My name is Phoy Souvannasap. I come from Laos. Laos is a
small country next to Vietnam and Cambodia. The Vietnam war started in
1959. Because Laos borders Vietnam, the war had a direct effect on
us.
Nongkhai Camp, Thailand
In the beginning, there was little American involvement. There were a
few American soldiers who came over from Thailand from time to time to
help out.
The two sides to this war were the communists and the U.S. backed
government side.
I got married in 1966. I don't remember the exact date. In 1969, when
my wife was 5 months pregnant, the government soldiers came to our city
and took all the people who were capable of fighting. I was one of
those. We were given M-16s, 200 rounds of ammunition and grenades. We
hiked to the communist controlled mountains near Vietnam. We stayed
there for one month, then we were replaced by another group of soldiers
from the city. It took us 3 nights to get back down to our base camp, a
place we called Tamblin. There were 12 houses in the camp. A total of
27 men came down from the mountains to the camp. There was not enough
food there so we were all hungry. 9 of the 27 soldiers were injured.
They returned to the city by canoe to get food and hospital care. I
remained in Tamblin with the other 17 men for one week.
Later, we were joined by 100 men. By 9:00 p.m. all the men had arrived.
At 3:30 a.m. fighting broke out in the camp. A lot of people were hurt
and a lot died. One of my good friends died in this battle. His body
was blown away from the waist down. He was hurt at 7 a.m. and died an
hour later. He said, "tell my wife to take care. I love her". All
together about 17 people died.
Click here to see full size image.
74k.
At 8:00 a.m. we called in the U.S. jets and 2 Laotian planes to come and
help us. They flew from Udon, Thailand. They bombed the enemy's
position. After the bombing, the shots ceased. We stayed in camp 3 more
days. Of our original group of 18 men, 3 had been killed and 3 were
injured too badly to walk. So 12 of us walked back to the city. We
walked at night to avoid running into the people who lived in the
mountains. Those mountain people had been told by the communists that
they would be given food and guns if they killed the soldiers that walked
through there.
Once, there was so much rain that it was impossible to walk at night. So
we found whatever shelter we could and waited until morning to start
walking again. In the morning, we were covered with leaches but we
didn't care because we were more worried about being shot by the mountain
people. That day we walked for 4 hours then waited for night to come so
we could continue walking.
We finally arrived in the city. At first they didn't allow me to see my
wife but then they let me visit my family for a week. Then we returned
to the fighting. After spending 3 days in the base camp, 47 soldiers
were sent into the mountains again. We stayed there 9 days. We lost
control of our position because we did not have enough people.
The men in our group had virtually no training. They were just given the
guns and told to fight. They had to be watched constantly to keep them
from deserting. When the fighting broke out, some of the soldiers
sprawled out on the ground, crying, shaking, and shouting. When I think
about the situation now, it is quite funny, but we were not laughing
then. In the heat of the battle, I would run over to those men and teach
them how to shoot and protect themselves. I told them to be quiet or
they would die faster. During that battle 3 or 4 men deserted. Two men
and myself became separated from the main group. We were lost, with no
food, blankets or shelter. We were forced to eat the bugs and anything
we could find.
Originally, Phoy was told that he and his family were going to Chicago,
Illinois.
We made it to the river and decided to return to the city. I told the
other two men how to make a raft. We got in the river and held on to the
raft from under the water. We used hollow bamboo tubes to breathe
through. We stayed under the water for half a day. Then we got out of
the river and continued towards the city at night. It took us 7 days to
return to the city.
We stayed in the city approximately 3 months, then our next mission was
to take care of a bridge. After that we were sent to another place.
One time we were out looking for food quite far from our camp. There
were 3 of us together. A group of communists were waiting for us. We
first heard some sounds and then about 3 seconds later we heard the
gunfire from their AK47s. I was hit above the right eye but I felt no
pain and there was very little blood so I continued fighting. After the
skirmish my friends told me that I was hurt badly. I reached up to my
face and felt blood drenched tissue hanging from my eyebrow onto my
cheek. Then I blacked out. My friends stitched the wound up without any
medications.
I was hospitalized for 3 months. My eye swelled up so much that I
couldn't see anything for the entire first month. When I left the
hospital I was released from the army and I returned to my family. I
didn't fight anymore after that.
I remained a soldier in the city. My job was to train the younger
soldiers how to fight and use the guns.
In 1974, the Americans left Vietnam and the communists took over
Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. We didn't know anything about this new
government. We had to stop and wait to see what the new government would
do.
