Images of Pulau Bidong found on the web

October 6, 2006

I did attend some of the classes or church service but I don’t recall this image. It’s possible that in 1978 it was not yet built.

I remember visiting some graves but I don’t remember this one. It’s possible that in 1978 it was not yet built.

This I did not see.

  • Some Facts:
  • The Island is almost a perfect circle of 1 mile in diameter

Thank you ‘Reader’ for this link: http://www.bidong.org

    I lived on Pulau Bidong
    ducly.wordpress.com/tag/vietnam

    Pulau Bidong research

    2007/12/08/la-toan-vinhs-sketches-of-bidong

     

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    Posted by ducly Filed in Vietnam

    11 Responses to “Images of Pulau Bidong found on the web”

    1. hasni Says:
      May 3, 2007 at 9:49 am

      i am malaysian citizen, i went to pulau bidong in 1999 for camping, i saw a few place leave by viatnamase. May i know is it built by viatnamase.

    2. ducly Says:
      May 3, 2007 at 3:37 pm

      Hi Hasni,
      I don’t know for sure. I’ll have to research this more. I think that the Malaysian help build it.

    3. Thông 79 Says:
      September 26, 2007 at 2:17 am

      I believed all buildings (churches, temples, memorial were built by the refugees who lived on the island at the time. The materials were transported by Malaysian contractors/UNHCR under the UNHCR funds to build the camp.
      When I was there, the Construction Team, which I was part of, had built the Sick Bay (hospital) and the black steel water supply reservoir. We constructed all these facilities with the contractors’ assistance (tools, power, and materials). Our contribution was labour only.
      There were a lot of engineers and architects who voluntarily worked within the Construction’s team then.

    4. Tieu Ha Says:
      October 20, 2007 at 4:55 pm

      This island has been a full memory for me. I could never forget it. I stayed on this island from Dec 1986 to Apr 1987. It has been an unforgetable time of my life.

    5. thinh huynh Says:
      February 12, 2008 at 2:15 am

      I was there in 1987-88 I was 11-12 years old. That island still hold lots of memory for me. I think i thought of that island everyday since I leave that place. I still remember it vividly like it was yesterday. I thing i will never forget is that sad song they play everytime people leave the island for the mainland camp. do you know what it was or by whom. thank you. write if you can.

    6. ducly Says:
      February 12, 2008 at 6:30 pm

      Thinh Huynh,
      I don’t remember that song. I do remember the Christmas songs the PA system played at night amongst the rustling palms.
      -Duc

    7. Reader Says:
      February 27, 2008 at 4:02 am

      Why do you think the middle picture is of “graves”? Where there are plaques, there graves like where there’s smoke, there’s fire?

      Try another perspective, if the url is correct:http://www.bidong.org/gallery/index.php?gallery=.&image=http%3A%2F%2Fbidong.org%2Fgallery%2Fgalleries%2FbdID8.jpg

    8. ducly Says:
      February 27, 2008 at 7:26 pm

      Hm…I read the caption of the picture which I should have included. It said it was a grave. Too bad the link is not working. If you read this you can send a link to me. lexly87atmsn
      -Duc

    9. Paul Tribble Says:
      March 5, 2008 at 10:51 pm

      I worked for the American resettlement team (JVA) in Pulau Bidong for a two year period in 1981-84. (The other year was spend doing similar work with Vietnamese Boat people in Thailand (JVA). The refugees treated us with the utmost respect because (from their point of view) we were the ones that determined who went to the USA & who didn’t.

    10. Calvin nguyen Says:
      May 4, 2008 at 5:59 am

      Pulau Bidong!What a place for many of us boat people. I spent my youth there in 1982-1983. I was around 13 live alone with the orphanage program. Many memories, I never forget my darkest day. Life taught us well. We must treasures our Vietnamese heritage. Fight for our people back home so that we will take Vietnam back to the good old days!!!LONG LIVE VIETNAM!!

    11. Susan Nguyen Says:
      June 20, 2008 at 3:02 pm

      Hi,

      Thanks Duc for publishing your memories for Pulau Bidong. I was there 10/26/1985 till only two months later. But the things you wrote brought all the memories back to me, especially the wells, water falls, bread bakery, and the bean sprout and of course there were much more to remember, especially the colorful fishes found from the coral reefs. Having spent time on this island really help make the transition from Vietnam to USA easier for me. It was such an easy life, no stress, no worries, no plans because we really had nothing to plan for.

      The song I heard each morning started as “Saigon oi, toi da mat nguoi trong cuoc doi, Saigon oi, thoi da het thoi gian tuyet voi…” And because I did not know we could revisit Vietnam, most nights I would cry, either through desperations of homesickness or just tears waking up from dreams of love ones at home.

      My best,

      Susan

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