SatJaDham Presents.. Living Overseas... By Amphon Guy Phiaxay Often in our dinner table, I hear the phrases "In Laos , this taste 100 times better" or "This fish or chicken is not as good as it was in Laos". Frequently during the view of the Thai movie or Lao video, our elders would mumble about how they miss the Southeast Asia sceneries and how beautiful it is. They wish they can go and relive of what they see in the video. These comments lead me to wonder how our parents justified their reasons of still living overseas. If I was to ask the questions of why are they(or we) here? I would be swamped with the communist and quest-for-better lives stories. Many times we were reminded by the horified stories of our parents' lives under the communist system. Some of the most famous stories are about those that went to the so-called Re-Educational camp (Sumana) - which at times can be as cruel as the German concentration camp (or Holacaust) during World War II. The second part of their reasons is that we are here to have better education and lead better lives. Back in Laos, it was their dream to come the lands of opportunities..to be in these modernized and advaced country. Now that we are here in these dream countries- far away from home, many have their wish come true?? Most of us in overseas are in a more liberated and democratic countries. The opportunities to get educated are there for us to take. Overseas definitely offer better technology than Laos. Besides in most places overseas, we can still practice our Lao traditions and have lao food (well close to it anyway). Heck, we can even still have Pia (young cow poop) or padek (laotion- style pickle fish :) ). I thought I would never smell those sweet aroma again when I first arrived in Canada. In bigger cities, there are some buddhist temples that we can attend. At the same times, however, there are many things missing and some hopes and dreams unfulfilled. For instance, in Laos, we always wanted to see snow. Now that we are here in the cold climate, my family sometimes wish that snow isn't here. It's true that many live happy lives, but some people have hard times adjusting to these new environments. We oftern hear our elders 'awwwh' and 'aaahh' after they learn about the beautiful and every-day changing Laos from friends or relatives who had just visited our homeland recently. The older they get the more they want to be back in their home country. There are some that have gone back. Many parents are still here for one important reason - that is for their children to receive higher education here. Many of these parents have hard labour jobs so they can have money for the kids to attend good schools. Our elders often speaks of us studying overseas and going back to build bridges and highways in Laos. As part of the younger lao generation, I hope that every young kids out there appreciate what our elders had gone through in order for us to have opportunities for better lives. The luxuries we enjoy living overseas are results of the our parent's sacrifices and overcoming many hardships and obstacles. They have given up a lot to be here. Some are longed to be back home. One day we should go back there too. As my grandfather always said, "I want to be buried where I was born' -- which I translated to " The bird will always return to its nest after a long journey'. Hak Hpaang ... Amphon Guy Phiaxay Any comments are welcomed, please post up here on SCL or email laolit@tuddy.cc.monash.edu.au