DescriptionThis interview consists of one video recording. Bounkeo and Suzanne Sivieng were interviewed on 25 June 2019 at Studio 2166 in the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Alinde Bierhuizen.Interview SummarySuzanne and her mother Bounkeo migrated in 1979 to reunite with family who had left Laos in the years after the Civil War. The Laotian Civil War ran alongside the Vietnam War and was fought between communist forces and the Royal Lao Government, which was eventually overthrown at the end of 1975. The war is also known as the Secret War, referring to the undeclared, but strong involvement of the USA and its intelligence agency, the CIA.
It was a hard decision for Suzanne’s parents to leave Laos with three young children and a business in Vientiane. Suzanne vividly remembers life back then:
‘I remember going to school. My parents used to send us to Lao school, but we learned to speak Mandarin Chinese as well... Life back then was good... We were comfortable and happy.’
However the country, now under Communist rule, was coming to terms with the aftermath of war. Suzanne also describes life in Laos as ‘chaotic and not very stable or peaceful.’
Laos is per capita the most heavily bombed country in the world and millions of undetonated cluster bombs remain undiscovered today.
Eventually the Sivieng family decided to sell what they could and cross the Mekong river to Thailand. There they lived in a refugee camp for nine months before migrating to Australia.
It is important to Bounkeo to pass on her memories, stories and traditions to her daughters. She brought traditional Lao clothing, Sinh, with her when they fled and taught her daughters how to dance traditional Lao dance. In the 1960s Bounkeo was a professional dancer at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang and danced for the King and Queen of Laos.
Suzanne and Bounkeo visited the Royal Palace as tourists three years ago: ‘We saw the little headwear that mum had and the little long silver fingernails. They were all kept in cabinets and we also saw similar pictures. It gave me goose bumps and I felt so proud of mum having been involved at that time.’Date25/06/2019IntervieweeSuzanne SiviengBounkeo SiviengInterviewerAlinde BierhuizenDuration00:12:24Transcripts availableNoRightsFairfield City CouncilAccess conditionsAccess open for research, written permission required for personal copies and public useNotesThis interview forms part of the exhibition 'Treasures from Home' which was on display at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery from 24 August 2019 to 15 February 2020.
Bounkeo and Suzanne Sivieng Oral History (25/06/2019). Fairfield City Heritage Collection, accessed 20/08/2026, https://heritagecollection.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/892
