Pe a geen sams a ammenities Page 10B- The Castlegar Sun HOMETOWN PR@UD Colleen GET To KNow Us lleen is just one of our many versatile ‘employees. Most of the time, you'll find her smiling face in her favourite department of the store — the bakery/ deli. As with all employees in this area, Colleen has successfully completed the “Food Safe” course, ensuring only the best quality and freshness. Whether Colleen is baking bread or decorating cakes, your complete satisfaction is IGA will be open Good Friday 10 am to 6 pm Saturday 9 am to 6 pm always guaranteed! | CLOSED Easter Sunday | | FRESH FROM OUR | ‘IN-STORE BAKERY | FRESH FROM OUR IN-STORE BAKERY EASTER Fresh Baked NO. 1 YAMS 1.30 kg. 59: posite BROWNS 1 kg. bag All varieties 398 ml. UNCLE BENS STUFF 'N' SUCH All varieties \¢ 120 g. to 150 g. Wednesday, Marci: 30, 1994 Alexa Pongracs For The Castle, Schizophrenia is a mental illness with symptoms caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Schizoy ia can mani- fest itself in hati Understanding schizophrenia Conference held at Sandman He said, “There are four main Objectives: support for the funi- lies of people with schizophrenia: to increase public and thoughts and feelings. Shames noted that, “No one agency or program alone can under of to advocate on behalf of people affected by schizophrenia for bet- ter and service; and to delusions, an absence of emo- tions,-or bizarre behavior. : The odds are one in a hun- dred that you will have the con- dition If there is a schizophrenic in your family the odds increase to one in ten. If you, or a family member have schizophrenia how does this affect your interaction in the community, or the community's interaction with you? Schizophrenia and communi- ty involvement was the focus of the B.C. Schizophrenia Regional Thompson Okanagan Kootenays Conference held at the Castlegar Sandman Inn Friday March 25, and Saturday, March 26. One hundred and seventy- five delegates form across.B. ~ ded tl promote research into causes, treatment, and the ultimate cure of schizophrenia.” Special guest speaker Maureen Nicholls of the Langley Stpping Stone Rehabilitave Society noted that the society was formed ten years ago and that she had been involved for seven. She said that her involvement came about because, “I knew there was nothing out there for people with mental ipfiness except rips to the mental health centre.” Nicholls told of the many steps it-has-take-to-develop.a permanent clubhouse of their own, “We did it one day at a time and dealt with much’of the Not-in-my-back-yard noted, “We need to guests were officially aoeret: o to Castlegar by City Councillor Brenda Binnie, Bill and Audrey Moore and Phyllis and Dave Gairns who distributed informa- tional pamphlets and brochures to assist the guests in their enjoyment of the Kootenays. All delegates were provided with am attractive folder cour- tesy of the Castlegar Develop- ment Board. Gary Glacken, executive directors of BCSS said that the BCSS was a ndn-profit society anda CTeate ah awareness and under- standing of people with mental ere and to gain community ne said that attitudes have to change. “We need to think now what we can get from this com- munity, but what we can put into it.” A partnership panel of three people closed Friday evening's presentation. P’Nina Shames, of Nelson Mental Health,”’Valerie ‘Nakazawa, of Salmon Arm who has a family member with nization. and George Lau- rie of Cranbrook shared their Bill Moore (I) and Audrey Moore (r) welcome Gary Glacken, executive director of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society at a conference held at the Sandman Inn. plish the tation of a person with mental illness. Community involvement must go beyond the usual.” Nakazawa admitted that deal- ing with the illness was difficult, “There is shame and it is hard to quiet those irrationat betiefs.t learned to listen with my heart,” Laurie, who is a person with schizophrenia, said that the prop- er balance of medication is an asset. “Once on medication I became stable enough to realize I had a choice. Stay on medica- tion, accept my illness, and vol- unteer in the community to give something back.” Last year Laurie won the Governor General's Medal of Canada for his volunteer work. Laurie sces education as the other key, “We must educate the employers and build self-esteem in other ways.” The panel accepted questions and comihents from the audience: An audience member, who has nia, noted that she had been trained as a nurse, but due to She has taken secretarial train- ing but was not hired. “I do volunteer work, but I would like to be able to earn my own living. I’m frustrated and tired.” She noted that there was a one professional doctor in this area attending this conference. I don’t think there's one here tonight.” NABOB COFFEE $178 Reg, Fine, Extra Fine .