you know, that's what,

you sleep at night. If you wake up in the morning, you're alive. That's good. We never know at night time, you know. Yeah. Even as a young kid, do you remember thinking that? Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Six years. 12 years you can you know and the my village who to army camp is four kilometer four five kilometer away from army camp yeah yeah come here for a second see how what we're gonna do is I want to pull up we should be able to pull it up right quick here so I'm just gonna pull up just want to pull up so where Now I've gone too far. Here, let's do this. Like rate in the middle.

Yeah. This is not very wide. Not a very weak country. Only 150k or 100. Across. Cross to Vietnam. To Vietnam. And a half ways.

Vietnam and communist law take over. And half. Yeah. And communists takes North Athens. That's why you can hear the bomb drop. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Okay. So. Okay. So with half of... About up with a fort or something over a little bit. Yeah. You can hear the bomb drop. Okay.

Now back into the mic for me. Okay. So now the listener or even the watcher, for that matter, can't see what we're looking at. But I'll try and paint the picture, right? You got Lowe right in the middle of Vietnam on the east, on the west. You got Thailand to the south. You got Cambodia and to the north. You're looking at China and Myanmar.

Mayamah, yeah. Yes, okay. And halfway through Vietnam, or halfway through Lao, he's saying that the north goes to the communist and the south essentially is U.S. freedom. Yes, on the west side. On the West side. On the Thailand side, yeah.

On the Vietnam side is communist. Yeah. Okay. Along the map. on along the map so so when they talk you know around you're living in Canada right now and there's a lot of talk about socialist movement communist all that what are your thoughts on what's currently going on and i mean you live right beside i don't know if well you can i guess you just have perspective on that see high could you share your thoughts

On that time, you know, community is, I want to say like this before I go say something like a 1975, right? Yeah, how many they stronger than take over all the Vietnam and Laos. Yeah, that's the year we lose war in Vietnam. I mean Americans back to America that time. And everything communists loomed and do what they run, you know. You cannot speak against to them or, you know. You can't speak against them? No, no, again.

They have to listen what they tell you. you can wear what you used to wear, you know. You can't wear what you used to wear. Yeah, like a pen or cloth that time, you know, wear like a wide leg, you know, the pen, like a hippie that time, you know, that generation. Yeah. In the freedom side, they wear like a nice fancy.

Bell bottom. Yeah, wide the leg, and tall the shoe. You come and you cut your pants. You not wear like that. You cannot leave long hair. You know, if you leave like that, they take to the gel or cut your hair or pan like that. If you wear your hair long or have bell-bottom pants,

They take it a jail. Yeah, they take like a take to the jail or cut your pen or your hand, you know, don't live long like that. And another thing, when you live in one village, you want to go different villages. You have a God permit from a leader in the village. Or you go different provinces like Saskatchewan to Alberta, you have permission, you have permission, to go across the province. Because they got police checked every province,

you pass there. You have to go letter, they check you, or you come from there. You, you know, then allow you to stay how many days, you know. Usually we can go anywhere we want, you know. You restricted your movement. Yeah. Told you where you could and couldn't go. Yeah.

Yeah, you can go where you want to go. Even you living in the village, like if you kill your own pork. or pig you grow in the village you have to report a little in the village so all your all your produce from food grown food any cattle or pigs or whatever you kill you got to you have to report yeah and when you report it with you not kill you just do what you own not like a used to you know you own property you own pork you want chick again, you will kill when you want to eat any time, you know. And when they take over the first time they do like that, they strict everything.

Like I say, go to village, to village, or city to city, you have to got permission, got later allowed from a leader in that village. That's a tough to move in that time, you know. There, that's the reason I live loud, after I go teaching five months, the government got no money to pay me. I expect to get some money, you know, when you work, each month you have paid, right? But there, five months, I see nothing. Oh, because government, when they come the first time, they got no money to run the country or run the province, something like that. Only army, they got enough for doing that.

When the U.S. pulls out, so you got no protection from the U.S. anymore. Yeah. And the communist take over everything, like immediately overnight. Like, was that just like the military rolls through and everybody just kind of sit some weights to hear what they're supposed to do? Or is it a little different than that? Yeah, they got military takeover, you know. They come to town and all the communist army. and, you know, they got the gun, everybody, police, army, checkpoints everywhere.

