subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite map
Tue, Dec 02 2008 

Published August 08, 2008 12:42 am - CARTHAGE, Mo. — It was late when the boy and his family boarded the boat and struck out across the sea.
They did not know where they would go. They did know they had to leave, and they did know what they were leaving behind.


Ex-refugee: Marian Days time to remember



By Derek Spellman

dspellman@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — It was late when the boy and his family boarded the boat and struck out across the sea.

They did not know where they would go. They did know they had to leave, and they did know what they were leaving behind.

In the five years since communist North Vietnam had defeated South Vietnam, many Vietnamese Catholics like Simon Le, now 40, had fled the country.

Not everyone succeeded. Those who were caught landed in prison, where they sometimes faced torture.

Le’s family had tried to escape several times before an evening in 1980, when Le and about 40 others crowded into a fishing boat and left their village near Saigon.

He was only a boy, and he wondered whether the family would run out of food before it reached wherever it was going.

“We wanted our freedom to worship God,” he said of why the family left.

Years later, Le’s journey across the sea ultimately brought him to Carthage, where he has served as a priest with the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix, a seminary.

Thursday — the official beginning of Marian Days — was the start of something of a family reunion for him and the thousands of other Vietnamese Catholics who will be at the CMC campus over the next few days for the annual celebration.

It is a time, Le said, for families to meet, to share “the good times and the bad times,” to renew their faith, and to remember.

As Le recounted his family’s escape, more pilgrims arrived by car and by bus for the Mass that officially opened the festival. Families and friends reconnected among food booths and dense mazes of tents pitched on the CMC grounds and in the yards of residents who live near the campus. Inside the seminary buildings, visitors knelt on the bare concrete floor and prayed before a statue of St. Joseph, or stopped to touch a statue of the Virgin Mary.

It was a series of vignettes that would have been scarcely imaginable to Le when he and his extended family left their village almost 30 years ago.

After their flight from Vietnam, their fishing boat landed in the Philippines. After a brief stay there, the family members went to Japan. It was in Japan that they received word that an American family based in Louisiana would sponsor their trip to the United States.



print this story    email this story    comment on this story   

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.


Add a comment on this story





monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
TV LIsitngs

Vote Today!

Get Our Free Pod Cast!



Click Here!

32 buy 1 get 1 free offers


Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!
Featured Jobs

FULL TIME DENTAL ASSISTANT
Full time dental assistant to float between clinics in Carthage, Neosho, and Anderson. Experience preferred, but will tr...>MORE

ASE CERTIFIED MECHANIC
ASE Certified Mechanic. Apply at Russell Tire and Auto, 1501 E. 4th, Joplin. ...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Transportation

1993 CHEVROLET 2 TON TRUCK
1993 Chevrolet, 2 ton truck, steel flat bed, twin dump cylinders, 18’ bed, 5 speed/2 speed rear end, 454 Chevrolet gas, ...>MORE

PONTIAC 2002 GRAND AM GT
Pontiac, 2002 Grand Am GT, Ram Air, V6 automatic, loaded with all options, 50,000 actual miles. $5200. (417)623-2011...>MORE

CHEVROLET 2006 Z71
Chevrolet, 2006 Z71, crew cab, 4x4, 38,000 miles, $17,500. 417-439-4177...>MORE

NISSAN 2003 X-TERRA XE
NISSAN, 2003 X-Terra XE, V6, 4x4, 70,000 miles, leather, tilt, cruise, CD, tow package, excellent condition, $11,500. 41...>MORE

FORD 2004 ESCAPE XLT
FORD, 2004 Escape XLT, V6, automatic, air, CD, more, 61,000 miles, $9,250. 417-781-2474....>MORE

HONDA 2005 ACCORD EX
4 door, 1 owner, 45,000 miles, dark green, buckskin leather, loaded, excellent condition, $15,900. (417)483-1307....>MORE

DODGE 2006 DAKOTA QUAD CAB
DODGE, 2006 Dakota, quad cab, SLT, 8000 actual miles, automatic, loaded with options. $9100. (417)623-2011...>MORE

KIA 2005 SEDONIA
KIA, 2005 Sedonia, 7 passenger, V6, automatic, 70,000 actual miles, super nice. $5500. (417)623-2011...>MORE

BMW 2002 325I
BMW, 2002 325i, silver, black leather, good condition, 34 mpg, $8975
417-825-6118, 627-0242.
...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Homes

2 BR CARTERVILLE
2 BR, Carterville, $395/$175. 417-673-0303, 850-6154....>MORE

NICE 2BR
new central heat/air, newly decorated, gar with opener, $69,000. 330 S. McConnell. (417)623-4058, 850-5695....>MORE

See all ads

Other Cool Stuff

GREAT GIFTS
FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
7” ladies 14 karat gold tennis bracelet
with 4 diamonds can add more diamonds/stones, $1,20
...>MORE

GE 19 CU. FT. REFRIGERATOR
GE 19 cu. ft. white refrigerator for sale, $175; Roper white matching washer/dryer, set $265, all are in clean good work...>MORE

BLOODHOUND PUPPIES
BLOODHOUND PUPPIES, APRI registered, 2 black and tan males and 1 female, 8 weeks old, no health problems and are good s...>MORE

WILLIAMS CASINO SLOT MACHINE
Williams Casino Slot Machine. 2003, 9 line video, 5¢ INSTANT WINNER pays out 50,000 coins on maximum win pay line, bonus...>MORE

5 BR, 3 BA, 5 ACRES
5 BR, 3 ba, 5 acres, Webb City schools, finished basement, beautiful home in nice area, 21603 Ivy Road, $1350 month, $75...>MORE

CHRISTMAS PUPS!
CHRISTMAS PUPS! GREAT DANE, AKC registered, shots/wormed. (620)724-8041....>MORE

CUSTOM OAK LUMBER
CUSTOM oak lumber, sawing for trailer floors, barns, corrals, etc also cedar lumber. (417)437-4448....>MORE

627 GREY
3 br, 1 ba, central heat/air, washer/dryer hookup, rent $475, $400 deposit. 417-781-2239....>MORE

BROYHILL FLORAL SOFA
Broyhill floral sofa, pastel colors, $250; glass top coffee table, 2 end tables, $150/set, maple dining table/4 padded c...>MORE

CONTRACTORS TO BID
CONTRACTORS TO BID, Site utility contractors solicitation for bids - Quapaw, OK area. New pressurized sewer system and n...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index

 

 

Find A Home Find A Car