Trại tị nạn Galang 1 1980-1981

Trên đây là nhửng anh em làm việc thiện nguyện ở ban đại diện và phòng thông tin của trại Galang 1 năm 1981

"Còn chút gì để nhớ...để quên"

Nguyển Phi Lân

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (13)

After departures, we would stand around the now empty space - talking, crying, and laughing (at ourselves) and then walk the 3 miles back to camp.
Chúng tôi thường ở lại sau khi tiển người ra đi, vừa khóc, vừa cười, rồi cùng đi bộ khoảng 1.5 km về lại trại

Lunch in the Buddhist Temple with the monk, Thich Thien Tri and Father Dominici (in the yellow t-shirt) who was the camp's Catholic priest, and a lovely person.
 Buổi ăn trưa trong chùa với thầy Thích Thiện Trí và Linh Mục Dominici (người mặc áo thun vàng)

Khoa and his father. A year later, I'd gone to a kung fu film at a Chinese theater across the street from Disneyland in Anahein, CA. When the movie ended and the lights came on, I was surprised to see the father (and several other people I knew) walking up the aisle.
 Khoa và ba của Khoa. Chúng tôi tình cờ gặp lại nhau khoảng 1 năm sau khi tôi đi coi phim võ thuật tại một rạp chiếu bóng tàu gần Disneyland ở Anaheim.

Loc and Ngoc. They'd owned a coffeeshop in Saigon, resettled in Ohio.

 Lộc và Ngọc. Hai người có tiệm cà phê ở Sài Gòn. Họ định cư tại Ohio

The altar in the Unaccompanied Minors' barrack. These were children who were in camp by themselves. Mr. Hai, our school's principal, also lived in the barrack and took care of the children.

 Bàn thờ trong gian trại cho trẻ cô nhi. Hải thầy hiệu trưởng cũng sống ở gian trại này và lo cho các em.

A Housewive's Class graduation party
Most of the people who wanted to study (Site I was a UN camp and studying wasn't mandatory. In mid-1981, a second camp was opened on Galang, called Site II. It was several miles away from Site I. The second camp was US-built, people living there had already been accepted for resettlement in the US, and English/cultural orientation classes were manditory) in Site I were in our regular classes taught by Vietnamese volunteers. When zone leaders asked us to begin classes in the barracks for people who couldn't make it to the regular classes, we did that. Thus the Houswives Program, the Golden Age Club, etc
Lễ ra trường lớp của nhưng người nội trợ.
Đa số dân tị nạn muốn học tiếng Anh phải đến lớp do người việt thiện nguyện dạy. Sau này chúng tôi mở thêm nhưng lớp học anh văn cho những người không thể đến lớp. Vì vậy mà có lớp loại này, cho những người đã lớn tuổi  

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (12)

Minh, in the blue shirt was in the camp alone. He was so brave and such a great student. The night before, at a party held in his honor, he'd delivered a fine speech in Vietnamese and English. But here at the harbor, he became a little boy again and had us all crying along with him.

Minh , bé trai mặt áo xanh, tới trại một mình. Minh rất can đảm và thông minh. Đêm hôm buổi tiệc tổ chức cho Minh, em diễn thuyết bằng tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh lưu loát. Trong hình này ở bến tàu ra đi, Minh trở nên nhỏ bé trở lại. Minh khóc và ai cũng khóc theo

Site I, Zone 2 between the barracks (refugee housing). The camp was a clearing in the forest. 10,000 people...sometimes more

Khung cảnh Galang khu 1, vùng 2, giửa những gian nhà cho dân tị nạn. Galang ở giửa khu rừng nhiều khi có tới hơn 10,000 dân tị nạn một lúc 

This boat had just landed on Galang. There were 88 people on board. They'd tried to land in Singapore, but authorities there refused permission but gave them food, water, gas, and a chart showing how to get to Galang.

