The Viet Kieu in America

Personal Accounts of Postwar Immigrants from Vietnam

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About the Book

Vietnamese make up one of the largest refugee populations in the United States, some arriving by boat in 1975 after the fall of Saigon and others coming in the 1990s. This collection of 22 essays by 14 authors illuminates Vietnamese-American culture, views of freedom and oppression, and the issues of relocation, assimilation and transition for two million people. It contains personal experiences of the Vietnam War, life under Communist rule, and escape to America.

About the Author(s)

Nghia M. Vo, a Vietnamese-American, has written multiple books on Vietnamese culture. He helped found the nonprofit Saigon Arts, Culture & Education Institute and works to document Vietnamese-American culture through conferences, publications and a website.

Bibliographic Details

Edited by Nghia M. Vo
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 237
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4470-0
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5490-7
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Introduction      1

I. PEACE AND WAR
1. The Lotus Pond Nghia M. Vo      13
2. Remembering Saigon Nghia M. Vo      29
3. The Vietnam War: Snapshots Chat V. Dang      38
4. A Pilgrim Nghia M. Vo      46

II. OPPRESSION AND ESCAPE
5. My Life as a Zombie Thien M. Ngo      65
6. Anatomy of an Escape Theresa C. Trask      74
7. The Guava Tree Anh Hai      86
8. The So-Called Reeducation Camp Trong T. Ngo      94
9. The Lady in Black Dieu Hien      101
10. A Second Chance Chau Dinh An      110
11. The Wish Thanh Cuc      119
12. My April Thach N. Truong      127

III. STRUGGLE, HEALING AND REMEMBRANCE
13. Shadow of the Past Mai Lien      133
14. A Refugee’s Life Hien V. Ho      138
15. Guam, the Transit Island Nghia M. Vo      157
16. I Left My Heart in … Saigon Nghia M. Vo      165
17. April 30th Thach N. Truong      173

IV. THE PRESENT
18. A Love Affair Christina Vo      179
19. Little Saigon, Westminster, California Nghia M. Vo      183
20. The Journey Home Hieu V. Ho      191
21. On Searching Christina Vo      195
22. On Being a Viet Kieu Nghia M. Vo      199

Epilogue      208
Chapter Notes      217
Suggested Reading      225
Index      227