Dead, Alive or Live in Pain

Dear friends!

This was the most difficult section that it took me years to decide whether or not and how to present the information regarding Dead, Alive or Live in Pain. After some considerations, I decided to present examples of what Boat People had gone through during their journey. By not presenting specific cases, I was hoping to minimize the impact upon those people, who were affected. I’ve been a friend to a very charming couple, who once were Boat People. He is a Chinese-Vietnamese, she is Vietnamese. During their journey sometime in 1986, their boat encountered a Thai pirate boat. After this incident, his wife gave birth to a boy from a Thai pirate but both husband and wife decided to keep child. For years, they lived in painful memory but they love this child. Over the years, I visited this couple a few times and saw this child was very bright, well behaved, and very well educated. Ultimately, this family had taught me something about forgiving and love.

Food and Water:
- Most of us were poorly equipped with proper supply of food and water. It was due to the size of the boat and overcrowded. Very often that some of us had to endure days without water and food. There were cases that we must feed the baby or people by other people’s blood or flesh to stay alive.

Storms:
- Our boats were not like those boat cruise that could out run the storms. Our boats were so small and low that you could reach the water from the inside. Even with a smallest storm, sea water could pour in easily and sink the boat within minutes, but we took the risk and some of us are alive.

Direction:
- With old navigational equipment and natural resources such as sun, moon, and stars, we went ahead with the plan. Some of us did not make it to final destination and died on the boat after drifting for days or weeks on the open sea. Some were lucky to stay alive.

Pirates:
- The scariest thing we had on our mind before, during, and after any journeys was pirates. There were so many stories that we did not even discuss. Here is a short list.

* The pirates would jump over and took all valuable properties like money, watches, gold…then left.
* The pirates would jump over and raped women while their boyfriend, relatives, husband or parents hearing them begging and screaming from below. Young girls were raped when they were as young as 10.
* The pirates would jump over, raped women and killed those who tried to stop them. Many husbands and fathers were killed.
* The pirates jump over, raped or took women with them, then, rammed the boat into pieces and drove away. Many people sank to the bottom of the sea. It was very rare that some of us could survive such ordeal.
* The pirates would take women with them for slavery, then sold them to prostitute dens somewhere in Thailand.
* The pirates would put people on an island and came back again and again.
* There were endless painful stories. Unfortunately, some of us had witnessed such torments.

Lamvi Dao
MC 408 – Pulau Bidong – Malaysia

PS: Though, some of the Boat People had some bad luck during their journey. Many BoatPeople were allowed to stay in ThaiLand in waiting for immigration to the third country. Many BoatPeople were cared by Thai people, who fed us, dressed us, educated us, and many other herioc actions contributed by Thai people toward the BoatPeople.

kob kun tee karuna