A Tribute To The Vietnamese Community

Vietnamese nowadays appear everywhere around the world. After the event on April 30th, 1975, which was the Fall of Saigon, millions of South Vietnamese went on boats to fleet away from Vietnam to find freedom, new lives, and new beginnings. They didn’t want to live under Communism. Their journeys across the sea were so harsh, and difficult. On the sea, they had to face many challenges and even death. According to the United Nations, there were about 300,000 people died on the sea. But after all, they had written a heroic history that generations after generations will never forget.

Phước Lộc Thọ (Asian Garden Mall) a symbol of Vietnamese community in Little Saigon.

After 48 years, Vietnamese communities have grown stronger than ever. Vietnamese started to have many achievements in science, literature, entertainment, military, and even politics. Even though they are now living in foreign countries, they never forget, and they are always proud to say “I am Vietnamese”. They always try to keep the beautiful traditions of Vietnam and bring the culture to around the world to show others that Vietnam is so beautiful and diverse. They also want to teach the next generations to try to keep those traditions and must always remember that they are Vietnamese.

These people are on a boat called Boat People. In the picture, we can see that they just met the boat of a foreign country, and nowadays, Vietnamese will never forget the open heart of foreign people that saved them from the brink of death. We can see the happiness on their faces, but also we can feel that they are desperate and tired. Because before they were rescued, they thought that the faith had come to them. 

Yes, it was always challenging to fleet away on the sea. They went on every small boat which contained many people. There were so many dangers out there over the sea that they never expected or even imagined. But they still had to go because they lost their homeland. Big storms, pirates, pangs of hunger, and diseases were their worst nightmares that they would never forget. 

But the past is the past, they try to leave those memories in the past to think about the present and the future lives. Vietnamese chose South California to be their second Homeland, which they call Refugee Capital. They created a big Vietnamese community in Orange County, and they even had their own city called Little Saigon, a symbol of Vietnamese when everyone around the world come here to visit. Years after years, the Vietnamese grow up strong and more stable than other communities because the Vietnamese were always united, not separated. 

Far away from the homeland, Vietnamese always try to adapt to new lives but they always remember to keep the beautiful traditions of Vietnam. On every streets, you can see many Vietnamese restaurants with delicious cuisines, especially Pho, a popular food of Vietnam. You also can meet many boba shop, a very famous drink that only Vietnamese have. Vietnamese community have broadcast television, radios in order to update the latest news of Vietnam or foreign countries. 

In Little Saigon, Vietnameses have very famous spot that not only tourists but people in America remember, which is Asian Garden Mall, in Vietnamese means Phuoc Loc Tho. The name goes after three gods of Vietnam. Phuoc stands for happiness, Loc stands for prosperity and Tho stand for long living. Inside the mall, you can see restaurants, clothes shops and especially, jewelry shops.

Tet is a tradition day of Vietnam. Tet is when every childrens, everyone return home to reunion with their family. It is also the occasion for family to enjoy their holiday together. Tet can be compared to Christmas or New Year. With people who are Buddhist, they will go to temple to pray for a new year with happiness, prosperity for families. One of my favorite tradition in Tet is lucky money. On the first day of New Year, adults in family will give childrens red envelopes which have money inside for luck. 

Far away from home, Vietnamese has different ways to celebrate Tet. Because they don’t have Tet holiday, they often have parade on the street to celebrate. People will wear ao dai, a tradition clothes of Vietnam from many years. They walk on the street with beautiful smile under the flag of Republic of Vietnam. They also go to temples or they can go to Tet fair to play traditional games. 

There are many ways that Vietnamese can celebrate Tet. But one thing for sure that they will always keep this tradition.

This is the next generation of Vietnamese American. They are young, sweet, kind and want to learn more about community and traditions. Many scouts are created for them from kids to teenagers to join in order to have fun with friends, to have more knowledges about Vietnam and learn the beautiful cultures of Vietnam. Through those activities, they will have a different point of view about what is happening in Vietnam, how the previous generation built this community like now and the most important is that they will never forget that they are Vietnamese.

I was born in Vietnam and I came to America when I was only 11 years old. Thought that I would never adapt to the new life but luckily, I met Vietnamese friends here and they helped me. I can see that Vietnamese community always care for each other. From days on the sea to days in America, Vietnameses always try to keep the culture from generation to generation. And as the next generation, I will always try my best to keep this tradition because I am proud to be Vietnamese (Tôi tự hào mình là người Việt Nam).