Trente-quatre ans après avoir été emmené par erreur d'un orphelinat de Saigon, Thanh Campbell - Orphelin 32 - retourne à sa patrie.
Campbell, un des 57 enfants subtilisé d'un orphelinat de Saigon vers le Canada en avril 1975, retourne samedi pour retrouver son père biologique et les frères qui n'ont jamais cessé de le chercher après l'avoir perdu durant la chute chaotique de Saigon.
Il a été transporté par avion au Canada en avril 1975, en tant que Nguyen Ngoc Minh Thanh, avec une copie de son certificat de naissance liée à son poignet, montrant que le deuxième anniversaire était loin dans quelques mois.
L'enfant, classé comme orphelin 32, a été porté à un orphelinat de Saigon avec deux de ses frères plus âgés, parce que leurs parents pensaient que c'était un havre de paix pendant la chute de la ville.
Mais quand ils sont allés récupérer leurs enfants, Thanh avait disparu, placé par erreur parmi un groupe d'orphelins envoyés à l'étragner pour l'adoption, probablement aux États-Unis.
Thanh a été adopté par le révérend William Campbell, un ministre presbytérien, et son épouse, Maureen, et a grandi à Cambridge, Ont.
Mais en 2003, il s'est lié avec Trent Kilner, qui se trouvait sur le vol fatidique du Saigon.
Les deux ont retracé 44 des 57 personnes dans cet avion et, après que les photos et l'histoire de la réunion 2006 des orphelins ait été couvertees par un magazine vietnamien, Thanh a reçu un e-mail de quelqu'un lui disant qu'il pourrait être le frère de Thanh.
Détails dans l'article suivant publié sur le site canada.com, le 30 mai 2009.
`Mistaken orphan' to meet lost father after 34 years
By Bruce Ward, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA - Thirty-four years after he was mistakenly whisked away from a Saigon orphanage, Thanh Campbell - Orphan 32 - is returning to his homeland.
Campbell, one of 57 children spirited from a Saigon orphanage to Canada in April 1975, is returning Saturday to be reunited with his biological father and the brothers who never stopped searching for him after losing him in the chaotic fall of Saigon.
``The anticipation is from something you never think could possibly happen and is actually happening. I just think of my father and how long it has been for him, searching,'' said Thanh, who is travelling with his wife, Karina, their four children, and his adoptive father William Campbell.
The flight arrives Sunday evening, and Thanh expects to meet his father and brothers Monday morning.
``I think, first of all, what's the reaction going to be from family members over there? What's their first impression going to be like? I don't speak the language. How can you express yourself through an interpreter and get them (his biological family) to know you?''
Thanh knows the broad strokes of his early life, told to him by his birth father after discovering him two years ago thanks to an astonishing chain of events.
As Nguyen Ngoc Minh Thanh, he was airlifted to Canada in April 1975, with a copy of his birth certificate tied to his wrist. It showed Thanh's second birthday was still months away.
The child listed as Orphan 32 had been taken to a Saigon orphanage with two of his older brothers because their parents thought it was a safe haven during the fall of the city.
But when they went to reclaim their children, Thanh was gone - mistakenly placed among a group of orphans sent abroad for adoption, likely to the United States.
Thanh was adopted by Rev. William Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Maureen, and grew up in Cambridge, Ont.
But in 2003 he connected with Trent Kilner, who had been on that fateful flight out of Saigon.
The two tracked down 44 of the 57 people on that plane, and after the photos and story of the orphans' 2006 reunion was covered by a Vietnamese magazine, Thanh got an e-mail from someone saying he could be Thanh's brother.
``Everyone see you very very like my brother . . . My father still keep Thanh's birth certificate. If you have some information like that, please contact with us.''
The original and the copy of the birth certificate matched. DNA testing carried out by a Toronto company proved the genetic link. Thanh had found his biological father and family.
Thanh uses the word ``providence'' to describe his astounding journey.
``It's more than just a father reuniting with a son. It goes beyond that. We want to see the country, we want to meet the people. We also want to be able to share who we are.''
