Voices of Vietnamese America

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Vietnamese American Project VAP
• Center for Oral Public History
• California State University, Fullerton

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Excerpts are selected and edited from Vietnamese
  American ProjectVAP interviews with community
  members from all social segments by Trangdai
  Tranguyen
• Most excerpts are translated into English by
  Trangdai Tranguyen except for those not indicated
• Presented in chronological order to convey the
  Vietnamese American Experience, the excerpts
  start with 20th-century Vietnam (its history,
  i.e. French colonization, World War II, etc) and
  arrive at the collective consciousness of
  Vietnamese Americans about the self, community,
  society, and the world.

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ... Many people believe that Vietnamese American
  history begins in 1975, yet we possess a rich
  history that includes groups such as scholars,
  diplomats and war brides who arrived in
  substantial numbers during the period after World
  War II and some even migrated to the U.S. before
  that time. Even Thomas Jefferson, while
  Secretary of State, took an interest in rice from
  Vietnam during the late-18th century.
• Vu Hong Pham

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...I was born in 1939 and grew up during wartime
  Vietnam. Like most Vietnamese at the time,
  especially the populace in remote areas, life was
  harsh. As a result, I had started to help out as
  early as five or six years of age. My father was
  a teacher, my mother a weaver. Because I was
  young, I could only help with picking the cotton,
  sundry it, or work in the field during harvest
  season or watch the fish ponds.
• Ai Dinh Le
• Translated by Trangdai Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...In 1945, when the Japanese were invading
  Vietnam or Indochina at the time, we went back to
  Ha Noi from Cambodia by boat to go faster. We
  stayed in our birth house, about ten kilometers
  from the non-controlled French area. There was
  no school. My Dad and sister taught me as much
  as they could. But my Dad was killed by the
  French when they raided us in 1948. I was only
  seven years old.
• Dai Dao Nghiem

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• A a oi, a oi oi,
• I carry you on my shoulders, I hold you in my
  arms
• I do not mind this strenuous southward migration
• My child, take this to heart
• Keep your Vietnamese spirit
• when you grow up
• Connect our country,
• make it one body
• Protect the land,
• reserve its identity
• Robert Nghiem Nguyen
• Translated by Trangdai Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...As an eight-year-old boy in 1974, I just
  didn't understand. I didn't know anything
  different, but I did know that there was a war.
  I did know that my Dad put on his uniform each
  day and went to work-war... Then I remember
  going to funerals of family members who died in
  the war, cousins who were soldiers, people having
  funerals all the time.
• Huy Minh Do

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...Living in the refugee camp, listening to the
  Vietnamese women who were raped and robbed, was a
  down point of my life. They still influence me
  today in my art. The rape, the robbing, the
  darkness of the ocean. Because after four days
  and nights when I went up to the shore, there was
  no moon, no stars, nothing. To look at the ocean
  was so scary. You saw black. Ann Phong

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• My family left on the 23rd of April, 1975. At
  the time, my Dad worked for Bank of America who
  told us to ready ourselves to leave the country
  any minute. But we never thought that it would
  happen. When we were actually leaving for
  America, my Mom got very worried because its a
  big deal for my parents with six kids to leave
  home for a new country, not speaking the
  language, not knowing what would happen.
• Thien-nu Vu

This ladder was used to evacuate the Vietnamese
and Americans during the Fall of Saigon, 29-30
April 1975. This ladder is currently at the Ford
Library/Museum.
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Voices of Vietnamese America

• thank you
• thank you Pendleton
• for the tent
• I creep in and out
• uncertain and hesitating
• like a yellow rat
• with a frozen mind
• and useless hand
• Du Tu Le
• Translated by Tranguyen

• On the wall of a Vietnamese family house, Laem
  Sing camp, Thailand, We were from hell,
• we just want to live

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• When I first joined the staff at CSU, Fullerton,
  I fervently desired to create a Vietnamese
  cultural, historical, and linguistic program and
  also a study for the 1.5, second and subsequent
  Vietnamese American generations to understand why
  their parents and grandparents emigrated to
  America and all over the world.
• Son Kim Vo
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...It was around 1987. There had been more
  businesses in the Vietnamese enclave. The
  community wanted to have this area designated as
  a tourist bureau. As a legislative assistant, I
  was able to lobby with representatives and
  assemblymen to sign the petition. Eighteen
  signatures were collected. It took about four
  months for the proposal to pass.
• Van Thai Tran
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Besides the many unique scenes and sites that
  distinguished Ha Noi as a reality, it only exists
  and manifests itself in imaginative fascination.
  I was tuned into the lasting history of the place
  itself. Upon my return to Saigon, I fell right
  into writing about my one-month sojourn. The
  essay was secretly sent abroad and published in
  Nguoi Viet Xuan, the 1980 Spring volume,
  entitled, Ha Noi in My Eye, under my pen name
  Pham Xuan Dai.
• Pham Phu Minh Translated by Tranguyen