|| Calling all cartoonists! ‘Submitted Asst. varictié Q9* ¢ 170 g. ime Ne. DOC MEAL $4.58 8 kg. HOMETOWN P 100% B.C. OWNED AND OPERATED] ~_ ROYALE BATHROOM TISSUE 6°8 The Langham Cultural Centre in Kaslo is hosting a cartoon extrava- ganza, a show to beat all shows as far as humour is concemned. From April 19 to May 8 the galleries at the Langham will be brimming with humour...hope- fully some of yours! The Langham is opening it’s doors to those artists who are the cartoonists among us, who sec things in a slightly different light, and who are willing to let us share their particular slant on the world. If you are creatively funny, the Langham would like to hear from you! The COMIX show is jointly curated by Judy Mulloy and Bar- bara Bavington, curator of the Langham Centre. If you would like to be included into this show, please contact Judy at 354-4039 or 352-7303 (message) or contact Barbara at the Langham at 353- 2662, or 353-2372. There are only a few require- ments for participating in the COMIX show. All work should be the cartoonists own creation (no copies please!) All cartoons z should be mounted or matted so that they can be viewed more easi- ly. Whether each individual car- . toon is also framed is up to the individual All entries must be at ‘the Langham by Sunday, May 8. Please phone us ahead of time if you are interested in participat- ing in this innovative project. Langham hours are: Monday- Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, Thursday to Friday, 11 am to 4 p-m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.. 24 Rolls D 2717 COLUMBIA AVE., CASTLEGAR 365-5336 ~ While Quantities Last — Sale dates: March 30 thru Sat., April 2 . Helen may in memoty of ‘contributions bé made to the Cancer Fund, Box 3292, Cases, B.C. othe Hospice Society, 1464 PROFILE In the dark of the ight Canada is a nation of rich ethnic diversity. Every year Canada, and its inhabitants wel- comes others who are looking for a home free of tyrannical governance. Many have chosen Canada as their home, but sometimes, through a twist of fate, we choose those whom we wish to become our neighbors and countrymen The following story is about triumph over adversity and human kindness. When Castlegar resident Boon Xaydsom- phou, his wife Nang, and their two sons, then three, and Chieng, then four, fled from Communist Laos in 1980, they never dreamed that the next time they would see their five-year-old daughter and sister, Phouvieng, she would be a young woman of 19. War-torn Laos was in political upheaval and under the dark and heavy cloud of strident Com- munist regime when the Xayasomphous realized that the safety of their children and themselves depended on leaving their homeland Their days and nights were filled with fear and paranoia of a government that habitually whisked friends and family away under the dark cloak of night. One never knew if they, or a member of their family, would be next to disappear into the darkness, never to be seen or heard from again. “You never knew who was spying. They would take people away by the night-time. Nobody would see.” Bountieng (now known as Boon), then 30, knew no other way of life, but that didn’t stop him from dreaming of the day when he and his family would be free of war and the Commu- nist chains that bound them to a country in upheaval. “There was-war all my life. It got where when I- would hear the guns I wouldn't even pay attention—people get used to it.” Boon spoke of the paranoia deeply entrenched in ail Laotians—somehow the gov- emment knew what you were thinking—and no one dared to whisper, or even think, unkind thoughts about the government. To do so would result in punishment, or even worse, a government agent dragging you away in the inky blackness of the night. Knowing that he and his family could no longer stay in Laos, Boon devised a dangerous plan which would bring he and his family to the freedom of neighboring Thailand to the west—his wife’s country of birth. Boon and his family would soon join 250,000 refugees who had looked towards Thailand as a haven of safety. Determined to leave Laos behind, Boon spoke with