Ottawa Citizen
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Campbell, un des 57 enfants subtilisé d'un orphelinat de Saigon vers le Canada en avril 1975, retourne samedi pour retrouver son père biologique et les frères qui n'ont jamais cessé de le chercher après l'avoir perdu durant la chute chaotique de Saigon.
Il a été transporté par avion au Canada en avril 1975, en tant que Nguyen Ngoc Minh Thanh, avec une copie de son certificat de naissance liée à son poignet, montrant que le deuxième anniversaire était loin dans quelques mois.
L'enfant, classé comme orphelin 32, a été porté à un orphelinat de Saigon avec deux de ses frères plus âgés, parce que leurs parents pensaient que c'était un havre de paix pendant la chute de la ville.
Mais quand ils sont allés récupérer leurs enfants, Thanh avait disparu, placé par erreur parmi un groupe d'orphelins envoyés à l'étragner pour l'adoption, probablement aux États-Unis.
Thanh a été adopté par le révérend William Campbell, un ministre presbytérien, et son épouse, Maureen, et a grandi à Cambridge, Ont.
Mais en 2003, il s'est lié avec Trent Kilner, qui se trouvait sur le vol fatidique du Saigon.
Les deux ont retracé 44 des 57 personnes dans cet avion et, après que les photos et l'histoire de la réunion 2006 des orphelins ait été couvertees par un magazine vietnamien, Thanh a reçu un e-mail de quelqu'un lui disant qu'il pourrait être le frère de Thanh.
Détails dans l'article suivant publié sur le site canada.com, le 30 mai 2009.
`Mistaken orphan' to meet lost father after 34 years
By Bruce Ward, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA - Thirty-four years after he was mistakenly whisked away from a Saigon orphanage, Thanh Campbell - Orphan 32 - is returning to his homeland.
Campbell, one of 57 children spirited from a Saigon orphanage to Canada in April 1975, is returning Saturday to be reunited with his biological father and the brothers who never stopped searching for him after losing him in the chaotic fall of Saigon.
``The anticipation is from something you never think could possibly happen and is actually happening. I just think of my father and how long it has been for him, searching,'' said Thanh, who is travelling with his wife, Karina, their four children, and his adoptive father William Campbell.
The flight arrives Sunday evening, and Thanh expects to meet his father and brothers Monday morning.
``I think, first of all, what's the reaction going to be from family members over there? What's their first impression going to be like? I don't speak the language. How can you express yourself through an interpreter and get them (his biological family) to know you?''
Thanh knows the broad strokes of his early life, told to him by his birth father after discovering him two years ago thanks to an astonishing chain of events.
As Nguyen Ngoc Minh Thanh, he was airlifted to Canada in April 1975, with a copy of his birth certificate tied to his wrist. It showed Thanh's second birthday was still months away.
The child listed as Orphan 32 had been taken to a Saigon orphanage with two of his older brothers because their parents thought it was a safe haven during the fall of the city.
But when they went to reclaim their children, Thanh was gone - mistakenly placed among a group of orphans sent abroad for adoption, likely to the United States.
Thanh was adopted by Rev. William Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Maureen, and grew up in Cambridge, Ont.
But in 2003 he connected with Trent Kilner, who had been on that fateful flight out of Saigon.
The two tracked down 44 of the 57 people on that plane, and after the photos and story of the orphans' 2006 reunion was covered by a Vietnamese magazine, Thanh got an e-mail from someone saying he could be Thanh's brother.
``Everyone see you very very like my brother . . . My father still keep Thanh's birth certificate. If you have some information like that, please contact with us.''
The original and the copy of the birth certificate matched. DNA testing carried out by a Toronto company proved the genetic link. Thanh had found his biological father and family.
Thanh uses the word ``providence'' to describe his astounding journey.
``It's more than just a father reuniting with a son. It goes beyond that. We want to see the country, we want to meet the people. We also want to be able to share who we are.''
Ottawa Citizen
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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