I WAS born in Saigon in 1972 towards the end of the Vietnam War. As a baby I was found at the roadside. The person beside me – who we think was my mother – had died. We don’t know who my real father was. My first year was spent in orphanages in Saigon.
My adoptive parents Iain and Eileen Yearley, who were living in Helensburgh, heard about me through their friend Helen Stevens, who was working in Vietnam trying to get orphans out of the country.
I was one of the lucky ones to get out and come to Scotland, arriving in 1974. Iain and Eileen wanted children but were unable to have any of their own.
Although I have photographs and letters, I don’t have any memories of Vietnam. I was half deaf when I was found: a typical war baby. The bombs and gunfire were so loud that children in Vietnam often had damaged ear drums.
It hasn’t affected my ability to enjoy and perform music. Our house was full of instruments growing up. I was accepted on to the music scheme at Broughton High School in Edinburgh when I was 12. I went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
My work involves some composing but mostly teaching and arranging music. Recently much of my time has been focused on arranging a piece which will be performed at the Royal National Mod in Stornoway.
It is the first time we have brought together so many musical groups from Lewis and Harris in one concert, called Ar Canan ’s Ar Ceol which means “our language, our music”. There will be an orchestra of fiddles, accordion and button boxes, a choir, pipe bands and dance schools. It’s one of the biggest events the Royal National Mod has hosted.
I’m roughly 44. I only have an approximate birthday as there are no records from when I was born.
I have happy childhood memories. I was one of the only Asian people living in Lewis at the time, but the community was very welcoming. I grew up in a small village called Keose to the south of Stornoway.
I stay in the same village and house I was brought up in. I went away for high school and university but couldn’t imagine living elsewhere. It is a unique lifestyle with a strong music tradition and community spirit.
I have returned twice to Vietnam. The first time was in 2004 with a local television company MacTV as part of a documentary. That was an amazing experience because it was the first time I had been back in 30 years. I found Vietnam quite surreal because I’m a Westerner and felt like a tourist. I went back a second time in 2008 for a holiday.
There are no records of my original family. My fiancee Catherine and I have a daughter called Jaya who is two-and-a-half. She is my only known blood relative so that is very special.
The 2016 Royal National Mod takes place across the Western Isles from October 14-22. Visit ancomunn.co.uk
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