S.O.S. Letter

I am extremely glad to have come to know about the Supreme Master and Your compassion for helping and guiding the sentient beings through a friend. I sincerely wish to have the sympathy of the Supreme Master to help me to get rid of the suffering and to regain the warmth in this human world.

The Au Lac communists took away all my property before I escaped Vietnam between 1975 and 1989. They claimed we were the bourgeoisie class and tricked us into loosing all our cars and farm land. Later, they hated our family (because we are Chinese) even more because of the war on the border of China and Vietnam (1979). They chased our family into the deserted forest (New Economic Zone), and tore down our house. They dumped the people and debris into the forest by car. The Vietnam communists rather have us all eaten up by the wolves. We were totally helpless. Neither hell nor heaven answered our call. We cried until our tears ran dry. Under such circumstances, my parents and family decided to take the risk to escape the New Economic Zone into a small farm village in the south. Without a formal permit for relocation, we could only live on a slope in the farm and work for others. There was no safety or guarantee in our lives, and no freedom.

During this time of uncertainty, my parents grew old and lost weight rapidly. Our future was grey. Therefore, my big brother guided the whole family to escape to Cambodia in order to begin a new life. We succeeded in arriving in Cambodia, but the red Cambodians take revenge on people from Vietnam. They bombed our village all night, and even came into the village to kill the Vietnam boat people; our lives were once again threatened. Eventually, with the assistance of others, we boarded a 5 feet long wooden boat to come to the free land of Thailand. We were robbed by pirates at sea, and I was raped. My family was extremely sad and I had to pretend nothing had ever happened in order to minimize their pain. But how can I, for the rest of my life, forget the pain of such an assault.

An even more painful suffering was that, both the Thailand government and the United Nations refused to recognize my refugee status. What I have suffered from is exactly the ethnic persecution stated in the Convention on the Status of Refugees. But, no one pities or sympathizes with my suffering. What can I do? It is mentally and materially great torture. Sometimes, when I get really depressed, I want to end my life. However, when I see my parents, who are old and sick, and my brothers who have never been happy, I can't bear to add to their suffering. But, I have no desire to live anymore. What can I do? Supreme Master of great compassion, please give me guidance. I wish to have Your care. I wish You serenity, health and longevity.

Sincerely yours,

A female refugee

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