HOF060: Kingkeo Savejvong

Kingkeo Savejvong was born in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The eldest child, her family lived in Marseille from1966 to 1973. When they returned to Laos, her father worked as a public servant and her mother as a midwife. Not long after their return a Communist regime was established in the country. Her father was sent to a re-education camp for about 2 years. During that time, her mother continued to work while looking after the children. After her father was released the family continued its usual routine until the youngest daughter disappeared. Her parents were frantic to learn about her. They were eventually told that their daughter and her school mates had been sent to Vietnam to pursue their studies.

That experience prompted her parents to make the decision to leave the country as they feared for their other children. They arranged to stay with a relative and then her father was able to pay for them to cross the Mekong River where they reached Thailand. They hid in tobacco fields the first night they arrived. The next day they walked to a small town and were directed to the local police. They were jailed until Red Cross officials arrived to claim them. The family was held in a transition camp for a short time and then transferred to the Non Khai refugee camp where they remained for approximately three months. Ms. Savejvong obtained a job as an interpreter during her stay at the camp. She worked with both the United Nations and Canadian Immigration. She and her family were offered asylum in Canada. Her parents were reluctant to go unsure about what to expect. Her mother wanted to return to France.

She was determined to go to Canada and eventually convinced her parents to choose Canada as their destination. The family arrived at CFB Longue-Pointe in Montréal in October 1979, and after a short stay, they were sponsored by a group of Catholic parishioners from Louiseville, located east of Montréal. She eventually settled in Montreal where works as a registered massage therapist.