The Magnificent Seven Chapter 5

The journey to Looj Ceeb was an arduous trip, taking the Zos Hav Xyoob villagers to the town of Sam Thong first.  As new refugees, they were not permitted to enter Looj Ceeb until they went through proper health examinations and documentations in Sam Thong—Copper Marsh, or Lima Site 20.  It was a mountain ridge town almost a day’s walk from Looj Ceeb.  It had about a population of 8,000 residents and was located north of Looj Ceeb but southwest of the Plain of Jars.  The town had a dusty, dry red airstrip surrounded by karts and sat along a clear flowing pristine mountain stream.  Some of the town’s surrounding trees have been cut down to use as fire wood but the few scattered pine trees still stood tall.  Downfield of Sam Thong were valleys of thorny bushes and purple fountain grasses. 

While Looj Ceeb was the CIA-supported base for guerrilla operations against the communists, Sam Thong was headquarter of USAID operations in northern Laos.  It served as the center for refugee assistance as well as standard aid programs, and kept its own hospital and school.  Sam Thong was the only town to occasionally receive foreign journalists.

With the exception of a few policemen—the civilian town of Sam Thong was emptied of any soldiers.  The day was pouring rain and the temperature was cold so even civilians were not visible outside.  When the two policemen guarding the gate to Sam Thong spotted the new group of refugees, they ran over.  After speaking quickly to the village chief, the two policemen led the group to a building that sat on the northeastern side of the airfield.  It was made out of wooden planks painted a light sky-blue color and wooden black shingle roofing.  The facility included some operable square-shaped aluminum windows with tempered glass to permit the passage of light and ventilation, and two opposing-opened wooden steps on the outside that connected with the main entrance.  Inside the building, there were rows of evenly-spaced red plastic chairs.  Office spaces took half of the building. 

A group of 10 men and women—mostly Westerners but a few Filipinos and one Hmong medic greeted the newly arrivals.  The policemen handed the group over to the staff and left. 

An American man, who seemed to be in charge, spoke to the group through the interpretation of the Hmong medic.  “Everyone, please have a sit,” he instructed.  “We will come by to examine you all for health problems.  Anyone with severe issues will be sent to the main hospital.  Those who are in good health will be given some vaccinations before proceeding to your living quarter.” 

The Hmong medic interpreted.

The healthcare team then initiated the health examination and vaccination processes.  For many Hmong including Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua, this was their first exposure to Western medicine.  The women were especially embarrassed and uncomfortable when the male doctors rolled their sleeves and touched their bared arms to vaccinate them.  Some even refused the vaccination but the Hmong medic urged them that it was essential and assured their husbands that they would not lose face.  Although the majority of the villagers were confirmed to be in good health, there were a few children and elders who were found to have caught cold viruses from the heavy rain and were immediately sent to Sam Thong Hospital. 

Those who were in good health were released and given food and shelter provided by USAID.  Silver bars were useless in Sam Thong so USAID gave each household a few thousand kips and told them to use the portion to support their family for the time being.  The group was then separated and made to live in different parts of the town. 

Niam Tais Paj, Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua, and Noog Xi were assigned to a place near Sam Thong’s opened-market.  When they were guided and approached their new housing area, the sun had already set.  Although the living quarter had glass windows and brown wooden planks like the clinic, it had tin shingle roofing and sat on dirt flooring.  It resembled traditional thatched homes with a small bedroom at the back while the main space at the front served all other purposes. 

When Noog Xi stepped inside the new home, the air was warm as the tin roof exacerbated the heat of the sun.  With only a single bedroom, she insisted that Niam Tais and Yawm Txiv sleep inside the single bedroom while she laid a red peony pattern lev—mat, in the living area and made it her bed. 

It had turned pitch-dark when the threesome finished unpacking.  Exhausted, Noog Xi fell fast asleep on the hard, dirt floor despite the clanking sounds of pots and pans clashing against one another as Niam Tais Paj prepared dinner.

***

When she opened her eyes the next morning, she could feel that her body ached all over from the long journey to Sam Thong.  Her stomach was also growling nonstop.  It was already bright inside the living area and she saw Niam Tais Paj hovering over a pot a few feet away.  She got up with tired eyes and went to brush up at the water area.  Each household was assigned a reddish-brown clay jar and boys and girls could wash themselves out in the open together, which made her a little nervous since she never had to share.  Near the two rows of earth jars, there were also two separate toilets, housed inside wooden plank shelters.  The toilets did not flush with a metal handle but with a bucket of water. 

