Angry Waves

It was Black April — April 30th, 1975 — when Saigon fell. Phuoc Thi Minh Tran was a young law student at that time. "Even now, it feels like yesterday," she says, remembering being surrounded by explosions and bodies on the street. Her brothers were sent away to re-education camps for years. 

"We had no hope, no future. That's why a lot left Vietnam and fled on the South China Sea," she said.

Minnesota welcomed its first Vietnamese refugees after Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War. U.S. troops evacuated over 125,000 South Vietnamese military and family members in this first wave. A second wave of over two million refugees, including "boat people," escaped an oppressive communist regime, oftentimes risking their own lives for a chance at freedom

"I am a Boat People, a refugee, a Vietnamese-American, a librarian, a storyteller, and a published author," Phuoc Thi Minh Tran describes herself. She is the first Vietnamese immigrant to become a librarian in Minnesota. Her award-winning books, "Vietnamese Children's Favorite Folktales" and "My First Vietnamese Words," are nationally recognized and introduce readers to Vietnamese culture and tradition.

She believes in the power of storytelling. Although painful, she believes that her story needs to be heard, and that it is a part of her. She shares:

"I believe our voice should be heard, our haunting memories should be shared… Because it's part of our heritage."

Her escape was a harrowing journey by boat, filled with perils, in a search for freedom and hope. "I spent four nights and five days on stormy oceans, soaking wet. There were no stars in the sky, only the thunder, lighting, and torrential rain," she shared at the 2018 World Storytelling Day event in St. Paul. Listen to her moving story in the video below:

Every year, since 2003, World Storytelling Day events take place on or around March 20 in more than 25 countries. Storytelling is often thought of as fairytales, fables, and oral history, but it is also commonly used to foster peace and understanding, community building, healing, and in advocacy work. Each year a global theme complements the principal concept behind WSD, "If I can hear your story, it's harder for me to hate you."

At the event, she spoke from the heart, sharing "To our Vietnam and U.S. veterans who are not here today with us, to all of you here tonight, to men and women who served in Vietnam, from bottom of my heart, and on behalf of Vietnamese community, we thank you for your service, bravery, compassion and endurance." She added:

"For me I was lucky and blessed. I am here today."

Since the Vietnam War, many more Vietnamese have have made Minnesota home under family reunification rules. Today, the Vietnamese population in Minnesota is over 33,000, according to Minnesota Compass. The impact of the Vietnam War has not only shaped the lives of those who lived through it, like Tran, but the communities in Minnesota that have been enriched by their contributions and heritage.

This story was captured at the March 24, 2018 World Storytelling Day in St. Paul with the help of TPT's Minnesota Remembers Vietnam Team. Explore more stories about the Vietnam War shared by Minnesotans at the Minnesota Remembers Vietnam Story Wall.