To better understand Djaih Siu�s story, it is helpful to know the story of the Degar (also called Montagnards by the French), the indigenous people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam who fought as allies with the U.S.A. in Vietnam. They continue to live under the present Vietnamese government, but some Degar people have been given refuge in the United States. To learn more about the Degar people in Vietnam and in the United States, visit the Montagnard Foundation Inc. website at http://www.montagnard-foundation.org.

Djaih Siu has never been to school. Never. His childhood was without any books. There were no means or apparent reasons to read. His job, as a child in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, was to care for his family�s cow. Then came the war. At age 16, Djaih was armed with an M-16 to fight alongside American Green Berets. There then was the promise that, with victory, Degar would no longer have foreign rulers - French, American, or Vietnamese.

Djaih�s first reading experience was not until he was a 30-year-old man, living in the jungle, fighting in a guerilla war for his people long after the Americans left. His group of fighters had a Bible written in his language, Jarai, and Djaih learned and practiced reading and writing with that one book.

He was captured in 1985 and put in prison. For three years he lived shackled to the ground, unable to stand, in an underground, pitch- black cell. After pressure from the Montagnard people, and a ransom payment of a ton of coffee, the government gave him temporary release to be with his family. He was considered to be no threat because the darkness and malnutrition had taken his strength and his sight. Others, in the same circumstances, were long dead.

He recovered enough for him to once again leave civilization to join the Degar guerilla forces. Despite his poor vision, he fought anyway. When ammunition literally ran out, his group of several hundred Degar had to keep moving west to avoid capture, scratching an existence from the wild, eventually encountering the powerful and brutal Khmer Rouge. In 1992, after many years of deprivation, the remnants of this group - about 200 people - were discovered by the United Nations living deep in Cambodia in complete isolation from the rest of the world.

The group, including Djaih, were settled in Greensboro, North Carolina where there is now a community of Degar and other Montagnard refugees. Djaih gives most of his free time to the Montagnard Foundation Inc. (MFI) which works for the betterment of the Degar here in the United States and for the human rights of the Degar in Vietnam.

An Army officer in Greensboro had been helping Djaih to adjust to life in America, and, five years ago, encouraged him to go to Reading Connections to learn English. Djaih took on this new challenge and has truly been a star student.

He works long hours for a high-tech manufacturer, moving material and cleaning the facility. At break times during his workday he practices reading and does writing exercises His American co-workers help him sometimes with his lessons He works with his ESOL tutor a couple of hours each week as well. He has many obstacles: the job of learning English is very hard - the vocabulary, the grammar, and the pronunciation are entirely different from his first language. There is no written material in his first language to use for translation. But the biggest obstacle of all is his eyesight. He cannot see well enough to directly read the printed word of books, newspapers, his mail, and of any ESOL material that they can find.

Learning to read and write English has greatly improved Djaih�s life in America. He is able to do his job better and he can now, without help, communicate with doctors, storekeepers, police officers, lawyers, neighbors, and with anyone else he needs to. As he puts it, "If you don�t read, you don�t understand. And, if you don�t understand, you can�t be smart and do what is right." Because of his literacy in English, Djaih is able to help his fellow refugees do all kinds of necessary things, such as arranging car repair, seeing a doctor, applying for a job, and making important phone calls.

Djaih is very grateful for his new life in the United States. He says, "In the U.S., life is easy and I can work in politics and can help my family and other Montagnards in Vietnam."

Considering his past, Djaih may now say that "life is easy" but in truth, his life is hard and his willingness to take on the work of learning English and using it for the benefit of others truly makes him a star.

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