Bao Nguyen |
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Experience in Vietnam
MR. NGUYEN: I didn’t have any expectations before I landed. I just wanted to meet my family over there; I just wanted to experience it all.
SID: Did anything surprise you over there?
MR. NGUYEN: I was kind of shocked at the level of environmental pollution that was in the city. The streams and the air were much polluted. I got sick immediately from the air quality.
MICHAEL: Where was this?
MR. NGUYEN: It was in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City.
MICHAEL: Was there still environmental pollution when you went out further away from the city?
MR. NGUYEN: Into the rest of the city? It’s a pretty big city. I did go to one beach resort, I didn’t see much environmental pollution but definitely in the city, it made me sick. But then I had adapted to it.
SID: How long were you out there?
MR. NGUYEN:I was out there for about a month or two. SID: Did you notice how Michael touched upon this earlier, did you notice any inequality? We’re learning that a lot of the economy is supported from tourism, when you checked out the beach resort was that radically different from how Saigon was like?
MR. NGUYEN: Oh yes it totally was, even folks that lived in the city, they may not have hot water. If you stay in the hotel, you would. I saw a lot of people living in the streets even children as well as entire families. There’s just a big divide in those that have and have not. There were folks that were building brand new homes that were very nice western homes. There’s a lot of beauty there as well even though I talked about the pollution and what not. It’s a beautiful place, and the people there are amazing. The people are kind and friendly and generous, it’s a great place. It’s a beautiful culture with amazing food. But now I don’t think anyone should be scared, I wasn’t scared. I felt as if there were some freedoms that I didn’t have here, ironically. But it’s interesting, when you’re hearing the stories about folks that actually had to live in the war and the villages and by the day they had to be supporting the French and by night they had to support the rebels. And really what they’re doing is they are just trying to stay alive you know? Just trying to stay alive. I can’t imagine what that’s like, running from bombs. We all want peace, I think that’s universal.
Object Description
| Profile of | Bao Nguyen |
| Title | The Past Has Made Me Who I Am Today |
| Profile bio | Bao Nguyen's incredible story begins in 1980, with his family's successful escape from Vietnam while Nguyen was still in his mother's womb. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand with no official citizenship, a young Nguyen endured the arduous journey to the United States with his family before ultimately settling in Garden Grove, CA. Today, he is actively involved in his local community as a member of the Garden Grove Board of Education. Nguyen holds a BA in Political Science from UC Irvine and an MA in Religious Studies from Naropa University in Colorado. He is trilingual in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. |
| Profiler bio | Joseph Dorri is a senior from Pasadena, CA majoring in Neuroscience.; Siddharth Gupta is a senior from Orange County, CA majoring in Economics and Business Administration.; Michael Lin is senior from Yangon, Burma, currently residing in Cerritos, CA and majoring in Mechanical Engineering. |
| Subject |
Boat people Profile Refugee Viet Nam Bao Nguyen Immigration Post-Vietnam War Thailand Refugee Camp Vietnamese American |
| Profiled by | Dorri, Joseph; Gupta, Siddharth; Lin, Michael |
| Profile date | 2014-04-11 |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | New York; Nashville, Garden Grove; Saigon; Ho Chi Minh City |
| Geographic subject (county) | Davidson; Orange |
| Geographic subject (state) | New York; Tennessee; California |
| Geographic subject (country) | Thailand; Vietnam; USA |
| Coverage date | 1980 |
| Publisher (of the original version) | http://anotherwarmemorial.com/ |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type |
images video |
| Format | 1 image; 3 video files (00:13:18), 3 transcripts |
| Language | English |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Part of collection | An Other War Memorial -- Memories of the American War in Viet Nam |
| Access conditions | Born digital -- no physical access. |
| Repository name |
USC Libraries Special Collections |
| Repository address | Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 |
| Repository email | specol@usc.edu |
| Filename | nguyenbao |
Description
| Profile of | Bao Nguyen |
| Title | Experience in Vietnam |
| Format | 1 transcript, 1p. |
| Filename | nguyenbao-vid3_tr3.pdf |
| Full text | Experience in Vietnam MR. NGUYEN: I didn’t have any expectations before I landed. I just wanted to meet my family over there; I just wanted to experience it all. SID: Did anything surprise you over there? MR. NGUYEN: I was kind of shocked at the level of environmental pollution that was in the city. The streams and the air were much polluted. I got sick immediately from the air quality. MICHAEL: Where was this? MR. NGUYEN: It was in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. MICHAEL: Was there still environmental pollution when you went out further away from the city? MR. NGUYEN: Into the rest of the city? It’s a pretty big city. I did go to one beach resort, I didn’t see much environmental pollution but definitely in the city, it made me sick. But then I had adapted to it. SID: How long were you out there? MR. NGUYEN:I was out there for about a month or two. SID: Did you notice how Michael touched upon this earlier, did you notice any inequality? We’re learning that a lot of the economy is supported from tourism, when you checked out the beach resort was that radically different from how Saigon was like? MR. NGUYEN: Oh yes it totally was, even folks that lived in the city, they may not have hot water. If you stay in the hotel, you would. I saw a lot of people living in the streets even children as well as entire families. There’s just a big divide in those that have and have not. There were folks that were building brand new homes that were very nice western homes. There’s a lot of beauty there as well even though I talked about the pollution and what not. It’s a beautiful place, and the people there are amazing. The people are kind and friendly and generous, it’s a great place. It’s a beautiful culture with amazing food. But now I don’t think anyone should be scared, I wasn’t scared. I felt as if there were some freedoms that I didn’t have here, ironically. But it’s interesting, when you’re hearing the stories about folks that actually had to live in the war and the villages and by the day they had to be supporting the French and by night they had to support the rebels. And really what they’re doing is they are just trying to stay alive you know? Just trying to stay alive. I can’t imagine what that’s like, running from bombs. We all want peace, I think that’s universal. |
| Archival file | Volume2/nguyenbao-vid3_tr3.pdf |
