Born and raised in 1950’s Saigon, the capitol of South Vietnam, Father had a middle-class upbringing; his mother was a nurse and his father was a teacher. He lived in a bungalow with his parents and five siblings. He excelled in math and was chosen to compete in municipal math contests several times. In his spare time, he ran and played with his neighbors on the front lawn of their houses. He went to school from 7am to 12pm or 12pm to 5pm depending on the day for five days a week. On the weekends, he would go to Vung Tau, a neighborhood of Saigon, to enjoy the beach. He dreamt of someday becoming a doctor because the medical profession was cherished and highly revered in Vietnam. Even though he was born during the Vietnam War, the city of Saigon was fairly peaceful throughout the war and its citizens endured little suffering.
But then one day, when Father was 13 years old, everything changed for him. As the sounds of guns blazing and tanks rolling began to trickle into the city, he looked out the window and saw North Vietnamese forces beginning to enter Saigon. Heavy artillery bombardment followed with bombs and shells exploding in all directions. “Chui xuống gầm bàn!” his mother yelled. He and his siblings immediately took shelter under tables and beds in their house for fear that the roof might possibly collapse at anytime. He was terrified and thought that he would not live to see another day. Fortunately, he and his entire family survived the bombing. However, the North Vietnamese forces were able to occupy all the important points in the city. Saigon was taken over by the enemy and renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the North Vietnamese communist leader.
South Vietnam was united with North Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War and was slowly turned into a communist country. The new communist government believed that everybody was equal. They confiscated private businesses and took money away from the wealthy. The result was the spread of extreme poverty after the war ended as the country was not able to reconstruct with the help of private enterprise. In the meantime, Father was able to pursue his dreams of becoming a doctor by going to medical school. After finishing medical school, he decided to plan his escape with two of his sisters as he couldn’t see himself thriving in a communist country. His family had already planned that they should not travel together for fear that the entire family would be caught.
His escape from Vietnam was terrifying and did not come about before he had been imprisoned twice by the Viet Cong. Father recalled the first time that he was walking towards the harbor one night with two of his sisters. Adrenaline rushed through his system while the night breeze sweeped through his thin, black hair. He felt terrified of the possibility of being caught, but also excited of the possibility of escape. When he arrived at the harbor, there were already about fifty other people already there. They handed the boat owner a deposit of three gold bars (Gold bars were preferred at that time as they did not lose their value unlike money. They can be bought with money and were hidden in the house). Soon after, Viet Cong soldiers jumped out from behind nearby trees. Hope left the group as they were caught and sent to a re-education camp where they were forced to work on canals and to clean toilets.
Father was desperate as he was unsure when he would be released and scared of what the future held for him. After two months, his sisters and he were released without any trial. They believed that they were released due to an increasing number of new prisoners coming into the camp. He attempted to escape Vietnam a few more times. During one of the attempts, he was not even able to reach the harbor before he encountered whispers that Viet Cong soldiers were on patrol. The other time, he was caught and sent to a prison again for a few months. Eventually, the family sponsorship program was established and Father was able to be sponsored by one of his sisters, who was able to escape to Canada 6 years prior with her other brother.
February 15th, 1985. That was the day when Father landed in Toronto, Canada. As it was cold, he was sent to a Salvation Army store to get some winter clothes. He was both excited and scared for the future. As he learned English in Vietnam, communication in this new country was not as difficult as it could have been for him. He lived with his sister in a North York apartment and took an equivalency pre-internship at the University of Toronto for two years, completed his residency and became a doctor, finally achieving his childhood dream.
Comments (0)
See all