Simon Siharath interviewed by Ann-Mari Jordens [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 3644534
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Siharath, Simon, 1938-
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2006
- 3 sound files (ca. 135 min.)
- Summary:
-
Simon Siharath, born 1938, in Vientiane, Laos talks about his family background; his French father's death (1948); completing his education at French-run schools in Vientiane, training as a pilot in the Lao Air Force (1958); how by early 1963 he was Chief of Staff in the military fighting the Pathet Lao and Vietcong in southern Laos; joining the Lao police force (1964) and studying police work in France; returning (1965) as Chief of Police in Phongsaly Province in northern Laos; his responsibilities; studying (1968) with the Green Berets in USA; spending six months at the International Police Academy in Washington, DC. (1970); the languages in which he is fluent; returning to Laos (1970) and serving as Chief Superintendent of Police; being selected to undertake a police course at Scotland Yard, UK; returning to Laos and his appointment as Deputy Chief of Police; being sent to Malaysia (1971) to train police in fighting communist insurgents; in 1973 being selected to study at the Sorbonne in France and police work in the south of France.
Siharath discusses the surrender of the Lao Kingdom to the Pathet Lao (1975); helping his wife and children escape to Thailand and settle in the USA (1976); staying on in France, to work with the expatriate Lao community; working as an intelligence officer for the French government (1976 to 1989); while visiting his sister in Canberra (1989) being elected President of the Lao community and meeting his second wife; being granted permanent residency and citizenship; his employment by the Department of Immigration as an interpreter in several languages; training officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and AUSAID; in the early 1990's organising the sponsorship by the Lao community of Lao refugees; his involvement in the Canberra community; fostering the retention of the Lao language in Canberra; the Lao Buddhist Temple in Kambah, his involvement in the planning and construction and opening in 1991; his assistance in organising services for aged Laotians in Canberra; his return to Laos (1994) for the opening of the Mekong River bridge.
- Notes:
-
- Recorded on February 27, 2006 at Kambah, A.C.T.
- Digital master available National Library of Australia;
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (5 p.) and corrected transcript (typescript, 86 leaves)
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Translators
- Other authors/contributors:
- Jordens, Ann-Mari, 1940-, interviewer
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2076 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2006
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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