The Vietnamese Boat People

#54 The Sampan

Phillip, the oldest of three siblings, joined the military at age 18 and was deployed to Afghanistan. The Fall of Kabul and the resulting turmoil that led to a mass exodus of refugees, changed his perspective of his parents and gave him context for what they lived through after the war in Vietnam. His father was one of nine Vietnamese refugees who fled the country in 1984 in a small sampan fishing boat with no motor and just two oars. After seven days at sea, they were picked up by a French merchant ship and eventually resettled in the U.S. Their boat was tugged to France by the merchant ship and Phillip’s father always dreamed about finding that boat again. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Phillip joined his father on a mission: find the sampan. They embarked on a quest for answers that would lead them to France, then California, and would eventually reunite the group of survivors nearly three decades later. 
Episode Credits:
Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn Mang
Associate Producer: Saoli Nguyễn
VBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina Vo
Other music: The Quiet Hours, TREVOR KOWALSKI; Shifting Waters; HELMUT SCHENKER; I Will Remember, GAVIN LUKE; Image of You, JOHANNES BORNLÖF; Golden Thought; MEGAN WOLFFORD; Dismantle, PETER SANDBERG 

#53 Live Episode! Mother, Métis, Memory

Mother, Métis, Memory is a documentary film by Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn, whose practice is fueled by research and a commitment to communities that have faced traumas caused by colonialism, war, and displacement. Through his continuous attempts to engage with vanishing or vanquished historical memory, Tuấn investigates the erasures that the colonial project has brought to bear on certain parts of the world.
Mother, Métis, Memory is a documentary that captures interviews conducted in 2018 with the Senegalese-Vietnamese communities in Dakar and Malika Senegal. Throughout the First Indochina War, between 1945-1954, France had mobilized an estimated 60,000 tirailleurs in Vietnam. Tirailleurs, or Senegalese soldiers, were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army and among the forces deployed to Indochina to combat the Vietnamese uprising against French rule. After the beginning of the end of the French Empire, hundreds of Vietnamese women and their children migrated to West Africa with Senegalese husbands, some voluntarily but others against their will. Some soldiers left their wives and took only their children, while others took children not their own and raised them in Senegal without connection to their Vietnamese origins. 
This interview was part of a film screening event hosted by Vietnamese Boat People and Co-sponsored by Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University during Tuấn's first USA solo exhibition Radiant Remembrance opened on June 29, 2023 at the New Museum 235 Bowery in New York City. 
Photo: Taken from Mother, Métis, MemoryEpisode Credits: Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangAssociate Producer: Saoli NguyenVBP Theme Music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther Music: Na, SILLABA; Lysithea, CANDELION

#52 A Love Story

Kim Thái, shares the story of how her parents Chánh and Phượng Thái met, fell in love, and began their journey as husband and wife, only to get separated by the aftermath of the war in Việt Nam. During the height of the war, her father was stationed abroad, and made the decision to return to Việt Nam to be with his wife and baby, even though many had advised him not to. Upon his return, her father was imprisoned in a re-education camp, everything was taken from them and her mother had to find a way to raise their child alone. Their story is one that proves above all else, love prevails through war, separation, and hardship, even when all odds are stacked against you. This episode celebrates 50 years of their love and marriage. 
 
This episode is directed and produced by VBP 2023 Mỹ Việt Story Slam storyteller Kim Thái, a writer and Emmy-award winning producer whose work can be seen on MTV, TED,  New York Magazine’s The Cut, Newsweek, and Buzzfeed. 
 
Show Credits:VBP Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoInterview conducted by Kim Thái and Khuê Thái FarmerEpisode directed and produced by Kim TháiSound design and editing by Jess Kaufman
Music CreditsOf Virtue, Pensive Gaze, Her own device, Hybrid rhythmics, Once in a life, Until Now, A Quiet Storm, Inspiration

#51 Ngày Về Của Bố

Siblings Hương, Karin Hạnh, Hedda Hiếu, and Benjamin Hoàng Nguyễn grew up together in the San Francisco Bay Area in a boisterous Vietnamese American family. In 2019, their father, Nguyễn Khánh Hưng, a first-generation immigrant from Việt Nam, passed away. To pay tribute to their father, the siblings participated in our 3rd Annual Mỹ Việt Story Slam in 2022 with their spoken word piece, “Ngày Về Của Bố” (roughly, “The Day of Dad’s Return”), a reflection on grief and Vietnamese mourning rituals. In this special episode of Vietnamese Boat People, the Nguyễn siblings are at the helm as our first-ever guest hosts. They’ve brought their group dynamic and conversational style to Vietnamese Boat People’s format, in order to delve into their father’s life, legacy, who he was, and his unique and multifaceted experiences.
The siblings also host a podcast called Growing Up Nguyễn, a story of 4 siblings holding onto our identity while fulfilling our parents’ dreams: the blessings and challenges of being Nguyễn in America.
Episode Credits:Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangAssociate Producer: Saoli NguyễnVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther music: Broken Bowl, POLLYANNA MAXIM; Joy in the Little Things, SAYURI HAYASHI EGNELL“Ngày Về Của Bố”: courtesy of Hương, Karin Hạnh, Hedda Hiếu, and Benjamin Hoàng Nguyễn

