Au Revoir les Enfants

This week saw the departure of the majority of the Montagnard refgees with whom I have been working in Cambodia. After the government of Cambodia demanded the closure of the site where they were housed, Canada stepped in and offered them asylum. Most of the Montagnards I have worked with derrived their refugee status from a family member already in the United States, and they expect to be settled there eventually.They will be living in Quebec. I am so glad that they are going somewhere where they have the freedom to work and travel; many of them have been in the closed site in Phnom Penh for as long as six years. During that time, food and basic necessities have been provided to them, but they have not been allowed to leave the site except for official purposes and under supervision. This chunk of their lives has been in suspended animation. The education provided to them there has been less than ideal, and my biggest concern is for the young adults among them, who have grown up in this environment. 

I have loved working with them, and I am very sad to say goodbye, but hope that their futures will be bright in Canada.

 

Certainly, Canada in February will be difficult to adjust to for people from the Vietnamese highlands who have living on a closed site in Cambodia. Not just the weather, which may come as a shock, but the unfamiliar amenities and ways of doing things. Even seeing them off at the airport brought it home to me how many things will be new to them. At the airport, the automatic taps, the toilets, the escalators, were new, and sometimes bewildering or terrifying experiences. I put all my faith in the social services in Quebec to support them through this. I trust that they will discover, as I did, what a privilege it is to work with such amazing people.