Chiếc tàu này vừa tới Galang. Có 88 người trên tàu. Họ tính tới Singapore nhưng bị từ chối cho lên bờ. CHính phủ Singapore cho họ thực phẩm, nước, dầu máy, và chỉ đường cho họ tới Galang 

Quach Thanh Van in his barrack. He tried unsucccessfully to teach me Vietnamese. Van and his family resettled in Ashland, Oregon and later moved to Anaheim, California. I visited them there. Van had passed his GED and was studying electronics.

Quách Thanh Vân trong khu nhà của em. Vân dạy tôi tiếng Việt nhưng không xong.

Gia đình Vân về Ashland, Oregon và sau đó dọn về Anaheim California. Tôi đã tới thăm Vân ở đó

Mai in her "Ao Dai" in front of staff housing

Mai trong chiếc áo dài chụp hình trước căn nhà của chúng tôi 

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (11)

The day that our wonderful principal, Nguyen Van Hai, left we closed down the school so everyone could see him off. Here he is with Son. Hai went to Edmonton, Canada. The last time I talked with him, he was going to have exploritory surgery the following morning. I never heard from Hai again. His number was disconnected, and I've never talked with anyone who had news of him

In 1981 a group of Cambodian refugees were transferred down from Thailand.

Nguyen Tuan who re-settled in San Jose.

My amazing first team of teachers...the Flying Dragons.

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (10)

This was the day I left.
On the left is Mr. Day. On the right, Mr. Trinh. Mr. Day was 77 and had been the president of our Golden Age Club for a year. He spoke very little English, but he had an amazing spirit.   Later, I visited Mr. Day and his family in Tacoma. The family was worried because he seldom left the apartment. He gave me a can of tea as a gift. I first met Mr. Trinh when Debbie and I were interviewing refugees who thought their English might be good enough to teach in our school. It was a hot, humid afternoon and the last candidate was a very tired-looking man wearing faded pyjamas. I asked him the first required question, and he answered in flawless English. I asked him what his job had been in VN, and he answered, "I was...what I think you call in English...a Supreme Court Justice.." It turned out that he had been released from prison (for health reasons) about a month before and had immediately escaped the country. He taught for us, later was elected Vienamese head of the camp, and was always a dear, generous friend. The last time I heard from him, he was working as an accountant in San Jose.

The day the young monk left...with Chieu and Debbie.

A year later, I was teaching at Seattle Central Community College. One evening, the department door opened and Chieu walked in. He had just arrived and was there to ask about ESL classes. That was one of the best and happiest surprises of my life.

Early mornings, the camp loudspeakers would call out the names of people scheduled to leave in one or two days. The entire camp would stop to listen. From Galang, boats would take people to Singapore, 5 hours away. They'd spend about 5 days in a Singapore camp and then fly out. This is Mr. Tong, his wife, and daughter leaving for Singapore and then Kentucky.

A class graduation. 

Our volunteer English teachers are wearing Save The Children shirts.

I'm with Debbie and Hai (sitting with blue shirt).

Ba Kim and Ba Chin. 

Kim and her daughter resettled in Texas. 

Chin had a big family, and they went to Pennsylvania.

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (9)

‎(from left) Tuan, Hai, and Son. Hai and Son went to Canada and Tuan to San Jose, California. Hai was our school's principal and our dear friend. He had been on Galang for several years (the normal stay was about 1 year). Eight years after this photo was taken, I was working at another camp in the Philippines. I was wading in the river when two young Vietnamese women came up to me and asked if I was "Mr. Gaylord". The girls were Tuan's sisters and they had just arrived with their mother. After he'd arrived in California, Tuan had sent them a photo with my name, and they had remembered and recognized me. Tuan's father had been a colonel in the Army of South Vietnam and was still in a Vietnamese reeducation camp.

Từ trái qua phải: Tuấn, Hải và Sơn. Hải và Sơn địng cư ở Canada, còn Tuấn về San Jose.
Hải là hiệu trưởng trường học sinh ngữ ở Galang và cũng là bạn thân của tôi. Dân tị nạn ở Galang thường chỉ ở khoảng 1 năm, nhưng  Hải ở Galang vài năm vì phải uống thuốc trị bênh lao.

