It was a portrait, simple enough: one man’s face on a poster tacked onto the wall of a small video shop in Westminster. Yet it was enough to set off a raging firestorm in the heart of Little Saigon. Within days, an extremely hostile mob was ready to tear that shop owner to pieces for daring to put up that picture and insulting the very community in which he resided: the Vietnamese American community of Little Saigon, and all the others that sprung up after April 30th, 1975.
When my dad told me about how he’d never go back, I understood. He, like so many others, lost family and a country in that conflict. He is still pained to see how the people still suffer today, how after over three decades of peace and despite all the improvement, Vietnam still remains plagued with problems of poverty and development. To him, Vietnam’s flag is yellow with three red stripes. To me, the country is an amalgamation of the legacies of war and exodus. The reason why overseas Vietnamese communities exist is precisely because Saigon fell.
I feel that my identity as a Vietnamese American is inescapably intertwined with this history, and wonder if is it possible for me to be Vietnamese American without this historical baggage. Among many of the Vietnamese Americans of my generation, not many ever discuss or concern themselves with it; it is their parents’ burden. And this is completely understandable. We are where we are now, and we must build our lives towards the future as citizens of the countries where we reside. But in this assimilation, much is lost; many of the younger generation barely have a grasp of the Vietnamese language, let alone the history. In a country built upon the lifeblood of immigrants, this culture becomes that much more valuable because it sets us apart from the rest, and it reminds us of who we are and why we are here.
But, this is only me. Whatever I feel about the connection of our identity to our history, my views are relative only to myself. There are others of this community who do not see this historical connection with such a heavy emphasis and implication on our identity, with their own valid reasons. The war itself was painful enough; why continue to carry the burden when so much work lies ahead, when this burden would only serve to deepen and retain bitterness towards each other? There are also those who had to struggle vicariously to rebuild their lives after losing everything; surely they had other priorities than keeping this past alive. I have no right to judge them any more or less than I would want them to judge me.
For our community here, I feel that it is not possible to understand the term Vietnamese American without its historical context. The dissipation of the memory of South Vietnam is an egregious insult to all who suffered in the war, from the dead to those who survived it. The life of every Vietnamese refugee who resettled elsewhere in the world was caused by, and is defined by, this past. The Jewish community today—despite being spread throughout the many corners of this world—remains steadfast and united because they cherished and fought hard to not only retain their history, but so that the world acknowledged their past, pain, and suffering. Their bond today is strong because of it, and the strength of their community has allowed them to thrive. I wonder if the overseas Vietnamese communities today could gain just as much by holding onto our past, but I also question its efficacy in considering how the opening of old wounds would affect relations among the Vietnamese globally today.
And here at home, the face of Little Saigon is slowly changing with a continual influx of newly arrived Vietnamese. To any outsider who looks at our community, they see only that it is getting bigger. But they may not see the loss of history that lies in the balance. Those who arrive now do seek better lives and more opportunity, just like the founders of Little Saigon did. However, they do not share the experience of that exodus, the harrowing escape, and the struggle to establish a new life after everything was lost. Like many of its counterparts around the world, Little Saigon will still be a Vietnamese community. But Vietnamese for whom? What if our community became disengaged with our history to the point where someone else wanted to make a statement with Ho Chi Minh’s picture? Would Little Saigon still be Little Saigon when this portrait is tolerated? What would that say about us?
I ask those of you who read this because I feel that this question does mean something to you, as someone who is a part of this overseas Vietnamese community. What does your history really mean to you? And to those of you who are parents, what do you tell your children about their Vietnamese heritage? What do you choose to pass onto them?
To the living, we owe justice. To the dead, we owe the truth. Over three decades of war with millions of lives lost, and countless others irrevocably touched. How ironic that this brutal and costly conflict was waged to defend an ideology that is now quickly crumbling away to rampant capitalism. What was it all for then? Silence on the subject does injustice to both; we insult the memory of those who lost their lives by forcefully forgetting why they perished, and we insult those still living today by disregarding the flag and country that they lost so much for. Officially, there is only one Vietnam today. But it doesn’t mean we have to let go of the memory of the Vietnam our parents remember. As part of a community with its origins in this exile, this history is our burden; it is our pride, our reason of being, and it is who we are.
Image from here
Great article Daniel! As a Vietnamese-American born in Vietnam I agree that my identity is intricately entwined with Vietnam’s history. My family wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the war. I sometimes imagine what my life would have been like if I had grew up in Vietnam…and am very grateful for the sacrifices my parents made for the sakes of their children. Since the fall of Saigon on 4/30/75, many Vietnamese immigrants have had to make the difficult decision to seek refuge in various parts of the world for numerous reasons (political persecution, economic opportunities, etc.).
With regards to the title of your article, I strongly believe that words and symbols hold great meaning in our society, particularly in our Vietnamese community. I recalled joining protests in San Jose in 2008 against Madison Nguyen and the “Little Saigon” naming controversy. Many outsiders (and even some within the Vietnamese community) didn’t quite understand why it was such a big deal whether it was named “Little Saigon” or “Saigon Business District” or “Vietnam Town Business District.” But to the majority of us who grew up hearing stories from our parents and grandparents – about losing their homeland, lost and broken families, and witnessing countless sacrifices – “Little Saigon” signified a defiance towards the current government of Vietnam and to hold on to a little part of the past. In fact, it was heartbreaking to stand outside SJ city hall and hear the countless members of our community attest as to why the name “Little Saigon” was so important to them. I mean “Saigon” was significant enough that the communists decided to erase the name of our beloved city altogether and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. Yes, we must learn to build our lives and owe allegiance to our country of residence but that does not mean we can forget the past. There’s a saying, “Uống nước phải nhớ tới nguồn – Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây,” which is to say that those of our generation and future generations cannot forget the past (and sacrifices of those before us) that have led us to where they are today. My parents are always worried that we’ll “mất gốc” but, one day when I have children, I hope to instill a sense of pride in our rich Vietnamese heritage and engage them to understand our history, traditions, and contribute to a better Vietnam.
