From Vietnam
- David Nguyen
- Glendale
- VIET NAM, 01-01-1969
- 18
- This personal story was submited in English
This is my mom immigration to the United States. My mom’s name is Lan Thi Nguyen. She lived in Vietnam in a city. This time period was during the Vietnam War. She was a little girl about the age of 16 years old. During the Vietnam War my mom was captured by the North Vietnamese. My mom was thrown in the North Vietnamese prison with my aunt and some of my uncles. My uncles were prisoners of war because they serve the South Vietnam army. For couple of the days the north change the guards. That is were my aunt met my uncle in-law. My uncle is not a violent person. He is more of a peaceful person. He has a kind heart and didn’t want to kill anyone. He wasn’t meant for the war. My uncle talked a lot with my aunt when she was in prison.
One day my uncle thought of plan for my family to escape from the prison. It took a month for my uncle to dig a hole. My uncle pay some of the soldier that he was close to help him out. My uncle got a boat with some food and clothing. He carried some guns on the boat. He told me that he was willing to kill someone so he can get my aunt and my family out of there. He loved my aunt so much that he can kill someone. When the Americans got closer to their base that’s when my uncle plan to get my family out. Most of the communist had left there based to go fight. My uncle snuck them out and then ran to the boat with his friends backing him up. They ran for about like a mile to the ocean and they got on the boat. They had gone down to southern part of Vietnam. When they got there, my mom and aunt visit my grandmother and grandfather. They gave some money to go to America. But then something happened to my uncle in law. The South Vietnamese were like kill him but then my uncle ran back to the boat. My aunt ran after him chasing after him. Later my aunt came back and told my mom that she had to go on the same boat to a different place. So they went to China. They paid them to get my mom, my aunt and my uncle to get to the United States.
It took a very long time to get to America my uncle told me. When my family got to the United States they didn’t know what to do. My mom had some friends that she met up with in America because her friends were rich and had fled Vietnam. My mom told me that her friend told her to go to this place. My mom went to some government and told this lady about what had happen. The lady told to take some test and come back because they are going to be a refugee.