Presentation made to CU meeting on April 10, 2003 by Phuoc Do, Than Thien, and Tay & Nuong Nguyen
Fun fact: Are there two Vietnams or one? (See answer at end.)
"Here we work so hard, but we get what we want. There they work hard but have nothing."
Four Vietnamese Americans described their experiences during and after the war in Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s. When asked what are the differences between life in the US and in Vietnam, their answers were many, but they were summed up by Nuong Nguyen - "Here we work so hard, but we get what we want. There they work hard but have nothing."
Phuoc Do described how the war in Vietnam (from 1955-1975 and the circumstances before and after those dates) kept people from investing in industry. "There is no management system to use young people's talents." Even if children pass the rigorous exams between 5th and 6th grade and again after 11th and 12th grades, they are not likely to succeed. Most young men end up in the military, while women stay home uneducated. "Even though the young people are eager for education, there are not enough classrooms." Phuoc Do himself was able to finish high school and come to the US in 1973 to attend Texas A&M University and then Columbia in New York City. Later he also got a master's degree at Ohio State. While he himself eventually worked in the US for RCA research, then GE, and later helped found a company that did mobile medical imaging, bringing MRI and CT scans to rural communities, he described a very different picture in Vietnam today. There the few people who are able to associate with the highest level of government officials can get rich, but there is much corruption among the middle level officials. Young Vietnamese people are concerned about this, but without freedom of speech they cannot express themselves.
Boat trip to a refugee camp
Phuoc Do said that because he lived in Saigon, he saw the terrors of war only during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Meanwhile, Tay and Nuong Nguyen's experience in rural Vietnam exposed them not only to many of the horrors of the war, but also to the domination of the Communists as the war ended. They married in 1975 and lived under the Communist rule for four more years until they with their 2-and-a-half-month-old baby managed to escape as one of the "boat people." They spent two days and two nights with 245 other people on a small boat. Thankfully, though crowded and with the baby crying the whole trip, the seas were calm and their little boat landed safely in Malaysia. It is estimated that some 200,000 other boat people were not so fortunate and perished during their escape. What awaited the Nguyens in Malaysia was 19 months in a refugee camp crammed with 50,000 people. They lived in a tent, slept on maps and hoped they would not succumb to the diseases that were rampant in the crowded conditions.
Success comes after hard work
Finally, Catholic Charities came to the Nguyens' rescue and brought them to Louisville, Kentucky, where Tay's brother had already settled. A church paid the family's first three month's rent in a basement apartment. Nuong began work in a dress shop as they struggled to make it in the US and to pay off the debt for their boat trip to Malaysia. Their hard work ultimately paid off and they now own a tailor shop at 4905 Old Brownsboro Road (Hwy 22) in Louisville.
Raising two children in a different culture was also a challenge. While the parents didn't speak English when they arrived (having only studied written English in Vietnam), they spoke both languages with their children. Rather than the Vietnamese custom that "as a kid you say 'yes' to Mom and Dad," the Nguyens discovered that American children didn't have to. "They listen to us and we listen to them," said proud mother Nuong as she described their children's success. Their daughter has a master's degree in microbiology and is married to a physician who is training in Philadelphia. The two young people met at a large summer camp that is held each year for Vietnamese-American college students. The Nguyens' son is also a college graduate and works as a network engineer.
Around the world
Than Thien explained that she came to the US in 1991 to be near her three sons. Her eldest lives in Georgia. Her middle son is the Reverend Thich Hang Dat, the Dharma Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Corydon. Her youngest son is a student at the University of Pennsylvania. All of the speakers had family and friends still in Vietnam and around the world. Eventually 19 members of the Nguyen family would make it to the US, though some moved from Louisville to warmer climates! Phuoc Do's mother left Vietnam to live in South Carolina; his father and sister ended up in Europe.
The food we waste here could feed other countries!
Nuong Nguyen, who has returned to Vietnam three times to see her mother, explained that the current Vietnamese government is eager to let visitors in because "they need our money." She and the others described the primitive conditions of poor water quality and a high rate of tuberculosis and hepatitis C. "Beggars there still beg for food." The people in south Vietnam are mostly farmers and yet the population is growing so fast there is no farm land available. "People here (in the US) don't realize what they have in natural resources, how lucky we are. The food we waste here could feed other countries!"
No one wins in a war; everyone has lost.
Looking at Vietnam today with its poverty, corruption and lack of freedoms, the speakers discussed how the government of Vietnam has manipulated its people for forty years. "We were scared to die or to lose our property." Even today "you follow or you're out." The people's limited knowledge, their lack of freedom of speech, and the Asian culture that has promoted following orders have allowed the Communist regime to take and keep control. Given the current war in Iraq, their experience in Vietnam and their Buddhist faith, the speakers were asked their views. Phuoc Do answered: "I'd rather see peace than war. No one wins in a war; everyone has lost. Ordinary people see no security or future."
Fun fact about Vietnam answer: One Vietnam. Since April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese forces took over Saigon and South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam, the war ended and the country was reunifed under communist control, forming the Independent Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Fun fact: Are there two Vietnams or one? (See answer at end.)
