Saengchan Inthichak, who grew up in refugee camps during the Vietnam War, is the founder of Sweetie Cup Thai Café in Kirkwood, Missouri.
In our business, we meet many interesting people and some not so interesting.
Business owners are generally interesting people driven by a motivation most outsiders can’t understand.
Saengchan Inthichak is one of the most interesting people I have met. Her childhood story is unimaginable to a guy who grew up in the countryside of southwest Missouri, where safety was taken for granted. But, as a child, I could have never imagined what others worldwide had to endure to survive.
Our information has been obtained by personal interviews with Saengchan Inthichak.
This page is dedicated to information obtained from Seangchanh in what hopes to be a series of interviews to hear her childhood story, which needs to be written as a book. If she is up to the task, that might happen.
Today, she lives in the St. Louis region and founded Sweetie Cup Thai Cafe. However, her childhood was significantly different.
She was born in a cave in Laos during the Vietnam War when the United States began bombing her country. Her family lived in the cave for a period of time to keep the family safe from the bombing. Therefore, her parents are unsure of her birthdate because they had no access to any information. However, they think it was November or December of 1975 to 1977.
For security, her parents had to bounce around between three refugee camps in Thailand and one village in China. She even had to walk from China back to the refugee camp in Thailand, which took three months and eighteen days.
Her father was part of the Secret Military created and funded by the United States and Thailand to curb communism within Laos. Therefore, returning to the Lao was not an option because the Lao government viewed him as a traitor since he was a soldier in the “secret army” that was funded by the Thai and US governments.
Her family was brought to the United States in 1991 when the U.S. Government helped an estimated 250,000 refugees settle in for a new life.
As of today, Thursday, May 6, 2024, she is working with a publishing company to write about her incredible life story. Hopefully, the book will be completed within 60 to 90 days and will be available online and at Sweetie Cup Thai Cafe.
As we work with Saengchan Inthichak is still discussing the timetable with her parents to hopefully identify her correct date of birth – an objective that they might never achieve.
1st Video – Khao I Dang Refugee Camp – Saeng did not reside, but it is published as a resource. This camp appears to be for Cambodian refugees. This is still a work in process!
2nd Video – Nongkhai Refugee Camp – Saeng resided there for 1.5 to 2 years.
3rd Video – Lao Refugee Camp – Nongkhai Thailand – Saeng resided here.
RETURN to Sweetie Cup Thai Cafe business listing.
References:
- Laos After the Takeover – NY Times – October 24, 1976
- Laotians Waiting in Thai Camps for Chance to Fight Again – The Washington Post – March 26, 1979
- Wikipedia – Laos
- Saengchanh Inthichak – Personal Interviews