Yeah. Why need the checkpoints, or maybe you don't know, but why would they need the checkpoints everywhere? And why would they want to know when you're moving across the province? And why all that? I think they not trust us. Yeah, that time. Because you were just fighting. Yeah.

Yeah. They scared us to fight back, something like that, that I thought. Because they've got some army from outside someplace to fight back, you know. Not today want to know, like make sure you don't go back and fight them that time, you know. They tight everything. When they come the first time, but outside, they got some military in some pocket and go fight when they go on the road or some spot, you know,

still got fighting on that time. That's why they strip on the room and check everybody make sure you know the opposite. opposite side that's that thing there I can say that what was it finally that made you want to come to Canada then like was it just like you've seen communism in place then yeah was it just the lack of freedom and you and I don't know if I can live under this or was it or was it what was happening to family and friends or was it everything I think a lot of

freedom and I suppose I done school I got a job I got money I got thing to make my own living yeah I suppose I get my own money to my own money to make my living for my life but I dispoil and that I suppose it my own money to make my living for my life but I dispoiled that After I learned for six years, I got nothing, no pain or nothing, I don't know, I can live in like that or not. I said, one day I have to decide, you know, have to decide leave the country. Because on that time, up to 1975, lots of people of people. Laos escaped from the country to go to Thailand to find freedom like used to be. Yeah, a lot of people come to French, Europe, America or Canada, something like that.

Lots of refugees live in Thailand on that time. Even same with when I leave Laos, it's not easy to leave first time I leave in there. They've got a Macon River separate Lao and Thailand, the border right now. You know, Macon, Macon? No, you know. That's border, Laos and Thailand separate Macon. Oh, are we talking river? Yeah.

Okay. Okay. Okay. So I escaped now from swimming across the river. About two kilometers wide on the mecon. So you swim across a two-kilometer wide river to get away from what you're at? From Liao to Thailand. That's very dangerous.

Can we maybe talk about that for a second? Yeah. Because I really want to understand, see how. Yeah. I guess here in Canada, I just can't fathom an instance where I want to do something so perilous to escape. So lead me through, you're 19 years old. Mm-hmm. You go, I've been under, since 1975, so that's four years of communist, of communist rule and people fleeing and everything else.

Yeah, people flee. What was, like, did you have a conversation with your parents before you're going to do it? Did you tell anyone? Or did you just one day slip away, jump in the river and go, if I don't make it, it's better than where I was? Yeah, before I escaped now. That time I still go teach in school in the community area. Five months, I asked the leader in the school, I want to go back home for a few weeks, a holiday, whatever. Because you know, holiday, four, five months stay in the school.

I got permission from a leader at the school. I come to my village. I know I decided I could be escaped from Laos at that time. So I come home and tell my mom, my relative, I let them know. I will leave to Thailand, I said, I'm going to leave to there. Then after I tell them, I come to Savonacade, that city of Swanda Kade province. I come to where I learned at the school, teacher school there, teacher college.

I meet two women, they want to escape to Thailand too. So we talk each other and okay. One night, we go together, bring your own plastic bag, go to the liver, and blow up the plastic bag to make you flow when you're swimming across the river. Yeah, like a life jacket almost, except just something to keep you buoyed. Yeah, yeah, yeah, support you so you not get too tired. Oh, that's a dangerous thing to cross the river. In the big city, they still got army boats along the river.

People die almost every day, every night. When you cross the river, if army or patrol boats saw you, they should. Yeah. That's very sad on that time. But I have to decide to live loud because I stay in there, I'd rather than die before I leave in there. So I have to leave loud. I have to, because a lot of people that times would leave loud, you know. Probably a million people leave, free in Lao, on the Vietnam War.

Like I talked about, after I crossed the river two kilometers and go to Thailand, the Savanacade is, they got one city along the river crossed the swanaket. They call Mukdahan, they call both sides of the river. After I crossed the river, I go, walk in the city there and I asked one family in Thailand, they tell them we escaped from Lao, so they allow us to live for one night in their house. Okay, they said, yeah, you come to live in my house one night. Then I leave to the Obon camp, the Lao refugee in the Oban camp. camp. After I lived in Mukdahan one night, next morning we go to bus station and head to

Ubon camp, Ubon Refugee camp in Thailand. For Mokhāhan to Ubon, it takes almost a day to ride the bus. That time in the camp, they got about 20,000 refugees in the camp. It's not fun to live in the camp. There's no place to sleep, you know, very, very little room. They got like a UN built like a building, but people sleep, body to body no room, no space. Food is just enough by day. They cannot go outside to work or something in Thailand.