They made new money called "kip." They robbed us by making us turn in
our old money and giving us very little in return. The former soldiers
were disarmed of their weapons. Everyday they had meetings which we had
to attend. We were forced to go to meetings and listen to their words.
They always talked about the new government. At this time many people
left the country. They went to France, Germany, Thailand, the U.S.A and
other countries.
The government officials made the city people go to the mountains and
work. They gave us a little water and a little food, but not nearly
enough. At night they chained us together to keep us from escaping to
Thailand.
Many people became sick from the mosquitos. Many people died from
diseases, lack of medicine and food.
They built a big jail (a hole in the ground). People who did not listen
to the authorities were put in the hole.
There was no pay for the work we did. People were forced to tell the
officers all about their possessions; the number of ducks, chickens,
buffalo, and how much rice they had. There was an approved market place
where we could buy and sell. The communists took one half of the sales.
If you were caught not paying enough to the government, you were put in
jail.
Many of my people drowned while trying to get to Thailand by swimming
across the Mekong River. Many of those who made it were forced to leave
Thailand by boat. Robbers came to them at sea and took whatever they had.
Many of the Hmong people were killed as they tried to leave the country.
We saw soldiers kill people for no reason. Some people tried to cross
the Mekong River using plastic bags that they had blown up. The soldiers
would see the bags and shoot the people. At times there were many bodies
floating down the river.
I had a good friend in the communist government. He came to me and told
me to leave the country. I had 4 children at the time. We made the
decision to try to leave Laos. Every day for one and a half months I
went out and gathered two pieces of wood. Each day I would go to a
different place. At home I made a little raft with the wood I had
gathered.
Finally we were ready to escape. We left our home at 2:00 AM. I took a
little bucket of rice and a blanket for my kids. We took 700 Thai bat
(US $28), and 25 silver coins (US $10). My wife also had a thin
necklace. We went far from the town to the river. My wife couldn't swim
so I told her to sit on the raft. She was too scared so she hung on to
the side of the raft. Our sons and daughters stayed on the raft. I pushed
and paddled the raft to the other side. It only took maybe 1/2 hour or 45
minutes to cross to Thailand. We were met by people who told us to wait
for the Thai officers. We waited. Then the same people came back with
others so they could rob us. They took everything we had.
At about 11:00 AM the policemen took us to an office. They wrote down
our names, birthdays, and other information. They held us in a cell with
4 other families. Ponpisai was the name of this jail area. As the head
of the family, I had to stay in jail at night because they were afraid I
would escape. My family slept outside. They let me go in the daytime to
be with my family. We stayed in this jail area 5 days.
All together there were about 2,000 people there.
Some of us had blankets, others did not. They gave us food only 2 times
a day. My family had nothing so they couldn't take anything from us.
They said we had to have money to get out of jail. We had nothing so we
couldn't get out. Everyday more and more people arrived from Laos. They
transferred the families that had been there longer into a refugee camp.
I made a small bamboo hut for my family. We lived there for about 7
months. The authorities sent many people out of the area we were at
because there were too many people there.
We were moved to the second place. We lived in a small room in a
building. We stayed there for 1 year and 5 months. Many people were
leaving and going to lots of different countries, including Canada,
Germany, France, China, Argentina, and others. We thought a lot about the
best country. We prayed for Heavenly Father to help us decide which
country to go to. At the time we were Buddhists. There were Catholic and
Protestant churches there.
They had lots of different kinds of food but there was not enough.
Riverdale, UT
We had to make good friends with the person over security of the camp so
he would help us. With money he would help you get out of the camp.
My work was digging the ground and gathering bamboo. We made 20 bat a
day (US $0.70). It was not much but we didn't care. We needed the money
to buy food and water. They had water but it was dirty.
My wife and I had different last names. In Laos it is not the custom for
wives to change their names. This caused a big problem in applying to
leave.
Some bad people burned down the building where we were living. We got
our kids out but we lost everything else. At this time there were not
enough buildings to house the refugees. So they started sending out more
and more people. I prayed and felt that the U.S. was the best place for
me. When I was asked where in the U.S. I wanted to go, I said,
"Anywhere, mountain, sea, anywhere's o.k." John, the man who helped
families leave the camp, said we were one of the lucky families because
they needed to move many people out of the camp.
We waited everyday for them to call out our names so we could get on a
bus. Finally they called our names. On that day there were 10 buses
there. There were so many of us leaving that we filled them all. We
went to Bangkok. Some people had no money, no sponsors, and no
relatives. We stayed in a jail in Bangkok. We only had to stay one
day. Some people had to stay weeks, months, and even years.