#50 2023 Mỹ Việt Story Slam

The Vietnamese Boat People’s fourth annual Mỹ Việt Story Slam celebrates stories from the Vietnamese diaspora, and explores the theme of Ba, Mẹ ơi. Five storytellers were selected from an open call for submissions, to share stories about their mom, dad, or someone they consider to be a parent-figure. This live, virtual event features Cindy Truong (Connecticut), Vanessa Nguyễn (New York), Kim Thai (New York), Geoff Vu (Liverpool), and Nicole Ngo (Sydney) with guest appearances from Jackie Nguyễn, entrepreneur and owner of CafeCaphe and filmmaker Bao Nguyễn. The event replay and featured stories can be viewed online at www.vietnameseboatpeople.org
Thank you to this year's Story Supporters: Qeep Up, VietFive Coffee, Key to Teas, Red Boat Fish Sauce, Hello to Chao, Quill Hawk Publishing, Media Vines, Traveling Calligrapher, Kahana Press, Contemporary Arts Network. 
 
Episode CreditsExecutive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangStory Slam Production Team: Megan Do, Saoli Nguyễn, Bella Nguyễn, Tricia Vuong, Matt Young VBP Theme Song: Clarity, Paulina VoOther Music: Solidarity On; John T Graham, Featuring Michael Stenmark

#49 Mai American

Kevin Truong was born in a refugee camp. His mom fled Việt Nam with his two older sisters, while two months pregnant with him. Kevin grew up in Oregon ashamed of his immigrant mother and how un-American their lives felt. For the past ten years Kevin has been working on a documentary called Mai American. The film is about a 70-year-old Vietnamese American refugee living in Oregon who writes down her life story, indelibly shaped by the War in Việt Nam. As she shares what she has written with Kevin, they begin separate but parallel journeys confronting the traumas of their past and the emotional divide in their present.The film is more than just a story about a Vietnamese refugee, or the immigrant experience, it is an American story and at the heart of it, a story about the relationship between a mother and a son. 
Mai American is one of five film projects participating in the 2023 DocPitch, a film pitching competition presented by the California Film Institute. https://www.doclands.com/docpitch-mai-american/ Episode Credits:Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangAssociate Producer: Saoli NguyễnVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther music: Fugetsu, SAYURI HAYASHI EGNELL; Somewhere Ahead, DANIEL KAEDEMai American trailer: courtesy of Kevin Truong

#48 Buried Ruins

Buried Ruins is a play written by Vietnamese American actor and playwright, Carolina Đỗ . It started out as a series of interviews that Carolina did with her parents, over the course of almost nine years, and turned into a personal writing project about memory and wishful dreams. The play is centered around a series of torturously absurd family dinners interrupted by glitches of memories of the past. It is a reflection of Carolina’s own experiences about Vietnamese parents and daughters trying to get through to one another despite generational trauma and the force of cultural assimilation. The play premiered in a staged reading in New York City with an all Vietnamese team, both onstage and backstage. This episode features discussions with Carolina, "Buried Ruins" director Cara Hinh, and actor Bi Jean Ngo. The conversation delves into the making of "Buried Ruins", the process of learning about one's parents, and what it’s like to be Vietnamese American in the theater industry.
Note: This episode contains some adult language that may not be appropriate for all ages. 
Episode Credits:Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyễn MangAssociate Producer: Saoli NguyễnVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther music: A Certain Shade of Blue: Paper Twins, Inside Clarity: Synthetic Tides

#47 Live Episode! Making Before Me w/Lisa Phu

Lisa Phu is an Alaska-based journalist and the creator of "Before Me", a limited series chronicling her mother’s journey to America. Lisa has always wanted to record her mom's story but never quite found the right moment, until she gave birth to her first child in 2016 and her mom came to care for them both. During that visit, Lisa's mom finally shared the real story about growing up in Cambodia, fleeing genocide by the Khmer Rouge, surviving as a gold dealer in Vietnam, building a home in America while navigating the fallout and traumas of war… and carrying the future of her children throughout the journey. Lisa shares her 5-year journey in making the series from the first day she pressed record to releasing the story, Before Me with Self Evident Media. 
 
