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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War is the conflict fought between the communist government of North Vietnam and the South who were allied with America from 1954-75. Many Vietnamese people fled the country in 1975 and 1978 after the war mainly by boat. Most refugees fled due to economic restructuring (Britannica School). -
Phon Tat
Phon Tat is my aunt who immigrated from Vietnam to America with her husband's family in order to escape the war-ruined Vietnam -
(2) Reaching the coast of Vietnam to board a boat
At the time, most Vietnamese refugees escaped by boat. It was near the end of Chinese New Year and my aunt had headed for the coast with her son, David. Phon had telegrammed her husband to come to the coast with his family when she found a boat that would take her family to the U.S. -
(6) Arriving at her sponsor's house
After flying for 17 hours stopping by Japan, then Alaska, then California, Phon had to ride another plane for 4 hours to go to Ohio, her sponsor's home state. Her sponsor would be providing her shelter, food, and a job until she became self-sufficient. My aunt didn't want to go to Ohio at first because of how cold it was but she had to go to her sponsor in order to achieve freedom. -
(1) "Why did you want to leave?"
”Vietnam was in a war. There was no hope of surviving there. There were no jobs. People had to escape for freedom. Dead cities were everywhere. People who lived in the streets look like they work in the Black Market.” Many people immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. near the end of the war when Saigon fell (Alperin). My aunt was one of many who traveled by boat. -
(3) Arriving at a Malaysian island
In order to escape Vietnam, my aunt took a boat to a nearby Malaysian island. It took 3 hours to arrive on the island and once she arrived, she got another boat that she would ride for 3 days. The boat stopped by another island by the third day due to leakage on the boat. -
(4) At an unknown island
After leaving the Malaysian island, the boat with Phon and her family stopped by a nearby island due to a leak. The younger peoples were excited to reach land and they immediately began to jump off the boat to swim to shore. When they entered the water, the natives of the island had injured their legs with harpoons to the point where they would need to go to the hospital, but they wouldn't have died from the wound. -
(5) At an unknown island cont.
The passengers of the ship had to live off of the island's plants like coconuts. Until then, they had to listen to the soldiers who looted any valuables they saw from the passengers of the boat.My aunt's son had diarrhea and nearly died but luckily, a pharmacist friend of hers had the needed medicine but gave it to her in exchange for her gold ring. Phon and her family survived on this island for 28 days until the Red Cross came and sent planes to send them to America. -
(7) "What were some hardships you faced in America?"
”We flew for more than 17 hours to get to America. We landed at an air force base near San Fransico. It was cold at the time. We owned nothing. The only things we had were the clothes on our body. It was a very long process to get the paperwork together. Sponsors allowed people to get jobs, move, and find homes. We had a sponsor in Ohio but I didn’t want to go because it was very cold but I couldn’t be picky." -
(8) "What makes your journey unique?"
"I was very lucky on the journey. We were surprised to be in America; we had a dream to be in America. Some friends died on the trip to America by drowning. More than half a million people drowned. People were raped, killed, and drowned yet my family and I made it alive.” At the time, there were Thai pirates who would invade boats of Vietnamese refugees and rape the women, steal goods, and leave the people on board to die (Crossette). -
America's Immigrants
Technically, the first American colonists were immigrants. Immigrants were discriminated against and typically had to work dangerous and low-paying work in the early years. Did you know the largest percentage of immigrants come from India (Gale)? About 125,000 Vietnamese refugees immigrated to America. It is estimated that 26% of the population living in the United States is Vietnamese as of 2017. Only 3% of America’s immigrants are Vietnamese (Alperin). -
Life in America
My aunt's life here in America is way better then it would have been in Vietnam. ”The United States is way better. This is my country now. We are living in freedom rather than communism. That’s why we escaped!” I asked, "If you could, would you want to go back?"
She replies, “To visit? Yes. To stay? No. I lived in the U.S longer than I have in Vietnam. I only spent 28 years in Vietnam and I spent 40 years of my life in the U.S.. The U.S. is my home now.” -
