Voices of Vietnamese Boat People: Nineteen Narratives of Escape and Survival [Paperback]

Mary Terrell Cargill (Editor), Jade Ngoc Quang Huynh (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786407859 | ISBN-13: 978-0786407859 | Publication Date: October 2001

On April 10, 1975, the Hanoi government of North Vietnam took control over the South. South Vietnamese, particularly "intellectuals" and those thought to have been associated with the previous regime, underwent terrible punishment, persecution and "re-education." Seeking their freedom, thousands of South Vietnamese took to the sea in rickety boats, often with few supplies, and faced the dangers of nature, pirates, and starvation. While the sea and its danger claimed many lives, those who made it to the refugee camps still faced struggle and hardships in their quest for freedom.
Here are collected the narratives of nineteen men and women who survived the ordeal of escape by sea. Today, they live in the United States as students, professors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and craftspeople who have chosen to tell the stories of their struggles and their triumph. Each narrative is accompanied by a brief biographical note.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Terrell Cargill is an associate professor of English at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. Jade Quang Huynh, a native of Vietnam, is an assistant professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where he teaches creative writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786407859
• ISBN-13: 978-0786407859
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An aftermath of the war., January 13, 2002

By 

alainviet "alainviet" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices of Vietnamese Boat People: Nineteen Narratives of Escape and Survival (Paperback)

From 1975 to 1996, more than one million people have made the trip from Vietnamese shores to other Southeastern Asian countries braving weather, hunger, dehydration, storms, and pirates. About 500,000 others have drown or died at seas. In spite of these ordeals, these people keep rushing to the seas to flee communism. Had they had the means, the majority would have left their country.

These are the stories of 19 people who left their homeland on rickety boats, their ordeals at seas, their lives in refugee camps, and their relocation in western countries. They risked their lives to look somewhere else for FREEDOM they could not find in their country.

There are many waves of refugees throughout the years. People from the first wave were mostly professionals and went almost immediately to the U.S. or other western countries. Refugees from subsequent waves traveled in rickety boats, were less well schooled and spent a longer time in the Asian refugee camps.

The authors are to be congratulated for bringing this topic to the forefront.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book about real and courageous people, April 30, 2005

By 

Laurent Pilon (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices of Vietnamese Boat People: Nineteen Narratives of Escape and Survival (Paperback)

This book is the most moving book I have ever read.

It presents the life a Vietnamese people after 1975 through the stories of 19 vietnamese boat people who immigrated to the US after sometimes several attempts. The stories are told in simple and humble terms. They describe the life under communist ruling and the fear and courage to escape it. The book shows the life in the refugee camps around South East Asia. It is also a book about hope of a better life and about the adjustement to the American language and the American way of life. It also shows how these admirable people integrated in the US society.

The author should be congratulated for telling this untold stories that everybody who heard of Vietnam should know. All my respect and admiration to the Vietnamese people who suffered so much for so long.