Lucky for her, no one came out to wash that morning.  After feeling clean, she returned to the kitchen.  Niam Tais Paj already made the morning meal, and urged her niece and husband to eat. 

They ate.

Afterward, Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua went out to tour the town.  They invited their niece to tag along since she no longer had a job and had nothing else to do for the day.  But she refused them, and stayed home instead.  She assured the couple that she would browse the nearby market if she became bored. 

Feeling satisfied with her answer, the husband and wife left. 

Noog Xi grabbed a chair and sat down near the living room window, watching people passed to and from the market.  There were a few lowland Lao, Mien, and American adult —including old couples with arms locked together.  But standing roughly a feet shorter than the Westerners were her people.  Men, women, and children—the older ones still adhered to traditional clothing but many young ones have on Western attire instead.  Khaki shorts or pants, button-up shirts, t-shirts, belts, and snickers were the dominant styles many young men and boys sported.  Girls, on the other hand, opted for either short knee-length Lao skirts or long Lao sarong with a nice blouse.  The ones who were financially better off even wore heels.  Instead of tying their hair into a bun or wearing a purple turban, the girls’ hairs were either down-loose or tied into a pony-tail.  The town’s market presented to Noog Xi, an interesting sight.  It was something that resembled Hanoi more than Nong Het, with the exception that the majority of the residents were Hmong instead of Vietnamese.

A few hours passed and Niam Tais and Yawm Txiv have yet to return.  She was getting bored.  So, she decided to visit the market, but in traditional clothes.  Since she started living with Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua, other than teaching the village children, Noog Xi have learned to avoid wearing Western clothing for protection.  It had now become a habit for her. 

The sun was bright that afternoon, so the young woman decided to leave her umbrella behind.  At the entrance to the market, she bought a hand bamboo-woven basket from a lowland Lao couple with the money that her youngest brother provided to her many moons ago.  Then, as she made her way into the market, she realized that the market was expansive.  It had opposing stalls of vegetable and fruits, meat, sweets, restaurants, clothing, shoe vendors, and many more things that were new to her.

Noog Xi browsed through the vegetable and fruit stands, picking and buying vegetables for dinner and fruits for Niam Tais and Yawm Txiv.  She also bought two pounds of fresh pork because her jaws were tired of chewing dried and smoked beef jerky.  After purchasing the pork, a fresh and sweet fragrant slickly and suddenly traveled to her nose.  She turned her head to follow the scent and it took her to a stall two vendors down from the pork vendors.  When she got there, she realized that the aroma came from some fresh baked bread.  She hadn’t eaten any sweet bread since the days that she had been living in Sidney. 

After buying some stuffed-taro sweet bread from an amiable baker, Noog Xi decided that she had shopped enough and would return home.  But on her way, she was distracted by a group of boys bullying a little girl that she did not realize someone was running in and crashing into her.  The only thing she knew next was lying on the ground with pain. 

She steadily pulled herself up, and realized that there were dirt on her hands and clothes.  Although the sun shone that day, the dirt path was wet and muddy from the rain the day prior. 

Noog Xi rubbed the dirt away from her hands and clothes.  She grabbed her hand basket and was relieved to find that nothing had dropped out from it.  She looked to the children who’d grabbed her attention earlier, and found them staring bewilderingly at her misfortune.  They have stopped fighting, and skipped away when realizing that she was not injured anywhere.    

About to get up, she finally heard someone moaning close to her and got on her knees to observe.  There was a middle-age Western man was lying on the ground, and papers scattered all around him.  She quickly set her hand basket to the side and rushed over to help him up. 

“I’m sorry.  Are you okay?” she blurted out in English, as she then helped lift the man back to a standing position. 

“I should be the one apologizing to you, darling, being the one on a rush and running over you.  But thank you for helping me.”

“As long as you’re okay, there’s no hard feeling on my part,” she answered.

“Wait a minute,” the Western man said, and stared shockingly at Noog Xi.  He was slim and bald, wore a pair of glasses, and was not very tall.  He looked like he had retired from the work force.  His white dress-shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he wore a black dress-pant, dirtied with mud all over. “You are a Hmong girl, and you just spoke to me in English?”  He asked surprisingly, as if she was the first ever Hmong girl he’d met with such skill.

The man’s question startled Noog Xi.  She had promised Niam Tais Paj never to disclose to anyone of her foreign language ability, for that revelation may be the knife that would cut her throat.  But her tongue had accidently slipped out her English ability, for it was the natural thing to do when approached by Westerners. 

