Today we went to the area of Cam Tan.
From Nha Trang it is less then an half an hour to drive
First we visited the home for disabled children in Cam Lam. It is one of Ursula's newer projects in this region.
About 30 - 40 children go here every day, some are even living here. There are four nuns looking after them. The chrildren were so happy to see us and embraced us all the time.
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| They really liked to be photogrraphed |
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| Me too! |
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| A German student helping Ursula in the project with many children and a mother |
Most of the disabilities are long time effects of the chemical weapons used by the US army during the Vietnam war. Most of us might know
"Agent Orange", a chemical used widely by the US army to defoliate the trees in the jungle (10th of August is "Orange Day" in Vietnam - that day the remember the victioms of Agent Orange).
Ursula today brought mainly things to play with for the children. A punch or clown theatre for the children.
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| A warm welcome to Ursula. The nun is a studied teacher for disabled children |
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| Little puppets for the small children |
Ursula is always trying to help were the need is the biggest. Since this is a new project there are many thing that need to be solved: Water supply and a new pump systen, a surgery for one of the boys who only has one ear, support for a single mother with a heavily disabled 17 year old boy, a wheelchair for another boy and many other things.
The children showed us at the end of our visit a little show they have prepared for us. It was really amazing to see this children beeing so happy with us.
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| A dance for us |
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| Breakdancer! |
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| Ursula with a mentally retarded boy |
The nuns were friendly to me an promised to help me to find my sister. They will ask elder nuns in the congregation.
Finally we made a group picture and again many hands waved us goodbye.
From the orphanage we drove to the church auf Hoa Tan. There was a young priest. I found him not very helpful but he agreed to show the poster after the sunday service and ask elder member of the parish about the wife and child. I really hope he will do that.
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| The Church in Cam Tan (named Hoa Tan) |
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| The house were the priest lives |
Then we drove to the farm my father worked on. It was not easy to find, again it is in the middle of nowhere. We passed the station of Cam Tan (still named Hoa Tan - like in the old days) but got lost on a sand road. We phoned the grandson of Marcel van den Berg and they found us on the motorbikes, guiding us to the farm savely.
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| Lost |
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| Dogs barking at us |
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| Behind this trees is the farm |
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| Impressions from the farm |
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| Madame Doan Thi Duc in her late days |
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| The rebuild old farm house - Did my father live her also? |
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| A very old truck, but still in use |
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| The grandsons who will try their best to find my sister |
The two brothers told us that there is another church nearby which belongs to another parish but is closer to the farm. So we went there. The priest didn't open the doors although we asumed that he was at home. But right next to the Church we found a congregation of cistercian monks. We rang the bell and a young man came out and we told him also my story. He promised to speak with the priest from the church and he will also discuss it with some elder monks from the congregation. I saw some old pictures on a wall and he told me that they were made in this area around 1960 (when my father lived here).
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| Some monks in 1959 |
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| On a farm in 1968 |
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| The friendly monk |
When I came back this afternoon to my hotel room I was really tired. It is again a hot day here in Nha Trang and I hadn't have a breakfast this morning, so I was hungry too. I wenn to a small restaurant right around the corner for some fried noodles with chicken and water spinach with garlic.
I have tried now nearly everything possible to find a hint or a trace of my father's first family.
Many people told me here that they might have emigrated to the US or France after the victory of the revolution in 1975 to avoid persecution as a child with a german father, a former soldier for the French.
I think this is highly possible but if I would try to find there in old files from the French or US Emigration offices or Embassies I need their ful names.
I hope the some of the elder people might remember them and also their names.
To me it was also very emotional to walk a bit in the footsteps of my father, to stand on the farm where he worked 50 years ago as a machinist. To see how the people live there, the near mountains, the rice fields and all the other things.
On the way back we planned to got back soon, talk to the priest and try to find out more. Maybe I will rent a mototbike and go on my own to feel really the situation. I also like to videotape some things for my family at home.
I am not sure today that I can come any further with the search for my sister, but I am proud to have found the place where my father lived in Vietnam.
Thanks again to all the people who helped me.