First time I think I lead to Thailand. So I think we're going to fight back to community. minute that one time yeah do you still have lots of family then still living in-law yeah I still got brother two brother two sister because our family we got us six six people together my my dad and mom put six two three sons, three daughters. Yeah. Yeah.

I still got two sisters and two brothers. Have you ever been back? One time, probably over 20 years already. I went back once since I come to Canada. And what was it like going back, See-Huyah? They're better now. They not push you like I used to, so. a big different.

Yeah. Right now they change a lot. Not like a way to come first time. Oh my God. That's bad. But right now it's okay. They live there. Did any of your family,

your immediate family, try and leave or flee? Or did they all stay? They want to leave. They asked me to, come to Canada too but I have no idea to bring them to here and you know I got no money to support them too but yeah but my younger brother he asked me he want to come to Canada too but I have no money to take them to come here

and let them stay over there where you stay. If something happened, it happened to me first and see what happened. Top for my life, that's okay. I got a patient and I had to live, have patient and have to live, have patience and have work. So now I come to Canada. Yeah. Where in your siblings, are you the oldest, youngest, just the middle?

A middle. I got two or one older brother, one older sister, one younger brother and one sister. So the reason I ask is I have four older siblings and I just. Yeah. Yeah. I was, I guess I think if I was going to do swim at two-kilometer river with Army Patrol and everything else, I, did you tell any of your siblings? You mentioned you told your mom. Did you tell?

Yeah, yeah. And what did they, did they try and talk you out of it? I tell them brother, sister, mom. and they know because lots people flee from Laos and they said they have to you, you know, make your decision

a day too. They never know they said before but right now they're okay, stay with them now. You, you've fled, and now, you've fled, and now you're, you know, geez, 79, what is that? 42 years? Yeah, 42 years ago. 41, 42 years. You couldn't have known, you know, what you were fleeing to.

You mentioned the refugee camp not being exactly somewhere where you wanted to be for a very long time. Do you have you ever had a thought of, man, I wish you I would have just stayed in Lough and been with my family and never come this way? Or has it been the smartest thing you ever did at 19, jumping in a river and swimming for your life? My own decision, so I think, you know, I cannot got what you ask me. Can you say again?

Sure. I'm just, I guess I'm curious if coming to Canada and fleeing for your life across the river was worth it in your mind. If you could go back to that 19-year-old and talk to yourself, would you say stay in Lao, it's going to get better? Or would you say swim like your life depends on it and never look back? Okay.

I think not. time I think I have to flee better than stay because I think my life when I live with them over there just not think like a die so I have to decide if I die on the river or they should it's okay I said if I not die ahead I will be a good future or bright future, something like that. I want to come to reach country to learn something new, something better, something like that. That's why I have to decide. If I stay in Laos, do not think different die on my life, so that's why I have to decide.

Cross the River, swimming cross the liver. Even I know on the river people die often, they should. Sometimes die. But, okay, I said, that's my life. I make decisions, I think. When you're young, you know, you need a future, need something good, better life. And cannot stay like that.

Back could, I can't stay like that, I said. that I said. That's why I swimming across the river and stay in the camp. Good thing I stay in the camp is not that long. Six months. Then I got named to come to Canada. Oh, I'm happy that. I applied for French. The main thing, go to French because I learned French. And Canada, okay, because Quebec, it speaks French. So I think two countries I think apply for, but not U.S. I not speak English. I think it's a...

But Canada, that time, UN, they go to the camp and take a few, lots of people come to Canada when they need people come to Canada. Oh, okay, I come. Yeah. Now I hear in Canada in a closer Christmas time, full of snow, and they will be seen like that on my life. And oh, I said, big different weather here and there.

Oh, there, you can no way, anything, just go outside. come here, oh my God, cannot go aside. I shake here, cold, I think. See the snow first time. Oh. In the Laos, that time is a coldest plus 11. Plus 11 at the coldest. Plus 11 in that area.

So basically yesterday in the middle of the day, that was the coldest it gets in Laos. Because yesterday was plus 13? Yeah. Yeah, that's a cold desk. some buffalo die over there plus 11 animals like a beef buffalo cannot survive to cold weather yeah plus 11 or 10 or something like that but right now they they change yeah climate change sometimes they said zero over there to

In Laosan area, got snow a little bit. This year, that's house climate change right now. So I don't know. Yeah. Now my life is in Canada now. Well, you've been here a long time. Long time. And only one back to Laos, that's.

