The historical event of 1975 in Vietnam induced migrations of millions of Vietnamese to seek for new havens. As we know, the United State is the settlement for the majority of Vietnamese refugees. However, in the documentary film The Journey of Vaan Nguyen by Duki Dror, the viewers can see another aspect of a minority of Vietnamese refugees who have resided in Israel, a religious country in the Middle East.
Having the same circumstance like many other refugees, after the fall of Saigon, Hoiami Nguyen was imprisoned by the communist government. He was taught to absorb the communist ideology. He then escaped and began his risky voyage on small boats along with “boat people”. As a matter of fact, the plight of boat people is very severe. They let their lives drift on the sea and wait desperately for someone to pick them up. They do not have the choice to choose who should pick them. In most stories we have seen in class, the main characters are Vietnamese Americans who have found their settlement in the U.S. But for Hoiami Nguyen, his boat was rescued by an Israeli ship, and he ended up his migration in Israel.
As we see in the film, life in Israel is different from life in America, especially for non-Israeli citizens. Language is certainly a barrier for Vietnamese refugees. Moreover, Hoiami
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He tells her that someday he will buy a house here. Although he cannot reclaim his family’s land, to him, Vietnam is still his home forever. Everyone wants to come back to his or her home after a long journey, so does Hoiami. The journey to Israel is long enough for him to want to come home - his mother land. In summary, The Journey of Vaan Nguyen shows the viewers another aspect of Vietnamese refugees. It is not merely a story of first generations who try to integrate into a new country, but it is a story of second generations who try to find their identity between the two
From the contrast of the slums of Hanoi and the breathtaking beauty of a natural vista, Huong has revealed the impact of this disparity on her protagonist. The author utilises the connection between the land and the villagers of Que’s birthplace to emphasise the steadiness and support the landscape gives, in times of upheaval, illuminating that it is possible to recover from disaster. Despite Huong’s criticism of Vietnam, she emphasises the resilience of the people of Vietnam and the ability for beauty and hope to flourish through oppression.
First , when refugees flee their homes they are put on a boat to a different place . When Ha and her family got on the boat she said “ Everyone knows the ship could sink , unable to hold the piles of bodies that keep crawling on like raging ants from a disrupted nest “ . When Ha fled her home , she was upset she had to leave her things behind . Plus she had to leave some of her father’s things too , her mother said “ We cannot leave evidence of father’s life that might hurt him “ . It’s pretty hard for them to flee their homes because that was their home where they were born at , I know when i moved houses or states i’m sad . At least they find better homes now and they don’t have to deal with the wars .
The story focuses on her great-grandfather, who was in disapproval of the French occupation of Vietnam, but still excelled at his job as a Mandarin under the puppet imperial court, fearing persecution of his family if he were to resign. In this section, the author also mentions more about the how the values of confusion had influenced the Vietnamese people in attempts to justify her great grandfather’s
Refugees are people that flee from home because of a disastrous event that has happened in their home land to neighboring countries. In this story, “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai, Ha, the main character that is ten years-old, lives with her mother in Vietnam during the time of the Vietnam War in the year of 1975. Because Ha has to live without her father, not only Ha has to deals with internal issues but also she and her family has to move on with their life. Refugees deal with losing a loved one just like how Ha has to. Refugees turn “Inside out” when they lose a loved one. They can turn “back again” when they get used to their new lifestyle in the new country. Ha is an example of this because Ha lost her father, he was captured
For years refugees have come to America from all over the globe coming from Syria, Vietnam, Iraq, and even Australia. A refugee is different than an immigrant, in such a way that they are basically forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or a natural disaster. Unlike immigrants who have been here for a long time like the Mexicans, or the Japanese, the Vietnamese have been in the U.S for around thirty years or less. After the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese feared for their life and were forced to leave their county for liberty. The Vietnamese arrived here as refugees, not voluntary immigrants.
