Dear Sombath,
I’m sitting writing this letter in Common Ground Cafe in Vientiane, where we have often sat together and talked about happiness. When I last left Laos at the end of October 2012 we had just finished making Happy Laos and the AEPF had been and gone. In my last week in Vientiane I thought many times about calling you to arrange to meet and say goodbye but thought that you were probably exhausted and needed some time to yourself, so instead I wrote you an email saying thank you for all your support while I was living in Laos. Now I regret not making that call.
I’m back in Laos after 14 months for a very short visit. It feels like everything and nothing has changed. I feel as if, since your disappearance, all the earth under my feet has shifted by a few degrees – not enough to be constantly noticeable but enough to frequently trip me up. I am so sad not to see you here but I see your inspiration all around me, especially in the many young people that I know who are directly or indirectly connected to PADETC. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Christina McMellon”