his mother who had raised him on her own. Both mother and son knew the peril in which he would soon be embarking. Every- day people heard heart-wrenching stories about fleeing families who were released from communist regime not through flight, but rather through death. Stories of horror had filtered through to Laos despite the government’s stringent con- trol on its people. Overcrowded boats negoti- ating the Mekong River to Thailand and ferrying families of refugees were overturned or robbed by pirates. One knew that fleeing by boat did not guarantee freedom and safety— but it was a risk they were willing to take— even death would be kinder to them than living under the heavy hand of communism and war. When Boon told his mother of his plan she begged him to leave behind his daughter and take the two sons to safety! Boon reluctantly agreed. He knew that he and his family might not live to see freedom, but he was going to give them the best possible chance at doing so. He realized that two children would be easier to save than three, in case their attempt at free- dom went awry. “If something went wrong, my wife could take care of one and I could take care of one, but there was no way we could take three.” Leaving one child behind made sense in more ways than one “I left one seed of my life. If they would shoot me there would be someone left. If something happened to me there would be something of me left for my mother. It was a hard decision to make. My mother said that if she took-@ boy-he might not listen to her when he grew up.” The decision was made—Phouvieng would stay behind. It was a decision that would take them on an 8,000 mile, 14-year journey. With no possessions or money, Boon and his family left Laos in the dark of the night. ' ‘ totally responsible for him and his family. Conditioned by living a life of paranoia and in the clenching grip of government mistrust, Boon trusted no one but his fami- ly—and so he told no one about the child he had to leave behind. He feared that she would suffer severe repercussion for his _— An, ~— 3 “Yequest permission for her to beo write things like ‘It’s not too bad here, but not too good", otherwise they would give a hard time to my family. They cleaned up from the mind. (brain-washing) It was exactly like the movie The Killing Field-in Laos.” It was in 1987 that Boon and Nang rekindled hope that they might one day have their daugh- ter back in the fold of their family)\Feeling less suspicious of the Canadian government, and heartened by positive political changes in Laos, Boon began to let himself hope that maybe he could sponsor his daughter in Cana- da the same way that he'd been sponsored. Encouraged by his friends, Castlegar resi- dents Sally Williams and Norma and Sonja Sather, Boon began the long and at times frustrating process of bringing his daughter to Canada. it, wasn’t until 1988 that Boon would hear his daughter's voice for the first time in eight years. Armed with a —— telephone ber, Boon p ghter. The voice that greeted him seieader end wat ae of a four-year-old girl but that of a young girl at the brink of womanhood. At first Boon didn’t tell his daughter of his plans to reunite her with her family. “TI didn’t tell my daughter or the government I didn’t know if things would be worse for her.” During the conversation Boon discovered that his daughter was under the impression that her family was dead, even though her grand- mother had told her repeatedly that wasn’t so. “She was told by my mom we were in Cana- da, but she didn’t believe. She believed her family dead.” Finally in 1990 papers were filed with immi- gration requesting that his daughter come to visit him. Not understanding immigration ules; Boon erroneously believed that he could sponsor his daughter as he liad been sponsored, and that when she arrived in Canada he would perma- nent resident. It took one year of ptime, an@ 4 towering mountain. of paperwork for Boon to understand that he would have to re+ \ apply for her entry. “They sent a letter to me telling me that I couldn’t do that. They said if she was tuly my daughter why not apply for her to come and live.” Hesitant about outwardly exhibiting emotion, Boon and daughter, Phouvieng reluctant- ly pose for the prying eyes of the camera. “We had nothing, just our hands and feet and the clothes that we wore.” Luckily Boon and his family didn’t become another casualty in the flight for freedom, but soon discovered that Thailand’s open arms would be closed to them. Although they planned to live with Nang’s family in Thailand until they actions. As far as the Canadian government knew he only had three children. For six months Boon and his family lived in the crowded camp. Compared to conditions in Laos, the camp was a welcome haven with plenty of food and a warm bed. Finally, Boon received word that a church group in Cana- could b self-sufficient, Boon soon learned that he and his family wouldn’t be welcome as citizens, even ‘We had nothing, just our hands and feet and the clothes that we wore.’ SPEAKING ON HIS FLIGHT TO FREEDOM FROM LAOS da would be willing to sponsor immi- gration for his — BOON XAYASOMPHOU family—that Lutheran church in though his wife was bor there. He would have to stay in a United Nations run refugee camp with 6,000 others who also came looking for a better life To return to Laos would be certain death. “If we were to go back they would shoot us. If we went back we would be the enemy.” When Boon had left his daughter behind, it was with the belief that he would be able to retum and squire her back to Thailand where she would then live with her family—but that was not to be. “When we left we thought it wouldn’t be that long until we went and got her—maybe two or three months.” In fact, one son, Pan, bom later in Thailand in 1980, would meet his sister for the first time when he was 14, Unable to return to Laos, unwelcome by Thailand, Boon began the long and tedious process of igration interviews with American and Canadian government offi- cials. The only way they would be allowed into another country would be with the help of a sponsor who would be willing to be * Castlegar. “J didn’t even know where Canada was.” One month after receiving word of sponsor- ship Br ~ and his family were in Canada. For the next _ car, the Castlegar Lutheran Church would care for Boon, his wife, and children, as if they were part of the family. All their financial needs would be met by the sponsoring group until Boon and his family were finally able to take up the heavy mantle of self-sufficiency. During that year Boon and his wife were industrious. With a determination rarely seen in people, Boon leamed the English language and securedé¢mployment with School District No. 9. He had become a Canadian resident, but his heart was still in Laos with his daughter. “T had no choice—I gotta go, I gotta go.” Throughout the long years, Boon wrote let- ters to his daughter—letters he is certain she never Saw. “The system was still very strong. The gov- ernment would open every letter and check every word. If you said Canada was a nice country they wouldn’t like that. So you have to Story and photo: Karen Kerkhoftf church was the> d, but still d d to be reunit- ed with his daughter, Boon started over again, filing the necessary paperwork that would one day bring his daughter back into his arms. It wasn’t until 1991 that Boon received word from the govemment, and reflects now on the les- son he leamed about the price of democracy. “You know the government—they ’re so slow.” But there was a serious problem. Because Boon had no record of his daughter’s birth and no way to prove that she was in fact his daugh- ter, he had to prove beyond a doubt that she was tnuly his. The only way to do that was with an $1,100 DNA test. Undaunted, Boon complied with the govern- ment’s request. Two months later the Canadian government issued immigration papers for Phouvieng. Phouvieng would finally see her parents January 22, 1994—the day she came to Canada. Even though Boon appears to be “Canadian- ized”, 30 years of Asian influence is still appar- ent. But it was never more apparent than when asked about that day of reunification. So touched by his first meeting with his daughter, Boon could not speak. Instead, his eyes filled with tears, his jaw clenched, and he looked away in sudden embarrassment at his display of emotion. We never did talk about that day. Words, after all, could not describe the 14-year absence of his daughter, nor their first meeting since that terrible decision to leave her behind was made so long ago. Gathering composure, Boon took a deep breath and spoke. “I don’t think I’m going to lose her again. My fighting is over.” Boon would like to thank the Castlegar Lutheran Church, Sally Williams, and Norm and Sonja Sather for all their help in assisting him and his family immigrate to Canada. With- out their encouragement and assistance this story could have had a different ending.