“Why are you not answering?  Am I getting old and having a hearing problem or did you really speak in English to me?”

Noog Xi stared at the man expressionlessly, not knowing how to answer.  After a few seconds of millions of thoughts running through her mind, she decided to nod. 

A smile spread across the man’s face.  He quickly bent down to pick up the scattered papers, and handed a piece to the girl.  “What does that flyer say?” he asked curiously.

She glanced at the paper and then at the man again.  “Operation Brotherhood—hill tribe nurses needed.  Anyone interested, show up in front of the hospital on 7/15/1965.”

“Amazing!” the American man commented astonishing.  “Since my coming here, I’ve never met a Hmong girl with your ability.  Where did you learn to speak English so fluently?”

“At school.”

“I am indeed, impressed.”  He took a few seconds to get his excitement out.  “Let me introduce myself.  My name is Pop Buell.  I work with USAID, and I am in need of young women like you to become nurses at Sam Thong Hospital.  Are you interested in trying it out?  I highly recommend it as it will not only provide you with a monthly income to support your family but most importantly, your excellent English may benefit many people.  So, what do you think?”

She didn’t know what to think, but to show respect to him—she replied indifferently, “I’ll think about it.”

“Tell me, what is your name?”

“It’s…N…Noog,” she stammered saying her own name.

“Nong,” he repeated with an accent.  “That’s a pretty name.  I like it.  Are you married yet, because if you are, we will still take you no matter what?”

“No, I’m not yet married.”

“Even better.  It’ll make everything easier for all of us.  Well, Miss Nong, I hope that you will seriously consider this opportunity as we are in dire need of nurses.”

“I will,” she replied.

“Well then, it was nice to meet you,” he said and stuck out his right hand to wait for a hand shake, “I guess we might meet each other again.”

She nodded and accepted his friendly gesture by locking her right hand with his.  Afterward, the American man disappeared into the bustling market street.  Noog Xi watched his back until he completely disappeared, and then she stared blankly at the words on the flyer.   She felt mentally exhausted, and folded the paper into a square.  She tossed it into her basket, and walked home.

***

Upon her return, Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua were already back.  Niam Tais Paj washed some mustard greens outside while Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua sat near her, sharpening his knives with a smooth brick rock.  “Niam Tais!  Yawm Txiv!” she called, “you two are back?”

They both looked up.  “Yes, daughter,” they answered simultaneously.

“Where did you go?” Niam Tais Paj asked.

“To the market,” she replied, and hovered to Niam Tais Paj’s level to show the aunt her basket of groceries.  “Look!  I bought pork, vegetables, and fruits!”

“If you crave these foods, it’s a good thing to buy them.  But, we are no longer self-subsistent.  You must spend sparingly.”

“I’ll heed your words,” she answered.  She then pulled out the bag of breads and offered one to Niam Tais Paj.

“What is it?”

“It’s stuffed taro bread!”

“Maybe later.”

“What about you, Yawm Txiv?  Would you like to have one now?”

“I am still busy too.  I’ll have it later, daughter.  Thank you.”

“Alright.  I’ll leave it on the kitchen counter then.  Both of you each eat one!”

“Alright!” they responded.

“Niam Tais!  Since the pork and vegetables might spoil if we don’t eat them soon, how about I also prepare them for dinner?”

“Sounds good!” she replied.  “Leave the vegetables with me and I’ll help you rinse them.”

Noog Xi pulled all the vegetables out and dumped them into Niam Tais Paj’s tin bowl of dirtied water.  Afterward, she stepped inside the warm and stuffy house to prepare the meat, and helped Niam Tais Paj made dinner. 

When they sat around the round bamboo-woven table consuming dinner that night, Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua both ate silently and bleakly.  It was an awkward mood to be in, so she decided to brighten the atmosphere up. 

“How was your trip today?  Did you two meet any relatives?”

“We did,” Niam Tais Paj answered.  “We met a few of Yawm Txiv’s cousins.”

“That should be a happy occasion then.  But why do you both look so gloomy?”

“It’s nothing, daughter.  We are just a little worried.  That is all,” Yawm Txiv answered.

“About what?”

Niam Tais Paj sighed.  “Yawm Txiv and I found out that there is no place for us to farm here.  We will get assistance once per month, but will it be enough to feed all of us until the next month?” Niam Tais Paj questioned. 

She shook her head. 

“With so many refugees, I doubt our ration will be very big.  Yawm Txiv and I are old.  We are illiterate and know how to farm only.  Without farm work, how are we going to make ends meet?”

Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua continued to eat his food silently.  Using a stainless steel Thai soup spoon, Niam Tais scooped some stock liquid from the bland mustard green soup and drank it without a sound.  She then laid the spoon on top of her plate and stopped eating. 

The niece could tell that her aunt was in distress and having difficulty swallowing food.  Stress often caused her to behave in such manner at the dining table.  Staring at her pitiful aunt, Noog Xi became speechless.

After dinner, Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua went to bed.  Unable to fall asleep, Noog Xi lay on her lev bed and stared at the moon through the window in the main room.  Since the moon was large, full and bright, she could observe blotches of gray and black on the surface of the celestial object.  In ethnic Lao and Chinese stories, a fair and kind-hearted maiden lived on the moon but in Hmong stories, it was a wicked witch. 

A Hmong legend said that the shadows of the moon were leaves and branches of a vaj khaum—canopy, tree, where a wicked witch who possessed a sharp liag—sickle, lived.  If one pointed a finger at the moon, the witch would be angry and would lower her sickle to cut the ear of that pointer when he or she was deep in sleep. 

As children, her grandfather had warned her and her siblings to never point a finger at the moon.  But she was a curious and skeptical kid.  Although frightened by the story, she was also interested in finding out if there really was a wicked witch living on the moon.  Occasionally, she would purposely point a finger at the moon, but her siblings were scared of her ear being cut by the sharp liag that to help reverse her misdeed, they would spread their saliva on the back of her ear and say twice the phrase, “Muab quav qaib quav npua los pleev pob ntseg” or “Putting chicken and pig feces to taint the ear.”  In doing so, it was believed that the witch would be disgusted at the site of chicken and pig feces on the ear when she lowered her sickle that she would refuse to use her clean sickle to cut the pointer’s ear.  So, whether the tale was true or not, she did not know for she never experienced it.  But as a child, the moon remained mysterious and creepy. 

While many years have passed already, the moon still appeared the same—cold and round.  No matter how much crimson blood was shed on Earth, the moon remained unstained and pure.  Noog Xi finally understood its story and the moon became less frightening.  The more she stared at it, the beautiful it became and it made her nostalgic of him. 

Although the bright lights of Hanoi city often smeared the clarity and illumination of the moon, perhaps it was its mystical aspect, which attracted the two to like observing it whenever they could.  They watched the moon together when they were near and they watched it together when they were far apart so that they would always feel each other’s presence.  She wondered if he was admiring the moon that night, at that same time too.

She sighed.  How wonderful it would be if Earth was serene like the moon?  Unfortunately, Earth was not.  Chaos, instability, and war constantly plagued the breathing planet, and the mortals were caught in the middle of it.  Now, Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua were feeling troubled and she felt helpless.  Every time she closed her eyes, she saw their gloomy faces staring at her like lost souls.  What could she do?  The thought haunted her and she fell asleep thinking about a way to help them out.

***

The next morning, Noog Xi woke up before Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua to make the morning meal.  She began to cook the rice, but accidentally hit something and heard a tumbling sound.  She set the rice steamer on top of the pot of water and quickly observed the ground for a fallen object.  She saw the bamboo basket she bought the day before, lying on the ground.  She bent down to pick it up.  When she lifted the bamboo basket up, she noticed a piece of paper folded into a square-shaped on the ground.  She picked it up and unfolded it.  She then realized that the paper was that nurse recruitment flyer the American man gave to her. 

“It is not important,” she thought.  “Just throw it away!” 

She scrunched the paper into a ball and was about to toss it in the trashcan when something stopped her.  She decided to open the flyer up and re-read it silently a few times.  She then smiled faintly, as if she had found the answer to a disturbing matter.

Although she was hesitant to join the nursing program, she decided it was her best option.  Except for the few kips that her youngest brother left her, she had no other source of income to help Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua.  She felt indebted to them.  They didn’t have to take care of her, but they took her in and cared for her like their own child.  She would be unable to forgive herself if she didn’t find a way to help to help the couple out, and continued to let them to live in desolation.  No, she could not do that.  She would work hard to become a good nurse.  Besides, she figured that it shouldn’t be that bad.  Because of requirement and mere interest, she had taken basic biological courses at Sidney.  She just needed a little refreshment to bring back her knowledge.    

So on the day as printed on the flyer, she got up early to prepare a meal for her aunt and uncle.  When dawn broke in the eastern mountains, she left for the hospital grounds.