"Before Me" is a 5-part story that follows one woman’s life, from Cambodia to America, over the course of decades. But it’s also a long overdue conversation between mother and daughter about their family’s history — through war and violence, separation and loss, endings and beginnings. To make Before Me, Lisa was awarded an Individual Artist Grant from the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and did a residency at Alderworks Alaska Writers & Artists Retreat. She was an AIR New Voices scholar in 2017 and an AIR Edit Mode fellow in 2021.
Photo: Lan Phu holds her granddaughter Acacia in 2016 Oct
Episode Credits:Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyen MangEditing Support: Matt YoungVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther music: Free Mind: Wildflowers, In-Between Heartbeats: Headlund
 

#46 Bonus Episode: Before Me

PodSwap with Self Evident podcast!
Before Me is a limited series launched by Self Evident with Alaska-based journalist Lisa Phu, chronicling her mother’s journey from Cambodia to America over the course of decades. The story unfolds between Lisa and her mother Lan as the two care for Lisa's first born daughter — and for the first time, Lan feels ready to share her own experiences fully with Lisa, on tape. But it’s also a long overdue conversation between mother and daughter about their family’s history — through war and violence, separation and loss, endings and beginnings. Because while we may never fully understand the reality of those who came before us, every story is a chance to get closer. 
Listen to the full show at Self Evident podcast
Episode Credits:Created, written, and produced by Lisa PhuEdited by Julia ShuFact checking by Harsha Nahata and Tiffany BuiSound design by James BooAdditional support from Cathy ErwayOriginal theme music by Avery StewartAdditional music by Blue Dot SessionsAudio engineering by Dave Waldron and Timothy Lou LyCover art and show name created by Christine CarpenterAudience engagement by Rekha RadhakrishnanThanks to Ben Kiernan for participating in the research and reporting processHuge thanks and gratitude to Lan Phu“Before Me” is a Self Evident Media production. The show’s Executive Producers are James Boo, Lisa Phu, and Ken Ikeda.This project is also supported in part by the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and the City and Borough of Juneau.Thanks to the Alderworks Alaska Writers & Artists Retreat for the residency they provided for this project.

#45 Bonus Episode: Suzanne Thi Hien Hook

PodSwap with Seven Million Bikes Podcast!Suzanne Thi Hien Hook was a baby found on the street and placed in an orphanage during the Vietnam War. She’s Amerasian; with a Vietnamese mother and an African-American soldier father. She was adopted into a white English family and moved to the UK when she was just three years old. Unfortunately it was not the beginning of a happy childhood that many would expect. Despite an abusive upbringing she became a trained chef, gained a business degree and started a successful company. In 2006 she visited Vietnam for the first time to connect with her roots. That experience changed the trajectory of her life. There she met other children in orphanages which had a profound effect on her. When she returned to the UK, she realized money didn’t buy happiness, and sold all of her possessions to start Allambie orphanage in Vietnam. She wanted every child, orphaned, adopted, fostered, or living in the streets to be cared for, and most importantly wanted to give them a sense of belonging.
This episode contains topics on abuse.
Episode Credits: Seven Million Bikes Podcast Host & Producer: Niall MackaySeven Million Bikes theme music composed by Lewis WrightVBP Host & Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyen MangVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina Vo

#44 Bonus Episode: Listening Party

The stories we share on Vietnamese Boat People are often harrowing tales of people surviving adversities and finding strength and resilience to move forward. Diving into their family histories and trauma, our interviewees can all be described as brave and introspective. And the same can also be said about our listeners. Over the years, listeners have reached out to us sharing how the podcast has given them a newfound connection with the culture. Our desire to bring people together to share stories and experiences, along with inspiration from podcasting colleagues Self Evident and PRX, led us to organize the first VBP listening party (kinda like a book club!). 
Several members of the VBP team met up virtually to listen to and discuss episode 31: The Escape. It was our first time doing this as a group, and the experience was recorded in order to serve as a guide for anyone who wishes to do something similar. Our conversation became a deep dive into one of the most intricate stories we’ve featured, as well as a behind-the-scenes discussion about how the episode came together. We hope this inspires you to host your own listening party with students, communities or just with friends and families.  
Featuring: Tracey Nguyen Mang, Saoli Nguyen, Matt Young, Bella Nguyen, Anthony Nguyen, and Brandon Nguyen
The video version of this episode can be found on the VBP YouTube channel and on our videocast page.
Episode Credits:Associate Producer: Saoli NguyenVBP theme music: Clarity, Paulina VoOther music: Hop In (Instrumental Version): Iso Indies

#43 Bonus Episode: Healing Thru Writing

Family Histories & Emotional Truths: Healing Thru WritingAn intimate discussion with three Vietnamese-Americans who turned to writing as a way to confront and reconcile with their histories and upbringings. Featuring:Alison Hong Nguyen Lihalakha, author of Salted Plums ;Christina Vo, author of The Veil Between Two Worlds ;Len Tran, author of Split Up By The Sea
Replay of the discussion is also available on Vietnamese Boat People Youtube channelEpisode Credits: Host & Executive Producer: Tracey Nguyen MangSupported by New Jersey Council for the Humanities 2022-23 Action Grant and Quill Hawk Publishing in effort to inspire the community to learn about family histories and contribute stories to the VBP Journeys digital collection at www.vietnameseboatpeople.org/journeys