I like to go see them again one more time before I pass away. I want to see what's wrong in there now. Well, I come back to then where we're sitting right now. Okay. And then a lot of journalism, a lot of news, a lot of people are talking about how Canada is moving more socialist. or more communist or what have you, with COVID restrictions, lockdowns,

isolation hotels, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But communism is brought up a lot by politics on the right side of things, right? Right, right first left, whatever. Yeah. As a man who fleed communism and when getting in the river

and possibly dying is better than staying here and having nothing, when you hear us Canadians, I mean, you're a Canadian now yourself, but when you hear us, I don't know, lack of perspective, I guess, or maybe you're like, no, there's reason for concern, maybe there isn't. I guess I just see a guy who's ran from it, seen it at its darkest days. What do you think of everything going on currently? For now, like in Canada, in Canada. Yeah, in Canada.

It's very good, Canada's, you know, law, the moon of law is good, you know, fair for everybody. Yeah. And I think that's a better law in the work, Canada's. I think that's very good. Yeah. I don't know. With COVID-19 dragging on, I'm going to call it.

With not having people in your house, not being able to travel around, travel restrictions being put in place, restaurants being closed down. Is any of that concern you at all? Yeah, I concern about that, you know. Right now, You know, people rest, you cannot go to work.

Stay home, lockdown, people got stress. Not like used to, like to go outside, play anywhere you want. Right now, I concern a little bit about, you know, people have no work to do. And sometimes, you know, I concern a little bit about, you know, people have no work to do. And, yeah, yeah. Sometimes, you know, I concern. about some people is not happy about you know people different what ethnic or something like that sometimes I not got what you ask me what well and that's

the best I can see you know that that is fair fair see yeah yeah yeah which is I don't know. You, sir, have just seen things. That's all. And I'm just trying to pull of much of what you've seen out so that I can essentially learn from you and let people hear your story. That, you know, to me, that's very valuable.

And I was curious, you know, what lessons did your parents or maybe your grandparents try and instill to you when you were in law? Did they pass along any knowledge or lessons learned through their lives that they wanted you to live your life by? My parents, when I live in Laos there, what if we do is my parent is a farmer in Laos there. What if we do is my parent is farmer in Laos, they do farm something like that. They farm.

Farm, yeah. Growing rice. They're not concerned anything on there because they got their own food. They grow rice. They got chicken, you got what, what's stable. They do. Yeah. They're not going to buy any food.

They have good life like that for natural life. So not like right now, it's a big difference now. Everything's money, money. People growing up and no place to work, something like that. thing like that. I got a, I should ask, you meet your wife in 1986? Or get married to your wife in 1926? Yes, yeah.

Where do you, do you meet your wife here in Lloydminster? Yes, in Lloydminster, yeah. Well, then I guess, let's say, I work. I work at, I applied a job in Lloydminster at the GMC dealership, Archie anoy, owner, GMC dealership in Law and minister, you know, I applied the job in there. And I got job at the body shop. The Argyanoid body shop in downtown right now is close.

So I don't know, you know that body shop downtown. Yeah, yeah. Behind the radio station or something like that. Okay. Yeah. What did you think? When you were talking about, when you immigrated to Canada and you get off the plane in Eminton, I assume, and you hit the cold weather, then you, how did you get here?

Did you have somebody pick you up? Yeah, I got a Catholic community sponsor to bring me to Canada. First time I not land in Edmonton. I land in Montreal, three days and they take me to Winnipeg. Where is my sponsor? In Winnipeg. Okay. Yeah, the sponsor come get me at the airport.

That's government. That government paid for me to come to Canada. Not, I pay myself, I got no money, nothing. Because we are refugees and stateless, when applied to come to Canada, the God sponsor bring me to here. And I stayed in Winnipeg for, I did. six months, almost one year.

So you actually worked then, you actually worked out in Winnipeg then to start with. Yeah, I work part time in Winnipeg, in restaurants in the supermarket in Winnipeg. Yeah. For how long? Probably two months or three months, something like that. Then I got some of my friends in Saskatoon.