Before getting on the bus to go to the Bangkok airport they told us to
stand in line. We had to wait from 5:00 PM to midnight. The officers
got mad at us even if we left the line to go to the rest room. At
midnight the buses came. Maybe 600 people went to the Bangkok airport at
that time.
About 1 hour after arriving at the airport, some people checked to see
who could speak English. None of the people knew how to speak English.
There were no schools that taught English where we lived. They came to
my family and asked me, "Do you know how to speak English?" We said no.
They asked, "Then why are you going to the U.S.A?" We told them we
really didn't know. Then they told us that we had to join a small group
of 4 families in a small room.
My family and my friend's family (they had 1 child) were sent to a small
room. There were also 3 Hmong families in the room. They told us that
all of us in the small room had a disease and that we would have to go
back to Laos. They also told the main group that we were sick. I still
don't understand why they said this, probably just putting on a show for
their bosses.
The next morning they took us to the airplane. We had to walk a long
ways outside to get to the big airplane. My family was the first to
board the airplane. They told me to smile for a photo. But I couldn't
smile because they had lied to us about being sick and I was really
worried. They told us to sit far from the door near the rest room. They
told us to sit down and stay together. They took many pictures for their
book. They even took pictures of us in the chair with our mouths open as
we were yawning. Many, many people got on the plane. Then the plane
took off from Thailand.
We landed in Okinawa, Japan, to refuel. They didn't let us off the
plane. Then they took off and we flew to the San Francisco airport.
While on the plane they gave us oranges to eat. My son didn't want to
eat his because it was the first he had ever had. Some people in the
airport took my son's orange and threw it away. He cried and cried. I
told him they would give him another to help him stop crying.
They sent us to a hotel close to the San Francisco Bridge. We had plenty
of food, water, and a room to sleep in. About 400 or 500 people stayed
in the hotel.
Some people had sponsors in California. We had been told we were going
to Chicago, but we didn't have a sponsor yet. They gave us a map of the
U.S. and Illinois was outlined in red. The agent that was helping us was
calling lots of people in the U.S. looking for a sponsor for us.
We could not speak any English. We had no money, gold, silver, clothes,
or blankets. The government authorities gave us one change of clothing.
Then they told us there had been a change of plans. We were not going to
Chicago, we were going to Utah. They told us that a man named Steve
Nelson had chosen to sponsor our family. He lived in Clinton, Utah. I
told them fine; anywhere in the U.S.A. is o.k. So on February 27th,
1980, we flew to Salt Lake City. We got there and had to wait for the
sponsor to arrive. We waited about 1 hour. Then my sponsor came with
his wife, Jane, and 5 children. Steve and Jane hugged everyone in my
family. I could say nothing but I felt very happy. They took us to
their van and they drove us to an oriental food store. They asked us
many things but we couldn't answer. They bought some rice and something
else. After shopping we went to their home.
Steve"s home was not the same as the homes in our country. There was
carpet, TV's, and other things. I felt scared. I didn't want to touch
anything. I was afraid my kids would break something in his house. If
they broke something, I wondered how I would pay for it. They told us
not to worry, they would take care of us. They taught us how to wash and
dry our clothes and do other things at home. We also experienced snow
for the first time. We went outside and looked at the white stuff
covering everyone's yard. We picked it up and felt how cold it was in
our hands.
After 2 or 3 days my sponsor took me to the store. They held up items
and pointed, "Do you want this?" I shook my head because I had no
money. They said they would pay for everything. I didn't understand why
they would do that.
Later on, Steve called the church branch. Some people from the church
brought over pots, pans, and clothes. They explained to me in my own
language that Steve is a Mormon. He didn't drink coffee, beer, or
whiskey. Later my whole family went to the Mormon church. I went 2 or 3
times. The Bishop found some missionaries who could speak Thai. My wife
and I speak Thai so we were able to understand them. The missionaries
names were Tony and Larry. I don't remember their last names.
We stayed in our sponsor's home for several weeks when he found a home
for us to rent. Some church people painted and fixed up the house and
cut the grass. Then the missionaries from the church came to teach us.
I learned about the Mormon church and they baptized me and my family.
After I was baptized, I went to church every Sunday. Later I told my
Laotian friends about the church. They started coming and we organized
the Laotian 86th branch.
My sponsor helped me find my first job in the U.S.A. They asked me what
I had done before. I told them I was a soldier and that I could do home
repairs and make furniture. So the sponsor helped me find a job at a
furniture manufacturing company called Hurco Industries in Ogden, Utah.
