Name: Loan
Birth Date: 24 December 1966

My father was an African American Soldier stationed at Long Binh Army Depot. His name is Ali. My mother met him at a bar where she worked. My Mother's husband was an ARVN soldier and was away from home for long periods of time and she worked in the bar to support her children.

My father was an African American Soldier stationed at Long Binh Army Depot. His name is Ali. My mother met him at a bar where she worked. Her husband was an ARVN soldier and was away from home for long periods of time and she worked in the bar to support her children.

Two months after I was born my mother gave me to my grandmother to raise me, as her husband hated me. When I was young I had to do most of the housework. At age of 12, I was sent to the rice fields to work. As we were to poor to buy an Ox, my job was to pull the plow. My Uncle, a Viet Cong Veteran, hated me and cursed me and beat me on the head with his stick when I couldn't pull the plow. Today I have a hard time remembering things and always have headaches.

I was treated very badly by other children and I quit school because I was always in fights. As an adult I went back to school and completed grade 5, so now I can read and write a little.

On a typical day I would get up at 5 AM and cook the breakfast for everyone. Then I had to fill all of the water tanks and I only went to the field after that was done. At about 11 AM I was permitted to go home for a one hour break. At 12 noon I returned to the fields without having lunch, and worked until 4 or 5 PM.

I do not have a job as I have no training and can only do manual work. I was married in 1990 at the age of 26. We have four children, 2 girls and 2 boys. My husband earns a living by transporting goods in a tricycle (it is a cart that he peddles like a bicycle and is very hard work). He can earn 20 to 30,000 VND a day ($1.50 to $2.00 a day).

We live in a small house in a cemetery and the government is making us move as they want more land to expand the cemetery. Our monthly income is less that $50 and is used to care for 10 people. Everyday we must go to restaurants to get food that is thrown away. We wash it and cook it again so we can have something to eat.

Who will help us get out of this misery? I don't know. So far I haven't found a solution. I really want to find my father Ali, but how can I do that? I still have two pictures of my father. I hope I can come to America to have a better for my children. My children do not like to go to school because the other students treat them bad and say "You are black, get out of here".

AAHOPE Comments: This family is one of the poorest we have met. They have a very small house and basically no furniture. The husband used to work as a tailor making men's clothing and we plan to send him back to school to learn how to do women's clothing. Loan wants to learn to be a hairdresser and how to do nails. We also want to make sure there is enough money to pay the tuition for the children to attend public school. We are looking for people or organizations to sponsor this family to help with food, housing, clothing and the training to better their lives in Vietnam, until they are permitted to immigrate to America. This particular AmerAsian was denied immigration because she doesn't look AmerAsian. You tell me.