Dear Sombath…from Agnieszka Kroskowska

Dear Sombath,

As I prepare to leave Laos after 6.5 years of living and working here, I cannot help but reflect on my time here, my first days and weeks here. One of the very clear memories I have – as though it happened just yesterday, was my first meeting with you. This is atypical for me because I very rarely remember the first time I meet someone; more shy than people perhaps realize while sincerely in the moment, I usually am just trying to get through the moment, so I in the end draw a blank. But you and a few others I can basically count on one hand, were different. Interestingly – I also remember the first time I saw Shui Meng – you were together, sitting a couple of rows in front of me during one of those Monument Books presentation evenings. She stood up and voiced her opinion during the habitual Q&A session that follows all presentations. I just remember saying to my friend Wow – now that is a strong woman; I would definitely not want to mess with her; good for Sombath for having the confidence to be with a woman like that! Says even more about him as a man. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Agnieszka Kroskowska”

Dear Sombath…from Lois Foehringer

Dear Sombath,

Sabaidee!

I think of you every time I chop onions. This is the way it has always been. The association between you and onions reckons back to the countless weekend evenings spent preparing meals in our kitchen in Vientiane. The task of chopping onions was yours by default because the pungency of the onion juice never bothered you like it did the rest of us. You did this task cheerfully just as you approach every other task that I have seen you undertake. So it is that when I chop onions, as my eyes burn and tears stream down my face, I cannot help but whisper under my breath, “Sombath, where are you?” Of course, that question is so much more poignant now when there is such deep and disturbing uncertainty about your whereabouts. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Lois Foehringer”

Dear Sombath…from Lisa ter Woort

Dear Sombath,

I’ve just completed a trip to southern Lao PDR with my 13 year old twin daughters Rachel and Carly. I wanted to show my girls the country, and the people that have made such a lasting impression on me both personally and professionally. I had hoped to see you.

Its already been 17 odd years since I first arrived to Vientiane to work with CUSO on development issues in Lao. I remember, with absolute clarity, the first week in my role as country representive to CUSO Lao PDR. With Charlie Pahlman as my mentor, I was provided with an extensive overview of the organizations and individuals who would become the network I came to rely on in our work to make a difference in Lao.

I met you that first week in the whirlwind of meetings. We drove around the dust covered streets in that yellow volkswagon bug. Charlie was driving somewhat erratically, as he always liked to make effusive points using both hands!  So many passionate people, both from Lao and around the world, many who would contribute to and influence my work in Lao. It was a fabulous time, united in the belief that we were making a difference through the work we undertook together.

Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Lisa ter Woort”

Dear Sombath…from Saksinee Emasiri (Ying)

Dear Uncle Sombath,

I think of you often and I feel like talking to you. But it’s not easy for me to really start writing to you. I don’t know where you are and I guess our postman will have difficulty getting this letter to your hands. But I am sure this letter will be safe in many hands of friendship and faith.

Your name came to my life since 10 years ago through many of my senior friends. I don’t really know who you are but I learn a lot from my senior friends, who learned a lot from you.

Since December 15, 2012, I got involved in youth active participation to raise awareness of forced disappearance situation and its impact. You are not just someone in another country, you have already become a friend, even we don’t know each other in person.

People may think I am so good for taking action to ensure you will never be forgotten. Actually, I am not giving anything. I gain more than I gave.

Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Saksinee Emasiri (Ying)”

Dear Sombath…from Joseph Purugganan

Dear Sombath,

I hope you are well wherever you might be now. I hope that somehow the overwhelming outpouring of support, like those I am sure will be expressed in the letters that are being written by friends and supporters somehow reach you, and that the support strengthens your will to continue fighting.

Let me tell you that a lot of people not just from your beloved Laos, but all across Asia and the world are praying for your safe return. A lot of people have also expressed support for your loved ones who suffer the most from your absence, but who have come out of this ordeal, stronger.

Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Joseph Purugganan”

Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (2)

My dearest Sombath,

Over the past week, the nights have been very clear and the light of the moon shines right into our bedroom turning it almost as bright as day. In the past, every time that happened, you would wake me up and ask me to see how beautiful the moonlight is, and see how the moon is reflected in the Mekong which our bedroom overlooks. We would sit and watch the beautiful moon and its silvery light. I would say to you that we are truly blessed to live just by the Mekong.  You would smile and say, “Yes, mother nature is so wonderful. Let’s be grateful.” Then you would snuggle back under the covers and go back to sleep leaving me wide-awake to enjoy the moonlight and watch the shimmering reflection of the moon on the silent Mekong.