Thay Temple, Hanoi
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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ... So that's when I realized that I wanted to
  use music as a part of a world where I can help
  the youth at risk and show them what is love, and
  the value of a family. That goes to any culture.
• Simon Levan

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Being the 1.5 generation is difficult. On one
  hand, we have to deal with the elderly, with the
  old culture. On the other hand, we have to adapt
  to our children, the new culture. And as the
  sandwich generation, we are responsible to
  simultaneously support both our parents and our
  children. This is a great challenge that many
  cannot overcome.
• Nguyen Luong Cau
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America
Orchid 3 by Thai Dac Nha

• Thus, I have just as many
• dreams as much hope,
• since what I have today
• is the crystallization of
• enduring constant
• hardship and obstacles
• throughout life. Therefore,
• I venture forth on that voyage, longing to yield
  something valuable for the art of Vietnamese
  photography as well as the pride of the
  Vietnamese in exile.
• Thai Dac Nha
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...In Vietnam, it appears that women are
  privileged by having their male partners earn the
  bread. De facto the wives are mostly "kept" from
  yielding any income unlike they can in the United
  States. Women are proud to contribute to the
  family financial well-being, and for me, that is
  the most exciting thing. We are fortunate to be
  in this advanced and desired land where if you
  sweat, your stomach will be filled.
• Thuy Thanh Nguyen
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Since I am a Vietnamese American, I make an
  effort to retain my Vietnamese identity. But it
  is daunting, since here in America, you
  communicate in English. I want to be able to
  speak and read Vietnamese. Reading and writing
  is not as hard, but when I speak, I cant find
  words to express myself. At first, I thought,
  Oh, no, how come I forgot Vietnamese. But
  then, I was only ten when I left Vietnam, and I
  never got to know such words.
• Paul Nguyen
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• My constant ambition to introduce Vietnamese
  traditional music to as many professional musical
  arenas as possible has inspired me to be
  innovative in composing activities. Integration
  of Vietnamese traditional musical elements into
  European classical forms enables the performers
  to magnify the pieces richness and elevates
  greater appreciation in the audience. By that,
  Vietnamese music will achieve its deserving
  status universally.
• Le Van Khoa
• Translated by Tranguyen

Ngan Khoi Choir, Le Van Khoa as Conductor
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Voices of Vietnamese America

• I determine to help my clients be happy, since
  the beauty from inside radiates out. However, as
  women, we must also tend for our look and
  appearance. In fact, women are apt to not only
  be beautiful, but also healthy, so that we could
  care for the family and excel at work.
• Hoang Nguyen Vinh Translated by
  Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...This piece I created with a rice bag turned
  into a canvas. It necessitated many layers of
  paint to hold up. My concept was to lose the
  frame, let the canvas flow on a free surface.
  The title said, "Golden Tower," not deciphering a
  tower of gold, but a tower that takes you to the
  new horizons.
• Nguyen Khai
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• I hope that the young generation will follow the
  right path to contribute to the country. Given
  that, we can optimize our cultural heritage and
  learn from influential figures in Vietnamese
  history, and passing on the values from one
  generation to the next. Such endeavors are
  building blocks that take the Vietnamese people
  to the next level, and make the country proud.
• Trong Minh Translated by
  Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• I love the beach. I can smell the salt, its
  cool! And the waves sound just beautiful, the
  breeze so brisk. The sea symbolizes the
  boundless and eternity. It also stands for
  unity everyones blood is salty. The ocean is
  the source of life, the symbol of harmony and
  enlightenment.
• Nguyen Duc Dat
• Translated by Tranguyen

A release by Bayadera (founded by Dat Nguyen)
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Voices of Vietnamese America

• With Chi Tams initial consultation, I have
  worked with three traditional music shows on
  Little Saigon Radio and 1190 AM. I play the
  instrument, and the audience calls in and sings.
  I have also helped with the Tet festivals, both
  with traditional music and visual preparations.
• Le Khiem
• Translated by Tranguyen

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• ...I only know that I love my children. Being a
  mother in America is more difficult because you
  also work. I was able to stay home and attend to
  my kids. It's the best decision in my life. We
  would have made more money if I worked as a
  computer engineer here in the Silicon Valley,
  also given my years of experience. But my
  children are more precious and important.
• Quyen Nguyen
• Translated by Tranguyen

• Woman, Bananas, Child
• Water color on silk, Nguyen Thi Hop

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Voices of Vietnamese America

• Spring 1997, our 24-hour Multilingual Voice Mail
  was first installed, allowing Pacific Asian
  Language Services (PALS) to better serve the
  diverse API populations in Los Angeles County,
  making it possible for clients to leave messages
  in Cambodian, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean,
  Laotian, Mandarin, Thai, Tongan, and Vietnamese.
• Nguyen Anh Dao Elizabeth

PALSs multilingual I Speak card