Nhi N.
Resilience
My family’s refugee story of resilience has always been my north star in the work that I do. A few years ago, I sat down with my dad to learn more about his experience leaving behind his home in pursuit of a better life.
“When we tried to escape [by boat] the first time, I thought I was going to die. I was so scared. There was a huge wave and it crashed like a mountain falling over you. We were lucky though. We lived. But lost all of our water and food so we had to go back. Beside Ong Noi, we were all captured [and sent to jail]. During New Year, the guard released me and your uncles. Your grandma and aunts were still in prison. We traveled to Saigon to meet up with Ong Noi. It was scary because I remember someone pointed a gun at your uncle’s face. I was scared when we tried to escape the second time by boat. But we survived.”
