Van Phu 8-10-1968 - Husband
Phum Quy 11-4-1991 - Son - Grade 8
Phu Nghia 23-9-1992 - Son - Grade 7

I do not know who my real parents are. The story that I have been told is this. I was left in a basket in front of a house by the market in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province. The lady in the house by where I was left thought that my mother was shopping and would come back and get me. She waited for my mother to return from early in the morning until the afternoon, but she never did.

I was wrapped in a towel and there was a dress in the basket that was to big for me. There also was a bottle of milk. When I began to cry the lady brought me into the house and fed me the milk. After six or seven days she decided to take me to an orphanage because her husband was a soldier and was afraid they would get into trouble because I was so fare skinned, and they were sure I was an AmerAsian. A taxi came to pick us up to go to the orphanage.

The taxi driver thought I was sick and he asked the lady why she doesn't take me to the hospital. The lady said no she is not my daughter, I have to take her to the orphanage. Then he says I have no children and he would like to take her and raise her as his child. The lady agreed and went to the house with the taxi driver. He wanted to take her home so he knew where she lived, but the lady would not let him. She was afraid in a few days he would bring her back and she couldn't take care of her. The taxi driver and his wife became my adoptive parents. My father continued to be a taxi driver and my mother was a housewife. She did not work out of the home.

After 1975 my father sold his car, because the government was taking half of your property and he didn't want to loose it and have nothing. Also at this time the VC from the North were coming down to Sai Gon and forcing people to feed them and live in their house. My mother would use charcoal on me to darken my skin and kept me hidden in the bedroom so the VC would not see me. I also had to be very quiet so they could not hear. This went on for about one month. My adopted parents also raised one of their nieces, so there were two of us.

Our neighbor used to call me My Lai, My Lai (AmerAsian) and would say, see you are not their daughter. When I was in kindergarten I had no friends. No one wanted to play with me because I was different and my skin so light. When the Americans left, the Vietnamese were scared to have any documents about AmerAsians, or to have one living with them. In my birth certificate, my adopted parents put their name in there as if I was their real daughter.

I had to have a birth certificate with Vietnamese parents to be able to attend public school. This birth certificate has caused a problem with me trying to immigrate to America as an AmerAsian. When I was 12 or 13 years old I helped my mother earn money by selling sweet potatoes and snacks in the apartments close by. I would do this after school on my way home. I would sell it very fast because my face was so cute and they liked it.

When I was 14 the Vietnamese knew about the AmerAsian Welcome Home program and they tried to buy me from my parents so they could use me to go to America. My parents refused to sell me. They said they have no children of their own and have risen like I was their real child. If my parents had sold me they would have gotten lots of money. My parents really love me.

When I was 17, I got married and dropped out of school during the 11th grade.

If I had the opportunity to meet my father I would be very happy. I would want to live with him the rest of my life and build a happy life with him. I know the chances of that happening are not good, because I have no information on him or my mother.

A typical day for me now is, I get up at 6 AM and start making fake money that people use during a funeral. I do this until about 10:30 AM, and then I start preparing lunch for my husband and me. At 12:30 I start working again until 5 PM, and then have dinner and work until 9 or 10 PM. Every day I can earn about 12,000 VND doing this. I used to make clothes for people, but where we live now there are no customers. The people are to poor in this area.

I really want to go to the USA. I am not educated like some of my friends and it is difficult to find a good job here in Vietnam. I know Vietnamese people treat AmerAsians better now then before, but I have no future here. I can not give my children a better life here. I really want my children to live in America and get a good education so they can have a better life.

In Vietnam they still treat my children bad because we are AmerAsian. My children still want to go to school because they are very good students. In the US they will not treat my children bad because many people from many different countries live there. Here in Vietnam my children only have one or two friends, but the teachers treat them OK. Because of our situation now, in the near future we will be unable to pay the tuition for our children to go to school.

Every month I have to pay about 1,500,000 VND for tuition and food for them. They currently live with their grandmother so they can continue in the same school, since we moved to a new house. I really want to go to the US so I can earn more money to support my family.

When my husband was 23 he worked as a nurse in a hospital.

I originally applied for immigration to the US in 1988. For the next three years the immigration department of Vietnam kept calling us in to do the paperwork. We went in about 100 times, and each time had to take off of work to do this. My husband lost his job because of this. I was rejected from the American Consulate because I did not have enough proof and I did not look AmerAsian.

JON'S Comments:
Some of the AmerAsians have chosen American names, and Tuyet has taken Christine as her name. Christine has very light complexion and the children do also. They all have light brown hair, where the typical Vietnamese has very black hair. I have no doubt she is AmerAsian.

I use Christine to advise me on the validity of other AmerAsians. They can tell very easy. She is one that the other AmerAsians look up to and respect and will always go to her for help. She is a very good person and I respect her a lot. She introduces me to people as her American father. Her two sons are very smart children and do well in school and are learning some English.

One thing I have realized by the question, what would you say to your father if you met him, is that none of them have any anger or resentment towards them. This surprised me a little. They just want to love him and have a happy life with him. They are just looking for acceptance of who they are.