Al6 - Sunday, March 27, 1983 - North Shore News

LATE IN 1979, St. David's
United Church West
Vancouver, like many other
churches across Canada
sponsored Southeast Asian
refugees. They sponsored a
Vietnamese couple with two
small children; and a Laotian
couple, also with two small
children. Each family risked
their lives to escape the wave
of Communism which had
swept over their countries.

Thang crowded over forty
persons on to his small
fishboat and set sail un-
detected from the coast of
Vietnam for the refugee
camps of Malaysia. Twice
during the dangerous
journey the desperate group
of refugees were terrorized
and overrun by pirates who
took everything they owned.

When the Vietnamese
Malaysian coast, they
watched in horror as Malay
riflemen shot and _ killed
many other oncoming boat
people in a desperate effort
-to stem the flow of refugees
for whom there was no space
to live. Luck, or possibly a
miracie helped Thang bring
his boatload of fleeing
Vietnamese to shore and
hoped for safety in Malaysia.
Months later Thang and his
wife Lien were told that they
had been sponsored to
Canada by St. David's
Church in West Vancouver.

In Laos, Soung planned
for eight months how he
would escape to Thailand
with his wife Yenh and their
two infant sons across the
Mekong River. He finally
carried out his desperate
pian in the dead of night.

Slipping by Communist

ards on the river bank,
_ Soung silently loaded his
family aboard a small boat
and swam behind, pushing
the boat quietly across the
Mekong River until they had

off Lonsdale

14 refugees
owe freedom
to St..David’s

_ before Soung and his family

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reached the shore of ”
Thailand. A year passed in
Nong Khai refugee camp

heard that they had been
sponsored by St. David's
Church to come to Canada.
Today both families are
enjoying the rewards of
freedom and hard work in
their new country. Thang
has been employed at a
Vancouver steel spinning
plant since early 1980; and
Soung has been working for
almost the same length of
time as a watch repairman
for a Kerrisdale jeweller.

ao | ~ """" Biheto submitted
The two families are CURRENT SLATE of officers of the North Shore Shrine Club are, | to r, front row: Norman Faires, Jim Finlay
struggling to pay for their (president), Arthur Prowal (visiting potentate), Ron Downey; back row: Jack Gornall, Rolly Armstrong, Blake Lilly,
homes; and this month _ Cliff Hyslop, Bob Garriock, Ted Steel.

Thang and his brother Duoc
oecame Canadian citizens.
Two months ago Soung
asked St. David's Church to
sponsor his Sister and

brother

refugee camp. The church
agreed to sponsor the
couple.

This month Immigration
informed St. David's that
four members of the same
family as those sponsored in

The Latest t Styles at Incredible Prices

the camp. Would St. David's 7 —

Church help in finding these For al limited time only London Jewellers’ buying power
: incredible valu

four a sponsor? Despite the on

efforts of St. David's
Refugee Committee, no
sponsor could be found; and
the church took on the
sponsorship of four more
Laotian refugees.

As a result of deciding to _
extend help to more Asian...
refugees, an increased strain © i
has been put on the church's :.
already decreased-; *
resources. If you are able to ©
contribute financially to the ~
support of the two refugee
Laotian families, no matter”
how small the amount,
please send a cheque (ta
deductible) to: The Refugee
Fund, St. David's United
Church, 1525 Taylor Way,
West Vancouver, B.C.

55.88 56.88

Styles shown here are only a an example of
the selection available,

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43.88

Et
VALU Receive an additional 10%
discount off the sale price of

the second item you purchase.

gpEciht

. Prices in effact untit April 16 1983

L BON rs

Jewellery Department of London Drugs

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Vanco:

POR? Cond sate 4, TOM
North Vane caves

“Moth Frasere bag hi ty HOP? Mest Veo) Avenue

Kerrisclale

C devant eee oh

985-9161