Don Long came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam when he was a child. In reflecting on his journey prior to coming to this country, he talks about images from a refugee camp that was very crowded with over 30,000 individuals in a limited space that restricted their freedom. Although ... Read More »
I was born in Saigon Vietnam. I’m 55 I came here when I was 8 years old, I had a very short time in Vietnam. Up to 8 years old I was a student. I attended a private French school until I was 8 years old which was until 1975. Living in Vietnam ... Read More »
Introduction When our sociology professor, Dr. Patricia Gibbs, assigned the Made into America assignment to the class, I immediately knew who I wanted to interview for the assignment: my mother. My mother is named Vivian Hang Nguyen. My mom immigrated to America from Vietnam in 1986. When I was young and caused trouble, my mother would always tell me how ... Read More »
What circumstances led you to leave Vietnam? Duc (name changed) was 19 when his aunt was able to sponsor him to America. However, Tim grew up very privileged. Both of his parents were professors and his father even left his teaching job to become the president of a bank. Oncethe Vietnam War occurred, Duc’s ... Read More »
When Lang opened the door to her new home, she found the house fully furnished, the refrigerator and cupboards stocked with Vietnamese food, rice, bowls, even chopsticks! The church would take turns sitting with the kids whenever they went to ESL classes, even giving them a ride to the classes. Back in Vietnam, “we lived a very good life,” said ... Read More »
I interviewed my mother, My Son Truong, who immigrated from South Vietnam to Adelaide South Australia in 1994 and then immigrated with me from Australia to San Jose, California in 2010. Throughout my life, my mom, My Son Truong, has always been in survival mode, always working or doing something — never staying still. ... Read More »
Kim Hoang Miller is a 73 year old US immigrant from Vietnam who lives in Sacramento. She fled Vietnam in 1975. Was your family born in Vietnam? Yes, majority of my family was from Saigon, Vietnam. I had grandparents, mother, father, six brothers, 2 sisters and many cousins. Did you suffer from poverty? Yes, my family was very poor and ... Read More »
Life could have been worse for me. I was thirteen when I got my first job, selling bread and vegetables for about two years. Because of the Vietnam war, there were few jobs, meaning, this was the only way I could support my family. I was the youngest of eight siblings; four brothers, four sisters. ... Read More »
It was a spring afternoon in 1985. I had turned fifteen a few of months earlier and I had just entered the house after a day at high school. Food was on my mind; I’d skipped breakfast as usual. Mom was sitting on the bed in the corner, whispering to a woman I’d ... Read More »
Tracy Nguyen was born and raised in San Jose. Growing up with refugee parents from Vietnam largely defines who she is today: a driven community organizer with a creative, entrepreneurial spirit. Tracy received a B.A. in Media Studies and Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley. Tracy’s story grapples with the meaning of the war ... Read More »