"Here we work so hard, but we get what we want. There they work hard but have nothing."
Four Vietnamese Americans described their experiences during and after the war in Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s. When asked what are the differences between life in the US and in Vietnam, their answers were many, but they were summed up by Nuong Nguyen - "Here we work so hard, but we get what we want. There they work hard but have nothing."
Phuoc Do described how the war in Vietnam (from 1955-1975 and the circumstances before and after those dates) kept people from investing in industry. "There is no management system to use young people's talents." Even if children pass the rigorous exams between 5th and 6th grade and again after 11th and 12th grades, they are not likely to succeed. Most young men end up in the military, while women stay home uneducated. "Even though the young people are eager for education, there are not enough classrooms." Phuoc Do himself was able to finish high school and come to the US in 1973 to attend Texas A&M University and then Columbia in New York City. Later he also got a master's degree at Ohio State. While he himself eventually worked in the US for RCA research, then GE, and later helped found a company that did mobile medical imaging, bringing MRI and CT scans to rural communities, he described a very different picture in Vietnam today. There the few people who are able to associate with the highest level of government officials can get rich, but there is much corruption among the middle level officials. Young Vietnamese people are concerned about this, but without freedom of speech they cannot express themselves.
Boat trip to a refugee camp
Phuoc Do said that because he lived in Saigon, he saw the terrors of war only during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Meanwhile, Tay and Nuong Nguyen's experience in rural Vietnam exposed them not only to many of the horrors of the war, but also to the domination of the Communists as the war ended. They married in 1975 and lived under the Communist rule for four more years until they with their 2-and-a-half-month-old baby managed to escape as one of the "boat people." They spent two days and two nights with 245 other people on a small boat. Thankfully, though crowded and with the baby crying the whole trip, the seas were calm and their little boat landed safely in Malaysia. It is estimated that some 200,000 other boat people were not so fortunate and perished during their escape. What awaited the Nguyens in Malaysia was 19 months in a refugee camp crammed with 50,000 people. They lived in a tent, slept on maps and hoped they would not succumb to the diseases that were rampant in the crowded conditions.
Success comes after hard work
Finally, Catholic Charities came to the Nguyens' rescue and brought them to Louisville, Kentucky, where Tay's brother had already settled. A church paid the family's first three month's rent in a basement apartment. Nuong began work in a dress shop as they struggled to make it in the US and to pay off the debt for their boat trip to Malaysia. Their hard work ultimately paid off and they now own a tailor shop at 4905 Old Brownsboro Road (Hwy 22) in Louisville.
Raising two children in a different culture was also a challenge. While the parents didn't speak English when they arrived (having only studied written English in Vietnam), they spoke both languages with their children. Rather than the Vietnamese custom that "as a kid you say 'yes' to Mom and Dad," the Nguyens discovered that American children didn't have to. "They listen to us and we listen to them," said proud mother Nuong as she described their children's success. Their daughter has a master's degree in microbiology and is married to a physician who is training in Philadelphia. The two young people met at a large summer camp that is held each year for Vietnamese-American college students. The Nguyens' son is also a college graduate and works as a network engineer.
Around the world
Than Thien explained that she came to the US in 1991 to be near her three sons. Her eldest lives in Georgia. Her middle son is the Reverend Thich Hang Dat, the Dharma Master of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Corydon. Her youngest son is a student at the University of Pennsylvania. All of the speakers had family and friends still in Vietnam and around the world. Eventually 19 members of the Nguyen family would make it to the US, though some moved from Louisville to warmer climates! Phuoc Do's mother left Vietnam to live in South Carolina; his father and sister ended up in Europe.
The food we waste here could feed other countries!
Nuong Nguyen, who has returned to Vietnam three times to see her mother, explained that the current Vietnamese government is eager to let visitors in because "they need our money." She and the others described the primitive conditions of poor water quality and a high rate of tuberculosis and hepatitis C. "Beggars there still beg for food." The people in south Vietnam are mostly farmers and yet the population is growing so fast there is no farm land available. "People here (in the US) don't realize what they have in natural resources, how lucky we are. The food we waste here could feed other countries!"
No one wins in a war; everyone has lost.
Looking at Vietnam today with its poverty, corruption and lack of freedoms, the speakers discussed how the government of Vietnam has manipulated its people for forty years. "We were scared to die or to lose our property." Even today "you follow or you're out." The people's limited knowledge, their lack of freedom of speech, and the Asian culture that has promoted following orders have allowed the Communist regime to take and keep control. Given the current war in Iraq, their experience in Vietnam and their Buddhist faith, the speakers were asked their views. Phuoc Do answered: "I'd rather see peace than war. No one wins in a war; everyone has lost. Ordinary people see no security or future."
Fun fact about Vietnam answer: One Vietnam. Since April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese forces took over Saigon and South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam, the war ended and the country was reunifed under communist control, forming the Independent Socialist Republic of Vietnam.