April 30, 2013
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April 30th, 1975
To my fellow Vietnamese and my Laotian, Mien, Hmong, and Cambodian brothers,This is to growing up in subsidized apartment complexes and neighborhoods where drugs and gangs were more abundant than Christmas presents, to coming to America in a socio-economic context being seen as foreigners and competition to "true Americans" while being grouped with Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese who some have had 2-3 generations of time to gain cultural, social, and economic wealth, to fighting the model minority myth, and to our parents who humbled themselves working jobs as waiters, nail salonists, and clerks when they were doctors, lawyers, and admirals in their native land.
This is for our parents who left their homeland and half of their brothers and sisters and family venturing out onto the open sea with pirates, dangerous waters, murder, rape, and boats with family and friends that never arrived. Stories until this day they do not share with their children. This is to the burdens they bear and dreams they have cast upon us. This is for how we fail to understand the depth of their love. This is to how we fall short.
This is the thank you to our parents. The appreciation of fish sauce and fried rice, to the sound of the smoke detector going off just right before the meal is ready, to rice porridge and the quarters they would use to scratch our backs red as they coined their love into our ribs. This is to the beatings with brooms and belts or whatever they had in their hand at the time because they hit us because they loved us.
This is my apology. I am sorry Vietnamese people work jobs as nail salons, because our lack of English skills and the job market we entered at the time only allowed us to do so much. I am sorry that we are gangsters and wife beaters, because our parents weren't around growing up working double shifts so we can possibly have a brighter future. I am sorry I could not afford SAT classes, tennis lessons, and had the extra time in my week for community service to make it to the top tier colleges. I am sorry I can not love you long time, because my people had nothing to sell but their own bodies in this global economy.
We all struggle. Our stories are valid. Know your history. Know your roots.
April 30, 1975 - We never forget. Some of us just pretend to.
Thailand Refugee Camp 1981 - OGs
Comments (14)
Very touching David.
One correction... the main Korean immigration wave was at the same time as south east asians. Only 9 thousand Koreas (tops) immigrated to the U.S. from 1882 to 1903 before they placed immigration rules on Koreans by the Japanese. The rest came as war brides of 50s.
@BenelliMan - Thanks for the information!
Question: I never studied this, but why are Koreans so much more affluent than SEAs? Is it because Korea as a country is much better off?
That was touching and enlightening. Thank you for sharing.
@Manbeast - no. Korea and Taiwan... both part of the Japanese empire was able to go from an agricultural to a technologically basedeeconomy in 2 generations.
Koreans were dirt poor when they entered the Vietnam war... they were the dogs of Americans.
I'd say that in the 80s, while s.e. asians had political refugees entering America, koreans and taiwanese had educated masses emigrating here generally with some money saved up. This definitely gave them them a head start over the seas.
However, all but one group of seas are doing well.. the Hmongs. The u.s. census shows viets doing very well compared to where they were 30 years ago.
With time... they will surpass koreans and taiwanese (they already have in population) asthe highest average in education.
The picture did it for me. Authentic photograph that every Vietnamese immigrant should have. I should post mine.
@BenelliMan - Nice. The Four East Asian Tigers. Makes sense. That and sending their more affluent makes sense!
Vietnamese are definitely up and coming. They are entering into textile and manufacturing and I heard that Foxconn is building a factory here as the standard of living has raised so significantly in China.
Vietnam's work ethic plus Gerschenkron’s Theory of Economics Backwardness will move Vietnam into the global arena.
@BenelliMan - You sir are not just a pretty face.
@N0S - upload yours to fb!
I have to say, most korean families have not been here for a long time. My dad was born in korea, but immigrated to California and had me here. Most koreans families are just like us. He worked as a dishwasher for his first job in the US! Yup along side the mexicans and whatever else. Now his work is in the field of civil engineering. His family in korea is not rich, they are from a very poor village that's not even on most korean maps. And my mom's family...their house still does not have an actual toilet. Some koreans who go to america are well off back at korea, but most are not. They come here w/ nothing in hopes of achieving more just like everyone else. Afterall, if you have a cushy life back at home, there is less incentive to go to another country. The parents believe that edcuation is key and are willing to do anything and sacrifice so much to send their kids to those SAT prep classes and good schools. You really can't compare japanese people to koreans. They have been in states much longer than us. My japanese ex boyfriend's parents were born in america, and apparently that's pretty common. And most chinese families here are not descendants from railroad workers, so many of them have not been here for that long either. I'm really not a korean pride person or anything, but thought your understanding of koreans could use a little more meat
.
still feel like a damaged good and disadvantaged in so many ways
Thanks for this. I think about the sacrifices my parents made for me everyday and all the horrible things they endured and overcame to give me a good, happy life. There's still a lot of good to be done for the Vietnamese (and Southeast Asian) communities in America and I'm hoping I can take part in that change.
Have a good day. That photo is beautiful.
Cám ơn, anh. Có người im, có người nói, mà tất cả nghe và nhớ.
Hope that wasn't too unintelligible. Thank you for this post.
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