About the Event
By the River of Kampuchea – Memoirs of Sieu Van Tran: Return from the Killing Fields, A Love Story is a novel written by Ms. Holly Du (余滿華). The story follows Sieu Van Tran (陳秀雲), a Canadian-Chinese-Cambodian woman, as she rises above trauma and hardship, eventually embracing Christianity and a new life in Canada.
By the River of Kampuchea stands out from other biographies through its diverse characters, covering the lives of those during the Indochina Peninsula war. It illustrates the social, culture and history of the struggles between ethnic communities and nations such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Hong Kong.
In this event, Holly will read to us page 136 -149 of her book which focus on Hong Kong Vietnamese Refugees (1979), a piece of history which is left out of the dominant narrative. The chapter indicates how Hong Kong embarked on the first large-scale humanitarian aid and successfully lobbied the United Nation to host the first International Conference on Indochina Peninsula Refugees. Thus, saving countless lives and bringing hope to many people in despair.
About Holly Du
Born and raised in Hanoi, Holly left Vietnam in 1978 with an "Exit Visa" from the Department of Foreigners of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam; and entered China with a "Certificate of Return" which was issued by the Chinese Consulate in Hanoi.
She was placed in the Returned Overseas Chinese Collective Farm in Guangxi, China. She fled China in May 1979 and came to Hong Kong in June 1979. She was later placed in Kai Tak refugee camp. She came to Canada in April 1980 under the sponsorship of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Scotsburn, Nova Scotia.
Holly has a Master Degree of Theological Study; a certificate in Occupational Health & Safety Instructor; a certificate in Counseling; and she also earned a certificate in Drafting. Prior to her recent retirement, she had worked as a mental health social worker for many years.
Holly has written thirteen books and translated two books from English to Chinese. While the majority of her books were published in Hong Kong, two of her books were published in China, and her autobiography was published in Taiwan. By the Riverside of Kampuchea is her first book written in English.
Discussant
Heidi Lee is a Master of Information student at the University of Toronto. She current works as a Graduate Student Library Assistant at the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library. She previously worked as a National Online Journalist at Global News, where she covered Canadian federal politics and international affairs.
RSVP
Please RSVP by emailing chk.library@utoronto.ca