When I started working there, they paid me $3.15 an hour. The job was
good but there were many problems. I had no car and no friends. So for
the first week my sponsor drove me to and from work. Then he taught me
how to ride a bus. It was not easy. Maybe 2 times I missed my bus stop
and I had to walk back a long ways to my house. It took about 1 month to
learn how to ride the bus.
Our rent was $210 and our food was expensive. I was not making enough
money. One of my friends told me about welfare and food stamps. I told
my sponsor about welfare and that we needed more money. He said he would
take care of it. So he talked to the Bishop and the Bishop gave me a
paper so I could go shopping in the Mormon store. I could buy anything I
wanted there without money.
After working at Hurco for about 6 weeks my sponsor found another job for
me at Hill Air Force Base as a janitor. They paid me $4.10 an hour.
With that raise in salary I had enough to buy my own food. Shopping at
the Mormon store was nice but they didn't have oriental food, so it was
better for us to buy our own food.
Clinton, UT
I still didn't have a car or anything. I walked to work when my sponsor
didn't take me. Then he got a bicycle for me. The bike was fine when
the weather was good, but when the snow fell, I would have to push my
bike through the snow to get to work. In the summer, my sponsor helped
me buy my first car. We got a loan from the bank and bought a car for
$1,500. I was scared to drive it at first and worried because I did not
have enough money.
One foggy morning in October, I was going to work. There was black ice
on the road. I was only going 15 mph when I lost control. A lady who
was going much faster hit my car. My car slid off the road. It was
totally ruined. When my sponsor saw the car he couldn't believe that I
was not hurt. He said that Heavenly Father helped me and protected me
because I was working hard to take care of my family. I was not given a
ticket because it was not my fault. Later, the lady's insurance company
paid me $2,300 for the accident.
My sponsor helped not only our family. He also helped another Laotian
family whose sponsor did not take good care of the family he sponsored.
He also sponsored 2 of my cousin's families. Now he is helping others.
I continued to work hard as the years went by. I earned enough money to
rent a five bedroom home in Clearfield, Utah, live there for 8 years and
saved enough to put down some money on a new home in Clinton, Utah. A
few years ago, I became a U.S. citizen. I'm very happy to live in the
U.S.A. and would like to stay here. I have so much freedom here compared
to what I went through in Laos. Someday I would like to go visit my
relatives. This is my home now.
My wife, our five daughters, and I lived for 5 years in Japan and
returned to the United States in 1979. Being somewhat familiar with
Asian cultures we felt a great deal of compassion for the Southeast Asian
refugees that were trying to escape the ravages of war in their home
countries. My family discussed on several occasions the opportunity to
help by volunteering to participate as sponsors. Finally, during one of
our Monday night Family Home Evenings we decided to formally apply to
become sponsors. On Tuesday we called the refugee agency and
volunteered to be sponsors. We were told that it would be several weeks
or perhaps even months before a family from one of the Southeast Asian
countries would arrive. To our surprise three days later on Friday we
were called by the agency and informed that our family of seven from Laos
had arrived that afternoon and could we come as soon as possible to Salt
Lake City and pick them up.
Our first meeting of Phoy Souvannasap, his wife Somchith, his three
daughters, Yoifa (age 11), Vasna (age 9), and Mali (1), and his two sons
Visneu (age 7) and Santi (age 4) occurred at the Refugee Agency an hour
or so later. It was wonderful to meet them. Unfortunately, we probably
overwhelmed them with our friendly hugs and handshakes because they were
initially unresponsive. We talked to them in English trying to
reassure them and it was apparent immediately that they did not
understand a word of our babel. Phoy and his family all looked totally
overwhelmed by the situation. I cleared things with the Refugee Agency
and lead the family to our awaiting car. It was sad when I realize that
all of this family's worldly possessions were carried on their backs and
in a small box which we later found out contained precious cooking
utensils. Our drive home was spent with my wife and I making plans for
what was to happen when we arrived home because we certainly were not
prepared. Phoy and his family spent the one hour ride home looking out
the window with a faraway glazed look in their eyes. We arrived home and
fixed them a hurried dinner but the only things they ate were rice and
oranges. That night they spent the night in one of our three bedrooms.
We made beds for the children on the floor.
The next morning word of our refugee family got around our neighborhood
and we had a number of visitors who came to welcome them to America.
Phoy was gracious but I am sure that the family did not understand
exactly what was going on. The next day on Sunday we outfitted the
family in what clothing we could find and they accompanied us to church.