Sam Thong Hospital did not resemble hospitals in Sidney.  It was a single-story, tin roof facility with thatched walls and wood flooring.  The hospital was divided into seven different sections.  The central building composed of the emergency and surgical units.  Attached on the right was a labor and delivery unit while on the left was the intensive care unit.  Two large recuperation wards, consisting of 30 beds each, flanked the departments in the center of the facility.  There were also two clinics positioned a few feet away from the main hospital; one was used to screen refugees for health issues while the other treated malarial infections.         

After arriving at Sam Thong Hospital, Noog Xi sat for an hour alone in a conference room located on the back end of the emergency department.  She could tell that it was nearing noon as the sun rays were beating warmly against her skin and the July air dried her throat.  It was until another hour later that an American woman in a white nurse uniform appeared.  She had short brown wavy hair, a high nose, fair skin, and was a couple of inches taller than Noog Xi. 

Following closely behind her was a young Hmong man who looked like he was in his early twenties.  He had short, black hair and wore a pair of khaki pants and a checkered button-up shirt.  He and Noog Xi were about the same height.  “Hello!” the nurse greeted.

The girl nodded and could tell that the American nurse was surprised to see only her in the room.  “Are you the only one here?”

Unaware that Noog Xi knew English, the young man interpreted.  “She asked to see if you are the only one here.”

“Yes,” she answered in Hmong.  Then, she switched to English.  “Next time, you don’t have to interpret for me.  I understand English too.”

The young man was so surprised to hear a Hmong woman speak English that his wide opened jaws can be stuffed with many spoonful of rice.  “Unbelievable?” he remarked in English with a thick Hmong accent.

The nurse smiled.  “You must be the young lady that Pop told me about.  My name is Diana Dick,” she introduced, stretching out her hand to wait for Noog Xi’s hand.  “I am an Internal Voluntary Services staff member and head nurse here at Sam Thong Hospital.  After hearing so much about you, it’s a pleasure to finally meet.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Noog Xi answered, putting forth her right hand.

When the two drew their hands apart, the nurse turned to the young man on her left side.  “This is Lis Leev.  He is a medic.  His father is Lis Cai, the chief medic.”

“Nice to meet you,” Noog Xi said and smiled at the young Hmong medic.

“Same here,” he answered.

“So what do we do?” Diana questioned.  “We have only you for the job and we need more people than that.”

Just as Diana finished her remark, Pop Buell showed up. 

“Pop!” Lis Leev called.

“Where are the recruits?” he asked.

“We only got one, Pop,” Diana said.

Pop turned his attention to Noog Xi.  “You are the young lady I met the other day who knew English.  Am I correct?” he asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Noog Xi remarked.

“Remind me your name again, darling?”

 “My last name is Yaj.  First name is Noog.”

“Yes, that’s right.  It was Nong.”

“It sounds beautiful.  What does it mean?” Diana asked.

“It means bird.”

“It sounds very nice,” Diana commented.

“Thank you.”

“Wow, so no one but you showed up,” Pop remarked in amazement.  “What are we going to do?  We need more than Diana and you if we are going to successfully run this hospital.”

“I’m sure if you use the right tactic, you’ll get many volunteers to do the job,” Noog Xi suggested.

“Perhaps you’re right,” Pop said.  He then pondered for a few seconds.  “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to begin with just you only.  Diana, why don’t we get Miss Nong started on the training process?  Once she can work at your level, she can then recruit and teach the ethnic highlander girls because language won’t be a problem for her.  In that way, we won’t need to bother Lis Leev here for interpretation and can have him work elsewhere.”

“It sounds like a plan.”

“What about you, Nong?” Pop asked the girl.

“As long as it’s something I can do, I will try my best,” she answered.

“I’m glad to hear that.  You will start your training by taking courses in Vientiane.  Then, do you prefer clinical training in America or Thailand?”

“It might have to be Thailand.  My aunt and uncle need my support here, and they would be worried if I suddenly move that far away.”

“That’s fine.  Thailand is a good choice too.  But if you do change your mind later on, America is still an option.”

“Understood.”

“After your clinical training, you’ll return here to work with Diana.  She’ll show you everything else you need to learn and then we’ll go from there.”

“Don’t worry.  We’ll do our best to support you,” Diana offered. 

Noog Xi nodded, and that was the deal!  Although her initial purpose in taking the job was to provide income to support Niam Tais Paj and Yawm Txiv Txooj Sua, she never thought that this simple agreement to earn a living would change her life forever.