HỘI MỸ - Á TƯỞNG NHỚ CHA ANH TẠI WASHINGTON

HỘI MỸ - Á TƯỞNG NHỚ CHA ANH TẠI WASHINGTON
Refugees Gather at Vietnam War Memorial
By PAUL WAGNER/myfoxdc
Updated: Thursday, 18 Jun 2009, 7:45 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 18 Jun 2009, 6:35 PM EDT
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/061809_refugees_gather_at_vietnam_war_memorial
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A unique group of refugees who were abandoned, shunned and despised in their own country gathered for the first time near the Vietnam War Memorial Thursday for a special ceremony. The sons and daughters of U.S. Servicemen, known as Amerasians, came to pray for the fathers most of them never knew.

They were labeled the children of the enemy-- nothing more than dust, invisible to the people of Vietnam, abandoned by their mothers.
Life was so tough after the war that Congress passed a law in 1987 allowing them to come to the U.S.
More than 25,000 resettled here, spread out across the country.

Ky Tran came with nothing. Abandoned by his mother and not knowing his father, Tran wanted a new life.
The ceremony near "The Wall" was a way to say thanks.
"The first thing we want to pray for my daddy," said Tran. "We don't know my dad and we think my dad could be dead and on black wall. Right now we don't know his name."

All Tran knows is that his father's name was Phillip. He tried to find him once but failed, so Tran began the Amerasian Fellowship Association hoping to find all of the refugees. So far, he's located about 2,000 sons and daughters.

"During Vietnam War and even after war," said Christopher Crum, a refugee who arrived in 1983. "We could not even go to school and 60 percent of us cannot even read or write in Vietnamese."
Crum was 16 when he came to the U.S., and he's one of the lucky ones. He knew who his father was, but life in Vietnam was unbearable.

Toan Nguyen thinks he was 19 when he came here. He doesn't know his exact date of birth. He never knew his dad, and his mother abandoned him. Life in the U.S., he says, has been a dream.
"I can read a little bit English," said Nguyen. "I got my own business. I'm very happy. I never believed I could do this."

Under threatening skies on a grassy hillside near The Wall, The Fellowship of Amerasians gave thanks.
They saluted the flag and sang the national anthem from both countries. They were pleased to be together-- to begin a tradition. To bring attention to the ones left behind.

"There are approximately 500 cases for the Amerasians stuck behind in Vietnam," said Vivian Preziose, VP of External Affairs for the Fellowship. "After the interview they were denied and denied reason why they cannot come to the United States."

The members of the Fellowship have one more dream: Passage of a bill called the Amerasian Paternity Act. It's a law that would allow the refugees U.S. citizenship without having to take the test.

Video :
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/061809_refugees_gather_at_vietnam_war_memorial

Ky Tran Shares His Experience
Amerasian Fellowship Association founder, Ky Tran, shares his childhood experiences as …

Christopher Phu Reflects On Vietnam
Vietnamese Refugee Christopher Phu reflects on his childhood in Vietnam during the war.

Toan Nguyen Talks About His Struggles
Toan Nguyen talks about the struggles he went through as an Amerasian

Vivian Preziose Support For The AFA
Vivian Preziose talks about why the Amerasian measures, as well as groups like the …