They said, a job in here in Loy Minster. They got friends in Saskatoon, they got friends from Lawy Minister. They said in Lawyminster got lots of work and good pay. So I try to come see what happened. So probably with the peck is only $275 an hour or $3. That's basic $3 an hour. In here it's $5 an hour minimum. It's more money.

Oh, yeah. Looking for the money. You know, come to Lawinminster, apply the job. I got a job at a body shop from Archie Arnaud, GMC dealership. So I started work there and I worked through job at that time for three months. After a body shop and I go work in a restaurant, wash this and help cooker like a spread butter on bread and cut the vegetable after body shop five hours, no, five o'clock closed. And I go to work at a restaurant until they close every night.

$5 an hour. Oh, I good. Enough living, I think that one there. Yeah. So what did you think of Lloyd Minster when you finally showed up here after being in Winnipeg? and making the track out west and rolling into little prairie town Whiteminster. Yeah, it seemed to be small town, you know. But it's okay for work, you know, easy to go to work or something like that.

Like I got no car, no nothing to go to work. I have to walk from the apartment a living. First apartment we live is behind the Tropico Inn restaurant. Okay. Yeah. And I walked to downtown to work every day. In the cold day I have to stop at the loymo. I cannot walk through.

Yeah, I took breath. And I continue to walk. Yeah. That's for two, three months. I got enough money and my friend, who partner worked at a body shop, he got car for sale, small car, like a Ford, Carpree, first car I bought, small car.

$600 he sold to me. Okay, I got a wheel now, go to work easier as that. Yeah. Yeah. Did you have a, when you were back in Laos, did you have a car? What? When you were teaching in Laos, did you have a car or was- Oh, no, no, no.

So this was- No car, no- No car, no-no. No. So that was your first car you'd ever had, was in Lloyd? Yes, yeah. Only I got a bicycle in Laos. Like at that time in Laos, not too many vehicles, like a car or something, not too many.

Only army got that. I had an army truck, army jeep, something like that. A car only bus across the province and some rich people that got car, but not too many. I got nothing allowed. That's all I need. I got. First car is in law minister. Yeah, Ford, corporate, $600 I pay for, you know. That must have been an experience I can just imagine. Yeah, I come to Ghana, I got no money. Zero, zero dollar. I start to work and

save money, enough for leave, pay for apartment. food. That's why I start two jobs when I work, a body shop and restaurant, $5 an hour. That means sometimes add together, probably eight. And you were working two jobs ready to start then? Yes, when I start three months. I work in a body shop. After five o'clock, I go to a restaurant, work in there until they closed. Were those? Probably 12 or 1 o'clock they closed.

Were those long days? Oh yeah, it's long, but need money, I said. I need money, I think. And the restaurant is not far from apartment I live. And I'd go in, uppermen there, and cross the street is restaurant. Usually the break today is one of restaurants in there. I don't know what's name, I forgot.

Tri-Arm or some, I forgot. Now it's break. Yeah. Yeah, very good. I like it there. I work a restaurant. I don't pay food, you know. I go there, they give me food.

What do you want to eat? Make me eat that. Save a lot of money. But after three months, I think I have to stop a restaurant because I'm going to be too tired to work to job when you work hard on a body shop after that. And I think, yeah, that's my first start job in there. First car working two jobs from all day long.

All day long. walk to work with cold and stop in the middle of the road to keep warm before get home. Oh, not tough time ever in my life, I think. But I have to be patient, I think. Yeah. After I leave in Loy, you know, one year, two years, 78, 81. I met some family from Lowe, they come to Law in 1981.

That's my wife's family. I meet her in there. They come to Law in 1981. One family, they got daughter, two, three daughters. I go, you know, only I know. I know people, Laos, they call eight families, in law, Mr. Lao, refugee. Is that, you mean today?

No, when it starts. When I come here, the first time in law there. Yeah, yeah. How many families from Laos would we have today? Today is still the same. Still the same? Yeah. No, at anything, only young guys leave, law,

that's only thing. Our daughter, our French daughter, son, leave our only us like an original eight family in law still in law now. Yeah. After I meet my wife, probably five, six months and we okay, gave married. Something like I got enough money to, you know, to support. Because I work from 19 AD. December 8th, 1980, I started work at Body Shop. December 8th, 1980.

So, you know, that's long enough. And I never get laid off on my life. Been a good work or that? I don't know. You know, after AGIR, no, they sold to dealer to Omer. And they transfer me to a body shop. Omer record own body shop. And okay, I go start, I said.