Now whenever the full moon shines into our bedroom and its golden orb reflects on the waters of the Mekong, my tears stream down uncontrollably. Where are you? Can you see the moon wherever you are? Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (2)”

Dear Sombath…from Clarissa Militante

Dear Sombath,

The first time I saw your wife was at a friend’s gathering and the second was in a meeting. On both occasions, I was in awe of her. As she spoke, I sensed her strength and quiet confidence. I felt emotional hearing her speak, but I reproached myself. I thought then (and still feel) that I didn’t have the right to share her pain. I would never really understand and appreciate what she and those who personally knew you were going through.

I had reproached myself the same way when I cried while listening to a song about victims of enforced disappearance. We were then preparing for an action at our own department of foreign affairs in the Philippines and I helped translate this song composed and sung by a Filipino folk activist singer. I also told myself then that the pain I felt was nowhere near what the families and friends of victims felt.

But there is one thing I do know and understand: that abduction and enforced disappearance are cowardly acts. Their perpetrators have no principles and values; nothing on which they stand to face legitimate criticism and dissent. Nothing, but brute force which should have no place in a decent, civilized world. But they do exist and thrive.

I oftentimes doubt my small acts of protest; will they amount to anything? But unlike the cowards, human rights advocates and defenders are motivated and energized by humanity/humanness; that these principles shall prevail. Expressed in small acts of defiance against the inhumanity of enforced disappearance, I try to hold on to this fervent prayer inside me that you will be reunited with your family and community that you have loved and served.

Clarissa Militante

Dear Sombath…from Dorothy Guerrero

Dear Sombath,

I remember our meeting in early 2011 when we, from the International Organizing Committee of the Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF), first approached you about the possibility of PADTEC co-organizing the parallel event to the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 2012. You listened attentively and occasionally gave a meaningful smile as we described how it was held in previous host countries. We enumerated some highlights as well as challenges that we encountered in the previous countries. We also shared that many others had expressed their apprehension about the anticipated challenges of holding it in Vientiane.

We very frankly asked you if you thought that it was possible to organize it in Vientiane without censorship and threat, or whether some participants would be barred from Laos because of their political involvement in their home countries and the type of issues that they are working on (human rights, food sovereignty, climate change , environment, etc.). I also asked if it would be better to hold it in Thailand across from Vientiane so that it would be less problematic for civil society groups in Laos. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Dorothy Guerrero”

Dear Sombath…from Christina McMellon

Dear Sombath,

I’m sitting writing this letter in Common Ground Cafe in Vientiane, where we have often sat together and talked about happiness. When I last left Laos at the end of October 2012 we had just finished making Happy Laos and the AEPF had been and gone. In my last week in Vientiane I thought many times about calling you to arrange to meet and say goodbye but thought that you were probably exhausted and needed some time to yourself, so instead I wrote you an email saying thank you for all your support while I was living in Laos. Now I regret not making that call.

I’m back in Laos after 14 months for a very short visit. It feels like everything and nothing has changed. I feel as if, since your disappearance, all the earth under my feet has shifted by a few degrees – not enough to be constantly noticeable but enough to frequently trip me up. I am so sad not to see you here but I see your inspiration all around me, especially in the many young people that I know who are directly or indirectly connected to PADETC. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Christina McMellon”

Dear Sombath…from Anne-Sophie Gindroz (1)

Dear Sombath

These words are to thank you
Thank you for what I have learnt with you
Not only the what, but more importantly the how
As the journey matters more than the destination.

You believe in education
Not to reduce the world to few theories
But to learn from diversity,
Not to frame minds into models
But to stimulate critical thinking.

You practice education that opens windows
Not education that builds walls,
Because power lies in consciousness
And freedom to make own decisions.

Dear Sombath,
I admire the way you navigate authoritarian systems
Led by your unshakable faith
That there is wisdom in every mind
And kindness in every heart.

You always look for common grounds
Always to engage, never to confront
Compromising not on the fundamentals
But on time necessary to make these acceptable.

Real authority is not the one imposed by others
But the one we retain on our life choices,
When we follow values instead of orders
And obey sense of justice rather than duty.

And this is all part of happiness
This ultimate goal that should guide us all,
Which can’t be measured by individual wealth
Nor economic growth based development.

If freedom is about making own choices
Happiness comes from this deep and strong conviction
That we are making the right choices
As individual, community members, citizens of the world.

Dear Sombath,
Beyond awards and public recognition
You are a leading figure for your community
A father for so many young people
And a cherished friend for those who got to know you.

You have gained respect for what you are
Living by those values you believe in
And your humility and wisdom
Are more powerful than violence and lies.

Bodies are not immortal, but souls are
People might disappear, but ideals remain
Cultivated by younger generations,
Nurtured by their quest for harmony and justice.

Dear Sombath,
Your light will shine on
Like stars in the sky
Your presence will always be
Like hope in my heart.

Anne-Sophie