The author not only emotionally depicts the young narrator as struggling with her identity, from acknowledging the cultural differences and coping with the various losses in her life, she also does so in a manner that is relatable to other young first generation immigration assimilating to American society. Furthermore, I appreciate how Lê Thi Diem Thúy makes note of the narrator’s innocence, constantly using her imagination as a means of escape and understanding her new home, while also haunted with trauma from her past of Vietnam and her family’s history. As stated in page 87, the narrator was breathing in war and Ma is never able to “never it out” of her, meaning war will always be with the young narrator- even after the war, she still suffers. The novel is also heavily layered with the symbolic use of water. As stated in the novel before the story begins, “In Vietnamese, the word for water and the word for a nation, a country, and a homeland are one and the same: nu’ó’c.” The use of water is used in every chapter. In “Suh-top,” the narrator often asks about the beach, where she asks about her mother back at the beach in Vietnam; and she thinks about the ocean water during naptime in class. Additionally, it is where the narrator, Ba, and the uncles journeyed on a small fishing boat to America. Mr. Russell’s dream also involved the ocean. In “Palm,” he mother is frustrated that the landlord emptied out the pool and filled it with rocks and cement, ruining her view and thus, a connection to their homeland, Vietnam. In “The Gangster We Are All Looking For,” the pieces of murdered woman’s body is thrown and arrived onshore. In “The Bones of Birds,” it is mentioned that the United States Naval ship picked them up from their fishing boat. Finally, in “Nu’ó’c,” the narrator’s older brother dies at sea and her grandfather says that the
The Vietnam War was a controversial conflict that plagued the United States for many years. The loss of life caused by the war was devastating. For those who came back alive, their lives were profoundly changed. The impact the war had on servicemen would affect them for the rest of their lives; each soldier may have only played one small part in the war, but the war played a huge part in their lives. They went in feeling one way, and came home feeling completely different. In the book Vietnam Perkasie, W.D. Ehrhart describes his change from a proud young American Marine to a man filled with immense confusion, anger, and guilt over the atrocities he witnessed and participated in during the war.
Anh Do’s story starts and centres of one thing, family. In the book ‘The Happiest Refugee’ written by the successful Australian comedian Anh Do, his autobiography starts when Anh’s role model his father steered them out of a war, poverty and misfortune from the country of Vietnam in 1980 over the rough seas into his beloved home today, Australia. To what he has pushed through and become to this day, merely by having a ‘can do attitude’ and consistently showing bravery and exceptional resilience throughout every challenge he faces.
While many people around the world look to America and see a better life waiting for them and the American Dream waiting to be lived, often times this dream never comes to fruition, even if they do reach America. Such is the case in the short story Grandma’s Tales, by Andrew Lam in which a recently deceased Vietnamese grandmother becomes reborn as a much younger and improved version of herself ready to live life to the fullest. This rebirth symbolizes the life that she wishes she lived, however due to constant conflict and famine in Vietnam, and her deteriorating health in America, was never able to do so. Instead of mourning this fact, in her final days the grandmother chooses to live her life through her granddaughters,
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugee is a term applied to anyone who is outside his/her own country and cannot return due to the fear of being persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a group or political opinion. Many “refugees” that the media and the general public refer to today are known as internally displaced persons, which are people forced to flee their homes to avoid things such as armed conflict, generalized violations of human rights or natural and non-natural disasters. These two groups are distinctly different but fall ...
Hayslip, Le Ly, and Jay Wurts. When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace. New York: Plume, 1990. Print.
After the fall of the Saigon in 1975, Heidi’s mother- Mrs. Mai Thi Kim decided to send her to America as fearing for her uncertain future in Vietnam. Twenty two years later years, Heidi eventually found her Vietnamese mother. However, as she was raised in the States, Heidi is now "101%" American and has little knowledge of her Vietnamese heritage. Undoubtedly, this reality reveals potentials for cultural collision.
Considering that the Syrians are seeking an escape from the same exact thing that Americans are, why have they not been accepted into America? Like many of the 70,000 refugees who are accepted into the United States every year, Syrian refugees search for shelter from wars and hope for a prosperous future (Welsh 1). Teresa Welsh, a writer for the “U.S. News and World Report”, describes in her article “Why the U.S. Can’t Resettle Syrian Refugees” that “the U.S. should be doing more to help resettle those fleeing conflict and repressive governments in the Middle East and Asia” (Welsh 1). The Syrians desire escape from a repressive government with no chance of rebuilding a better future; therefore, they seek support from outside countries, like the United States and other European countries. Observations made by International and Scholar Service Students at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis have found that two of America’s values include “Equality” and “Goodness of Humanity” (“Key American Values”).
"Syrian refugees in Lebanon still suffering." The Economist. N.p., 30 Oct 2014. Web. 20 Jan "The Refugees." New York Times 5 September 2013, n. pag. Print.
Nevertheless, contrary to his thinking, my decision was going to stay in the US although I had many problems in finance and language, and I’ve never regretted about my choice. My life now is the best evidence to prove that I was not wrong in my thinking. For example: I could find a good job to certainly of my benefit such as payment rent, or car. Also, I could save my time at school to improve knowledge and breaking down language barriers. Nobody denies, accomplishment now is the result of the process of striving after 4 years in the US, but I do not ever denied the help of my uncle because they give to me a new life in new country. My mom said, “The children must be grateful to those who helped them. Especially, if somebody makes you sad, then write it down on sand, and if they save your live, you must write it down on stone”. Because the words on sand could have disappear, but on the stone still exit that means people must remember the help from other that also the traditional spirit of the Vietnamese