Hi Nguyen, I’m really happy that you enjoyed it, and moreover, that you too value our roots. It’s just that for every member of this community, there are at least that many viewpoints and ways of thinking about this ‘dilemma’. Regardless of the diversity of perspective, I think that we all have much to gain (as does our community) in being unified in our beliefs and convictions. And that, I’ve still no idea how to go about. But it starts with each of us reaching out and holding onto this past. And I tried to keep in mind that I’m not the only ‘Vietnamese’, so I have to try to remember that there’s no one way going about it. Now if we could only find a common enough ground where people would willingly take a stance.
Hi Daniel, I really liked the article. The questions you pose really resonated with me and I believe you raise many important issues that all overseas Vietnamese struggle with daily. For instance, I know I struggle constantly to answer what my connections are with our unified Vietnamese legacy.
As you said, the events in Vietnam in the 70’s defines how we’re here and who we are today. However, I think in the grander scheme of things the thousands of years of shared heritage with the people of Vietnam going back to the Hung Kings are something that should NOT be forgotten. It makes me sad to see that today such non-controversial memorials such as “le hung vuong” are forgotten not only amongst 1st generation Vietnamese-Americans but also the free-wheeling youth of Vietnam today. History and heritage are important and it unites us all…maybe it’s too much to hope that the past 30-50 years can be overlooked and the other thousands of years of culture before that can be a uniting factor for Vietnamese everywhere.
Nam P agree with you 100%. Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/tocapturetime/sets/72157626520336808/
Yes many people get stuck in the past few decades of the civil war and forget to “Uống nước phải nhớ tới nguồn – Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây.” If you want Vietnamese to unite, then one must remember and practice our four pillars of the Vietnamese culture of thousands of years. They are Đình, Đền, Chùa, Miếu. Foreigners whom tried to destroy Việt Nam have tried for centuries trying to deteriorate those pillars!
“How ironic that this brutal and costly conflict was waged to defend an ideology that is now quickly crumbling away to rampant capitalism”
I somehow disagree with you at this point. I used to think that the North wanted to conquered the South for the sake of communism. However, by reading documents about this war, experiencing the opinion of many Vietnamese, I believe that they fought mainly for unification and independence of Vietnam. Many North Vietnamese soldiers held no ideology but they fought for their homeland. The communist government happened to be a better regime than the one in Saigon and they gained better support. VNCH lost because they ignored negotiating with the North and terrorized the communists in the South.
Yes, we Vietnamese in both sides harbor bitter memory about the tragic past. We all suffered. We are sad the war divided our people. Everybody fought for what they thought was right. However it’s over and no one keeps talking about the hatred anymore. We look forward for the future and respect each others regardless of where we come from and what political stance we have.
Hi Son, thank you for your perspective. You’re absolutely right, in that we must “forward for the future and respect each others regardless of where we come from and what political stance we have.” But I still feel that this can be done where history and perspective isn’t lost. America’s bloodiest war was fought on its own soil between the Union and the Confederacy. When it was over, the Union acknowledged the South, and helped in its reconstruction. It did not persecute the members of the former Confederate regime, nor did it deny its significant. As a result, today, America is that much stronger for it. As Nam P. and Lucas said below closely to your words, we must remember that we were Vietnamese before the war, and that there are thousands of years of culture binding us. I feel that in dealing with this past, we all should be able to recognize what happened, particularly the accounts of the overseas communities that were marginalized in history for whatever reasons. These sentiments are still very strong, especially in some Vietnamese communities here in California, and in part because the communities here feel that their perspectives and experiences did not have enough acknowledgment by the world’s community, particularly that of their counterparts in Vietnam. Not to say that it should be brought back and repeated to continue to divide people, but at least so that we can really empathize with each other and really understand each other well enough to move beyond this.
I agree with you that we all should acknowledge that suffering and injustice that Vietnamese political refugees suffered. I believe that the communist government had a perfect chance to unite the country and reconcile people as the American did after Civil war. They made mistakes but I’m not the one to judge.
However I think it’s unfair that the man was protested for hanging the portrait of HCM and Vietnamese flag. That’s violation of freedom of speech. I hang my red flag of yellow star outside my apartment in USA as well. And I don’t feel offended or whatever when I step in a Vietnamese community where they hang the South Vietnamese flag. Why should someone be prevented from showing homage to his country?
Are Vietnamese too sentimental? I don’t see the same problem between Taiwanese and PRC Chinese.
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Better to spend positive energy to a constructive future. Below are some positive development between the US and Việt Nam:
– U.S. goods imports from Vietnam totaled $14.9 billion in 2010, a 21 percent from 2009.
http://www.ustr.gov/countries-regions/southeast-asia-pacific/vietnam
– US-VIETNAM trade council established
http://www.usvtc.org/httpdocs%202/index.htm