Browsing 15 items in the Vietnamese Boat People
Item 1
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Phan Dam
Creator: MHSO; Jennifer Bonnell
Date: 10/2/2002
Subject: Dam, Phan - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Phan Dam was born in Hanoi, North Vietnam. In 1954 he and his family moved to Saigon, in South Vietnam. Then, in 1961 Mr. Dam received a scholarship to study at a university in Australia, where he lived for several years. When he was finished his studies, Mr. Dam applied to emigrate to Canada, because of the unrest at the time in Vietnam. If he had returned home, Mr. Dam would have been conscripted into the army. In 1969 he arrived in Vancouver, later moving to Toronto for a job. Mr. Dam got a job as a professor at Centennial College, and talks about how nervous he was when he began lecturing to students, because of his accent and appearance. He later gained confidence and began to greatly enjoy teaching. He also provides information on the Vietnamese community in Toronto, and the difficulties that Vietnamese professionals have faced getting employment in their fields in Canada. Mr. Dam also gives his opinions on the differences between Vietnamese and Canadian society, and some of the misunderstandings that may be caused by cultural differences.
Item 2
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview- Thi Goi Nguyen
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 12/2/1979
Subject: Nguyen, Thi Goi - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Thi Goi Nguyen had a difficult time growing up in An-Giang, South Vietnam, where she was born in 1943. She was the third child in a family of five, and her parents ran the only grocery store in a village of mostly peasants. Ms. Nguyen's father died during her early childhood as a result of robbery. At the age of 15, Ms. Nguyen left her hometown for Saigon following the death of mother. She also had great misfortune in her personal relationships with men. After two failed marriages, Ms. Nguyen married a Filipino man who was working in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. When South Vietnam fell to the Communists, all dependents of Filipino nationals were evacuated to Manila. Once in the Philippines, Ms. Nguyen discovered that her husband had already been married to a Filipino woman before he was sent to Vietnam. Ms. Nguyen then cut off all relations with him. In 1977, after two and half years in the Philippines, Ms. Nguyen and her children were admitted to Canada as Vietnamese refugees. She says that they encountered very few difficulties with the resettlement in Toronto. Ms. Nguyen feels happy to be in Canada but always tries to preserve Vietnamese traditions within her own family and the Vietnamese community in Toronto.
Item 3
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Tran Van Chong
Creator: MHSO; Rose Zhu
Date: 4/16/1990
Subject: Chong, Tran Van - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Tran Van Chong was born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, in 1957. His father worked in a paper factory until he was injured and unable continue the physical labour. The family sustained themselves by selling bean sprouts, and supplying water to neighbours. Mr. Chong’s parents provided for him to go to school- after finishing high school he wrote entrance examinations for university, and was accepted to pursue medical studies. While in university, Mr. Chong had very little money for food, and often ate only one meal a day, consisting of rice and vegetables. He became frustrated by the Communist government, which controlled how he was able to practice his profession, and made it difficult for ordinary people to receive medical attention. Mr. Chong decided to flee Vietnam, and borrowed money to pay the shipmen who were smuggling out refugees. His boat that he took was docked on a deserted island for five days, and he almost died of starvation. Luckily, the refugees encountered an Indonesian fisherman, and gave him a gold ring in exchange for transportation to a refugee camp. They successfully arrived at the camp and were helped by representatives from the United Nations. Mr. Chong emigrated to Canada, where he continued to pursue his medical career, and he got a job working at Wellesley Hospital in Toronto.
Item 4
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Vinh Phuc Doan
Creator: MHSO; Rose Zhu
Date: 5/6/1990
Subject: Doan, Vinh Phuc - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Vinh Phuc Doan was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1955. His father was an officer in the city government, until the occupation of South Vietnam, when he lost his job. Mr. Doan’s father then moved the family to a suburb outside of Saigon and bought a small piece of land to farm. However, three years later the government confiscated his land and he was unemployed again. Six of the sons worked physical labour jobs in order to support the family. Mr. Doan attended school, and was accepted to Saigon University. Because he was in school, he was able to avoid conscription into the army. During his second year of University, South Vietnam was occupied and his studies were disrupted for one year. Mr. Doan as unable to find satisfactory employment under the new regime, and tried to flee Vietnam twice, finally succeeded on the third attempt. He spent seven days living on a boat with nothing to eat except for a slice of ginseng; two people died during the journey. When they finally arrived in Indonesia, Mr. Doan was so ill he could not smile or eat, and felt that he had almost died. He emigrated to Canada, where he attended school full time and got a job as a part-time kitchen worker. At the time of this interview, his wife and two children were still in Vietnam.
Item 5
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Phuoug Ugoc Ho
Creator: MHSO; Interviewer
Date: 6/9/1989
Subject: Ho, Phuoug Ugoc - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Phuoug Ugoc Ho was born in a small village in Vietnam. He has a large family, and was one of seven children. Many of his family members remained in that village. Mr. Ho was a farmer in Vietnam, and had only received a very elementary education. With the unfolding conflicts in Vietnam, Mr. Ho fled the country and sought refuge in Malaysia. He spent a few years in a refugee camp in Malaysia, before finally being accepted by Canada. He arrived in Canada as a refugee in May 1987, and later gained Landed Immigrant status. The first place he lived in Canada was Sarnia, and the government paid for him to study English there for six months. He later moved to Toronto where he was able to get a job as a factory worker. Mr. Ho was the only member of his family to escape Vietnam, and he sends them money. He hopes to raise enough money to sponsor his family to come and join him in Canada.
