The article is the first of a three-part series from a woman who wishes to remain anonymous. She is a first-generation U.S. citizen. She is conservative. Because of this, she fears her neighbors. She fears the stigma of the “cancel culture” and the potential of retribution against herself, her children, and her family if they are discovered to be conservative. Part 1 is an introduction.
A mother and her small child escape from a totalitarian dictatorship. They are arrested trying to escape the country. They are thrown into a prison where inmates are denied any due process and are chained to the walls of the cell. They bribe their way out of prison with the help of a relative. The relative is left destitute as all of their resources went into the bribe to get the mother and her daughter out of the prison. They try again to escape. This time they are luckier.
Fleeing Vietnam was dangerous. Partly because a large number of refugees from other countries were in the Indochinese area at the time, it is difficult to estimate exactly how many people fled Vietnam. However, experts estimate up to 1.5 million refugees escaped but a high estimate of 10% died from drowning, piracy, dehydration, or otherwise never made landfall (Borgenproject.org).
Their escape route lands them in a third country where they are accepted as political refugees and begin the process of getting into the United States. They have a sponsor inside the country. They have their documents and all required paperwork to advance.
It takes 18 months in the refugee camp before they can move into the USA. They make it to Hawaii where it takes them another two years before they can move to the ultimate destination a city on the West Coast where they build their new lives.
In her own words: “I was about four or five years old when I lived under communism. I can still remember the neighbor who tried to entice me by offering me candy to admit that while we were 'visiting' my mother's family, we tried to illegally leave the country.
"My mother and I had just returned from the province the night before. When we arrived, a mob of people surrounded our house and accused us of trying to leave the country. As young as I was, the experience of watching my mother face down a mob ready to drag us to the authority at best, and lynch us right then and there at worst, in the middle of the night is forever etched in my memory.
"Had the truth been known (we were trying to escape), our property and belongings would have been confiscated and we would have been sent to a re-education camp. We did try to leave the country illegally on that trip, but we were caught. I was sent to prison with my mother.
"The prison was rat infested. Other prisoners in our cell were chained up like you see in medieval movies, the decaying concrete floors reeked of mold. We are released because my aunt was well respected enough in the province to be able to bribe the authority "which nearly bankrupted her to get us out.”
They traveled (mostly at night) by boat with other fleeing refugees and landed in Hong Kong. They were then interred in a refugee camp where they would spend the next eighteen months. They had all necessary documentation and a sponsor in the United States, so there were no legal delays. It still took nearly two years to be admitted to the U.S.
Hong Kong Refugee Compound
“When I was in a refugee camp, two young women were brought in. I remember adults were talking about them. Their boat was met by pirates. The pirates killed everyone, except these two women, but the women were raped so many times that they had a mental breakdown. They couldn't take care of themselves, nor could they even tell anyone who they were.”
Conditions in the refugee internment camp were harsh, but they could survive, and they did survive while awaiting their admission to the U.S. From the camp they were sent to Hawaii where they started to pick-up the threads of a new life while trying to get to their ultimate US destination a major city on the West Coast. It is two years later that they reach the West Coast.
Today the mother and now adult daughter live the life of which they dreamed all of those years ago.
"My mother, cousin, and I came to the U.S. with a suitcase of donated clothes and $20 dollars,” she said.
“Now my mother has a nice pension and retirement fund. One of my cousins paid off her house which is worth over a $1 million. The other cousin's house is worth close to $1 Million. My two cousins came to the US when they were older and didn't have the opportunity for higher education. They still managed to eke out a living and create opportunities for themselves. The fact is some immigrants are not going to be able to have that American dream but given time and willingness to work hard, they achieve a life that is 1000% better than if they hadn't immigrated. My family and I made scarifies and worked hard to be where to are today. It is insulting to be accused of being "privileged" because we made good choices.” She added.
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The author worked her way through school. She graduated from an excellent college with a B.S. degree in Business/Accounting. She has a solid career in a Fortune 500 company. She now has two children. Her husband is a U.S. citizen who works in the financial sector.
In Part 2 she explores feelings and myths about illegal immigrants and refugees in the United States. In Part 3 she discusses the current “woke” culture and its similarities to tyrannical Marxist regimes.
Government overreach, fiscal responsibility, and term limits are all items of focus for the Convention of States and Article V which is the pathway to real change in an increasingly authoritarian administration.
Please join with us to hold the Convention of States by signing the petition. Volunteer your energy and time. There are great places to serve.