Before the day was over we were overwhelmed with gifts of kindness from
neighbors who wanted to help. Gifts of clothing, toys, money, food,
household appliances, etc, came almost every day for a week or so until
our garage was nearly full. I am always touched with the memory of this
precious time. So many people wanting to participate and Phoy's kind
acceptance and humble thanks at their generosity. Throughout our refugee
experience we became a conduit for the kindness of many many sweet people
who wanted to help.
Phoy and his family lived in our home for several weeks until we were
able to find him his first job in Ogden and a small home about two miles
away from our home. Once a home was found we enrolled the children in
elementary school and helped familiarize the family with their new
neighborhood, bus transportation, shopping and grocery stores, etc.
For some time after this Phoy and his family were still very dependent on
us and required almost daily help to meet their everyday challenges. But
time lessened this dependence and it wasn't long until our relationship
changed from dependence to an eternal friendship.
Our major impression of Phoy and his family's first few months here was
of their undaunted integrity, courage, and commitment to succeed in spite
of the difficulties. The challenges they faced were legion: vast
cultural differences, language disability, no transportation, strange
shopping practices, unfamiliar work environment, and a total
unfamiliarity with our society and system. In spite of many discouraging
events and outright failures their courage did not fail and they worked
even harder for success. After a series of minimum wage jobs both Phoy
and his wife eventually found permanent employment with a company that
manufactured playground equipment. They still hold these jobs today.
All of their employers appreciated the integrity and hard working ethic
that they brought to their jobs. Their children worked hard at learning
English and became very successful in school. The oldest daughter Yoifa
learned English first and forever after functioned as her family's
interpreter. Phoy only accepted financial help for a few months and then
insisted that he be allowed to be financially independent. Two more
young sons, Spencer and Michael, were born after their arrival in
America. Even with a family of nine they stretch their meager earnings
to meet their every day requirements and put a little savings in the
bank. It wasn't many years after their arrival that Phoy came over to
visit so that he could proudly show me his brand new Ford truck. They
remained in their first rental home for a year or so and then moved to a
much nicer rental home. About ten years after their arrival they had
saved enough money for a down payment and were able to purchase a newly
constructed home a mile from my home.
At Phoy's request we also sponsored two more of his relatives families,
the Kounthongs, a family of six and the Souvannavongs, a family of five.
Their struggle for independence and self sufficiency followed very
closely the pattern of Phoy's family. The wonderful thing to me for all
of these families is that our community was able to help them in their
time of need. They in turn have responded dramatically by becoming
independent, responsible, and contributing members of our community.
Even though they came with nothing but their courage and integrity they
have used their free agency and the opportunities available to them in
our community to create their own version of success. They all have new
homes, drive nice cars, accept no welfare, encourage their children to
excel, and each one has realized the successful fulfillment of their
version of the American dream. My family and I are proud and grateful to
have been a part of their lives. SGN
Phoy, Somchith, and family
The children's names and current ages are as follows:
Yoifa (tallest girl) age 26
Vasna (girl holding sign) age 24
Visneu (tallest boy) age 21
Santy (shorter boy) age 19
Maly (baby) age 16
February, 1980
Immigration Document
Nongkhai Camp, Thailand
February, 1980
Map given to Phoy while in
Nongkhai Camp, Thailand
February, 1980
Phoy and Somchith in front of their home.
Sunset, UT
1981
Phoy, Somchith, and family
The baby, Spencer, was their first child born in the U.S.A.
Clearfield, UT
1983
Phoy, Somchith, and family
Clearfield, UT
1983
Phoy, Somchith, and family at church
Yoifa (next to mother)
Vasna (next to father)
Visneu (in front of Yoifa)
Santy (cub scout)
Maly (little girl)
Spencer (next to Maly)
Michael (in front of Vasna)
1985
One of the many certificates Phoy and Somchith have received from their
employer
Clearfield, UT
October, 1993
Phoy and Santy
Santy just became a citizen
(Phoy became a citizen in 1993)
Utah State Capital
1995
Maly -- the day she became a citizen
Utah State Capital
1995
The Souvannasap home
(family members own every car except for the white one)
Clinton, UT
1994
The Souvannasap Family
(standing from left to right) Maly (16), Santy (19), Vasna (24)
(seated from left to right) Visneu (21), Yoifa (26), Kyle (5) (Yoifa's
son), Spencer (14), Michael (12), Somchith, Misty (5) (Visna's daughter),
neighbor girl, Phoy
Thanksgiving day, 1995
Thanks to Steve Nelson, Phoy Souvannasap's sponsor, for sharing the
following:
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