Moving to America
Did your family come to America because of negative experiences during the Vietnam War?
For my family it’s kind of the opposite because we were for privileged in Vietnam, because we were the people who stood for the Vietnamese people during the war, and we won, so after the war, we get privileges from the government, so over there it’s better for us, but my mother loves the weather here, so she came here! However, I know a lot of stories that people who immigrated here don’t like Vietnam at all. Whenever you mention Vietnam or ask “Do you want to go back to Vietnam?” they would say no, because during the war, they supported the Americans, so that’s why when we won the war, the government took everything away from them, all of the privileges they got when they were supporting the Americans. There’s no bad and good during war, it’s just the way it is. They got everything taken away from them, so that’s why they came to America and why they don’t like Vietnam.
After you came to America, how did you feel on the opinions on the Vietnam War from the American friends around you?
When I say I’m Vietnamese, there’s two things people talk to me about. One, do you speak French? I’m like, no. So, do you know about the Vietnam War? I’m like, yeah, my family was in it but I was not in it, because, you know, I’m twenty. The interesting thing is, for different people they have different opinions on the war and different experiences of the war. Some people, when they hear I’m Vietnamese, it seems like a bad memory for them, something that affiliated with the war and Vietnam. Some people are like, we’re sorry we came to your country. Others were like, oh, we were trying to help you, so we came there, but it didn’t work out, so we left. There’s different stories about the war, and it’s interesting to hear, because there’s no true story, you don’t really know what’s true and what’s not. I hear a lot about it, I think they know more about the war than I do, even though they are not Vietnamese.
Have your family’s impression on Americans changed throughout the years?
When I was little, they thought Americans as being close-minded, because that how they saw the Americans when they were in Vietnam during the war. They thought Americans are strong, and they are trying to take our country away, but now, the way they see Americans are different. They’re like, they’re just friendly people, and I think that one of the reasons my mother decided to immigrate to America, because their lifestyle matches to my family’s style.
Did your family ever hold a hatred towards America, and has it changed now? My grandparents recently passed away, but when I got a chance to talk to them about that, they didn’t mention anything about hate. They mentioned about what happened more, how everyone was scared, they didn’t really mention anything about hate.