Cameron Nguyễn

Day 1

This country is falling into pieces, now the communists are taking over and I don’t know what to do. I served in the navy for eight years now, gave my all to this country, and I got thrown into jail because of it. Headache after headache in this place, I can’t see my family and I can’t communicate with them. It is a tough time here and I’m trying to get out. They are yelling at us and treating us like crap. All of us are captives from the army, all our clothes have holes and there is no freedom, even outside.

Day 16

I was able to escape prison and I wish I didn’t see the outside world. Communism was everywhere. They are teaching kids that the leader in China is the end all be all, the only person we should follow. No Jesus, no God just the leaders at the top. My daughter came home and told me what she was learning. No freedom, this place is corrupt, Saigon is no longer Saigon, and it just doesn’t feel like home. It was at that moment when I knew we had to leave.

Day 27

It is late at night, freezing cold, and my kids are all tired and confused, I told them that we have to go and I’ll explain later. We boarded the boat, along with 108 others. It is a cramped tight space we are all laying on top of each other. Since I was in the navy I took over as captain of the boat, it had to be a slow trip out to avoid noise. This is about to be a long boat ride out of here.

Day 31

Four days at sea and we landed in Malaysia, the trip was filled with waves, cold water, and a lot of sickness. We are all cold, wet, and everyone is shivering. Luckily, we were able to stay in a refugee camp while we tried to get to America and get back on track. However, at least we were able to escape and find some freedom. We tried to get to America and I need to find a way to get there. We don’t have any documents, and I am worried that we will have to stay here

Day 573

Now we are on our own, we got a house and I have to go to work. I have two jobs, I work at a restaurant, I wash dishes and even have to make food at times, and I make textbooks for the school, print them out and deliver them. There are days when I have to cook rice, chop vegetables, or even clean up. It is hard work everyday, they treat me like I’m nothing and I can’t say anything because I don’t know the language they speak. It’s not that easy to learn english, I can’t go to school and I have to work to provide for us.

Day ???

It’s been a pain over the years, every year we have to move homes, we can’t stay long -term and we have to find schools for the kids every year. We never stayed long to have friends, and we had to find new jobs every time. One homeowner was terrible when it came to the house, he would not fix the water, he was being very stubborn about them, the pipes were old and broken, and I was left to fix them.

Reflection:

This Project was definitely an awe-inspiring experience, it opened my mind to what my family values and why they value it. My appreciation for my grandfather has seen a huge spike and, it sounds like I'm five years old but, I view him as a hero and a true inspiration (well at least to me).