One of the boats that took people from Galang to Singapore, 5 hours away.
Một chiếc tàu đưa người tị nạn về Singapore để bay về nước định cư. Đi tàu này 5 tiếng để tới Singapore 

Everyone was sunburned and exhausted after a week at sea on that little boat. The little boy was enjoying it, but I was ashamed to be taking such intrusive photos of them.   I continued because I knew the moment should be captured.
Ai cũng bị cháy nắng và kiệt sức sau cả tuần lễ lênh đênh trên biển trên chiếc tàu nhỏ.
Đứa bé trai tỏ vẻ thích thú. Tôi cảm thấy có lỗi vì chụp hình lúc họ quá bơ phờ, nhưng tôi vẫn chụp vì đây là nhưng bức hình lịch sử

Site I during the rainy season. Refugee housing (each barrack housed several hundred people), Vietnamese food stands along the street, a garden to the left, and the blue plastic to the right is a cafe.
Galang Khu Số Một ngày mưa. 
Những gian nhà chứa hàng trăn dân tị nạn. Sạp bán hàng dọc bên đường. Phía trái có khu vườn nhỏ. Cái tấm bạc xanh phía tay phải là quán cà phê.

A departure at the Galang harbor. Indonesian military kept people back...sometimes brutally
Khung cảnh ngày đi định cư tại bến tàu Galang. Cảnh sát Nam Dương giủ trật tự nhiều khi dùng biện pháp tàn nhẩn

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (8)

The boat that had carried 88 people from Vietnam (7 days).

88 người tị nạn Việt Nam đi trên con tàu này trong 7 ngày để tới được Galang

Không nhớ tên em bé này

The day that Debbie and Elliot arrived. They were both friends from school in Vermont. I'd gone down to the harbor everyday for a week hoping that would be the day.

Ngày Debbie và Elliot tới trại Galang. Cả hai là bạn học của tôi (Gaylord) tại Vermont. Tôi xuống bến tàu mỗi ngày để chờ đợi ngày này

Debbie, Katya, and Joan in front of our housing. We'd sleep (on the floor with mosquito nets) upstairs and eat and work downstairs. The houses were about a 5-minute walk outside of camp.

Debbie, Katya va John trước căn nhà tập thể. Phòng ngủ bên trên còn phòng ăn uống làm việc bên dưới Căn nhà này cách trại tị nạn khoảng 5 phút đi bộ

Không nhớ tên em bé này

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (7)

Debbie. The Vietnamese called her "Babee", and so did I sometimes.

Me with Mark. Mark was my dormmate in Vermont. He had been working in the camp from the beginning and had grown thin. He and the others left a month after I arrived. Later, I met a Vietnamese family that remembered Mark as their "savior" because he had dived into the ocean to save their drowning son after the boy had fallen from a large ship.

When people first arrived on Galang, the Indonesian military would search bags and take any gold, jewelry, electronics...whatever they wanted. Even the Camp Commander's wife would be there for her share.

searching bags at departure

Four of the great kids in Mr. Hai's Unaccompanied Minors Barrack 68.

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (6)

Entertainment in the Site I Youth Center 

Buổi văn nghệ tại trung tâm Giới trẻ

People seeing me off at the Galang harbor...January 12, 1982.
Ngày tôi (Gaylord) rời trại

Buddhist Temple built by the refugees
Ngôi Chùa tại Galang

Thuy and family went to San Francisco
Gia đình Thúy định cư ở San Francisco

Son was a little haunted at times. On their first escape attempt they had been stopped by a Russian ship and taken back to VN (and prison). On their second attempt, they had been brutally attacked by Thai pirates (Thai fishermen who found the refugee boats to be too vulnerable to let pass).  Some of his boatmates had been murdered.

Pictures of Galang Camp by Gaylord Barr (5)

Students in our Golden Age Club.

A Housewive's Class graduation. Miss Dung was the teacher.

On most weekends, the Indonesian authorities allowed the refugees to go to the beach which was about a mile from the camp.

Vietnamese boats would usually land on Indonesian islands farther to the north. But three boats landed directly on Galang during the time I was there. These people were on one