Río Mekong

Leonel D'Agostino, Laura Ortego 2017 Argentina Spanish with English subtitles 60 minutes

LAOS, REFUGEES, MIGRATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, ARGENTINA

At the age of 16, Vanit Ritchanaporn swam across the Mekong River to escape from the civil war that was taking place in his native Laos after the Vietnam War. In 1979, as an initiative of the United Nations, he arrived as a refugee in Argentina. Today he lives with his family in the city of Chascomús, where he presides the largest Laotian community in Buenos Aires province. In each of his daily activities, Vanit seeks to keep his memory alive and to rebuild a bridge with his homeland that has been lost forever.