Item 6
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Van Long Bui
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 7/19/1979
Subject: Bui, Van Long - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Van Long Bui was born in Hanoi, North Vietnam, in 1920. He was the second born in a family of eight brothers and sisters. Mr. Bui became a resistance fighter against the French after World War II. He left the resistance movement a few years later when it became more closely aligned with communism. He shares his strong views on French colonialism and Vietnamese communism. After Vietnam was divided in 1954, Mr. Bui and his family moved to South Vietnam. He worked in various government departments such as Education, Fine Arts, and Foreign Affairs. At the Foreign Affairs Department, Mr. Bui completed tours of duties at the Vietnamese Embassies in Switzerland (1965-66) and in the Philippines (1970-75). In between, he was a member of the Vietnamese delegation to various international conferences, including the Nixon-Thieu Summit in Guam (1969) and the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam (1969-70). Mr. Bui rejected the idea of resettlement in the United States because of the bad memories he had associated with the Vietnam War. Mr. Bui holds Canada in high regard, in particular for its open space and multicultural society. The interview ends with Mr. Bui expressing his views on Canadian unity.
Item 7
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Van Bao Bui
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 7/20/1979
Subject: Bui, Van Bao - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Van Bao Bui was born in Thai-Binh, North Vietnam, in 1918. He was the eldest child in a family of seven children. His father died young, and so Mr. Bui was responsible for the welfare of the whole family. The family moved to Hanoi to avoid the fighting during the First Indochina War. Mr. Bui became an educator, continuing a family tradition. After the division of Vietnam in 1954, they moved again to Saigon, in South Vietnam, seeking freedom. During this time, Mr. Bui concentrated on writing educational materials for teaching children in South Vietnam. He tells a story of almost drowning when he tried to escape communism the day South Vietnam fell on 30 April 1975. Mr. Bui says that he was lucky to get a place on a boat heading from Vietnam to Hong Kong, where he stayed in a refugee camp from May to September 1975. Mr. Bui rejected an offer of resettlement in the United Sates because he wanted to join relatives already living in Toronto. His shares his views on the development of Toronto's Vietnamese community, and how it exists within a multicultural society. Mr. Bui states that he is proud to be a new Canadian citizen of Vietnamese origin.
Item 8
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Nhu Hoa Duong
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 7/20/1979
Subject: Duong, Nhu Hoa - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Nhu Hoa Duong was born in 1931 in Quang-Binh, Central Vietnam. He was the middle child of three in his family. Dr. Duong was very active in social and political activities during his youth. He left Saigon in 1948 to further his education in France. After graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nantes, Dr. Duong went on to obtain a doctorate in Nuclear Physics from the University of Paris. Before his immigration to Canada in 1967, he briefly taught at the University of Dalat (Vietnam) and also did scientific research in the U.S.A. and France. Dr. Duong personally experienced some discrimination while looking for housing in Toronto, but regarded it as minor. He gives his recollection of the very small Vietnamese community in Toronto during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Dr. Duong views Canada as a country of pioneer spirit and full of opportunities. The interview concludes with Dr. Duong expressing his sense of pride at being a new Canadian of Vietnamese heritage.
Item 9
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Thi Ngoc-Bich Tran
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 7/23/1979
Subject: Tran, Thi Ngoc-Bich - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Thi Ngoc-Bich Tran was born in Quang-Binh, Central Vietnam, in 1939. She was the third oldest child in a family of seven children. Her family moved around a lot in her early childhood, during the time of war against the French (First Indochina War). Ms. Tan graduated from Hue University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and went to Saigon to work as a Research Assistant in the Department of Economics. She was sent to Holland in 1970 to receive technical training and to interpret aerial photographs. Upon completion of her course, Ms. Tran chose not to return to Vietnam. Instead, she went to France to further her studies at the University of Paris. Ms. Tran immigrated to Canada in July 1972 under the sponsorship of own sister who lived in Scarborough, Ontario. After trying for nearly a year to improve her English, Ms. Tran finally found a job in the drafting department of the Scarborough Civic Centre and has been working steadily at the same place ever since. Ms. Tran reports that she is generally very happy with her life in Canada.
Item 10
Collection: Vietnamese Boat People
Title: Vietnamese interview - Van My Nguyen
Creator: MHSO; H.T. Ngo
Date: 7/30/1979
Subject: Nguyen, Van My - Vietnamese Canadian - Oral history
Description: Van My Nguyen was born in 1921 in the Imperial City of Hue, in Central Vietnam. He was the fourth child in a family of eight children. Mr. Nguyen joined the civil service in Danang in 1942. After a number of moves, he ended up working at an import-export company in Haiphong from 1951 to 1954. Mr. Nguyen moved to Saigon (South Vietnam) when Vietnam was divided in 1954. Following the Communist takeover of South Vietnam in April 1975, Mr. Nguyen and his family fled to Canada, joining relatives who already lived in Toronto. Mr. Nguyen is very active in the Church, and helped found the Evangelical Church of Vietnam in Canada in 1975. He says that he has had very good experiences living in Canada so far, and concludes by offering his views on the rights and obligations of Canadian citizens.
