Glitter Diaries: 40 Years After the Fall of Saigon
I am proud to be Canadian with South Vietnamese roots, and the Journey to Freedom Day Act, recently receiving Royal Assent thereby making it law, is one of the many reasons why.
The individuals in the picture below are the bravest and most selfless people I know; they're my parents. Fresh out of high school in the late 1970's, my mom and dad risked their lives, leaving behind their family, friends, and the only home they'd ever known. They set themselves out to open sea in rickety and cramped boats with little food, water, or money, and no idea whether or not they were going to drown, get attacked by pirates, or successfully get away. After landing in Malaysia and Thailand respectively, and spending time at refugee camps, they arrived to Canada, where they met. I'll always be grateful to my parents, but also to Canada, who opened its arms to so many Vietnamese Boat People and refugees, like my parents.
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| {My parents in Canada during the mid-1980's} |
May Vietnamese people all over the world, including the children of former Vietnamese Boat People like me, never forget the sacrifices and the risks taken by everyone who escaped the cruel communist regime in Vietnam.
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| {This was my introduction, and start of my involvement with the Vietnamese community in Ottawa, which began in 2005} |
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| {Pictured here in my first-ever Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese costume), made in Vietnam and brought back to Canada by my maternal grandmother, in 2005} |
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| {Singing at the future site of the Vietnamese Boat People Museum in Ottawa} |
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| {Performing in Montreal, Quebec, for a Vietnamese cultural event, commemorating the Fall of Saigon} |
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{Singing "Bonjour Vietnam" (or "Hello Vietnam" in English) at the University of Ottawa's International Gala in 2010 at the Casino du Lac-Leamy}
{My dad went in search of the owners of the boat that he hid on when he escaped from Vietnam and found the wife of the owner, now living in Rochester, NY. Here they are, reunited, over 35 years later, in 2014}
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Such an amazing story Ivy! I loved reading it and so glad to hear how proud of your roots you are. Amazing ;)
ReplyDeleteWow, what a wonderful story! It was so great to read more about you and your background.
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