I start to Omer see if not okay, then I go different body shop. seem to be okay it's good enough for living so up to now he's good yeah well I appreciate you coming in I don't know

I'm sure we could talk about bazillion things but if there's something if there's something I missed by all means is there anything else on your mind that you want to talk about yeah I like to thank you to, I'm lucky to come to Canada, I think that's a good place to living in Canada. You know, the loon of laws, like a good for everybody. Thanks to be a Canadian to help me to give my life up to now, you know, make me to make me to

living my own life. You know, after I get married, I got three daughters. You didn't know that. Diana, Judy, and Amanda. Yeah, that's only I got three daughters now. Did you ever encourage him to go back to Lowe? Or to have any of them gone? for me

for your daughters oh yeah they want they want to go see where it's I born you know they want they asked me

too many time they want to visit Lao someday someday I take them to there yeah someday I got to take them

to that uh huh but my daughter is not live with us right now Judy is in

Calcoli Diana and Amanda in Edmonton. Amanda still go to university one more year to be done that. What is she taken? Computer science or something like that. Okay. Yeah. Next year,

complete. So I hope she got degree something. I hope she could a lot better than that. Yeah Yeah You're empty nesters now Yeah

Yeah Yeah They're gonna be The old life I'm going to be Fididom My old life Something like that

Did they know all about You swim in the river And everything Is that Pretty commonplace knowledge of escaping Lao as a young man? I told my daughter

they know I tell my story yeah I usually talk to Rob Campbell or Ray Laibor when I work with them

at Arjanoi Bori Shop he'd be a manager and raised his bodyman. He teaches me there. So I thank you for them to teach me to do the job. So I'd like to thank you, I'd like to thank Rob Campbell.

He's very good manager and helping me, teach me how to do the job, the right thing to do. for my, I don't know nothing before, you know. Yeah. I forgot to tell you that. After I worked for four years, then they sent me to go to school at NET,

auto body mechanic. I go there for three years, I think, three or four years to learn to get a journeyman ticket. All the bit of tough for me, but I be patient to learn that because language, you know, English, learn how to speak English, understand English, write and read and practice work, real work, okay. problem but on the language it's a little bit tough. I have to assume that that first little right now is not too bad I okay I have to assume the first

couple months of living here maybe the first couple years of living here must have been very challenging oh yeah yeah that's it that's for sure yeah the main things are the different just a slightly yeah yeah I think I'm lucky to come Canada, you know, lucky to be Canadian citizen. I think thank you for Canada to help me start my life. I think I, when I'm not too old, I'm probably around 40 years old, I think I want to be my own. I think I want to be my own body shop. I want to buy a body shop.

But right now, too late. Getting owned already, so 60 years old. I don't want to do any hard anymore. You know, closer time to retire or something. Take care of my grandson, granddaughter. Look after them next. That's my boy. Learn a lot of things in my life, you know.

Yeah, challenger, everything. Yeah, I think that's all. I want to say right now. Thank you for you. Thank you for you. You to get me to talk with each other. Well, I'm glad I could convince you. I've been, well, I've been

anticipating it so I was excited to have you in here and hear a little bit about your story and everything else so I appreciate you coming in and sitting down with me and sharing for a little bit yeah okay well thanks see hi okay thank you you too yeah thanks for tuning in today guys uh make sure to like and subscribe uh as always it does help man what it's like I listen to that again and I don't know I don't know I don't don't even know like that's hard to I'm so happy see I came in to do that because there is a guy who risk everything to come to this country to get away from um um tyranny communism uh wanted freedom wanted to raise a family and and make a way and man just uh to hear that story again that's

pretty powerful stuff in my eyes and I hope um you heard or enjoy it please share this story i think you know the archive episodes are are so special because i get to hear somebody's life story and every once in a while somebody has this story like see hi and you're just like i mean i come from a different world and uh for him to to be open come on and share that with all of us i just commend him for doing that. Now, if you're, I don't have much more to say than that. In the show notes is the Patreon account, is the event coming up on February 5th. Honestly, just, I think give your loved ones a hug, a hug.

There's nothing more precious in this world than our family and friends. And after listening to it again, I just, we got to hold what's dear to us close. and never take a moment for granted. Be where your feet are. That's the motivation for this Wednesday. All right, now go kick some ass, and we'll catch up to you Friday, folks.