They Left Us Behind tells the story of a young girl, her family, and their struggle to reach America. Using the actual diary of the family as the basis for her writing, author Cungdiem Tang describes the early cultural life of her grandparents and relatives in the Mekong Delta. When the country is divided between the Communists and the corrupt regime of the South Vietnamese government, the United States becomes involved, with the war escalating and causing collateral damage to the countryside and its inhabitants. When South Vietnam finally capitulates, the family is directly affected by the Communist victors, losing their home and possessions. Indeed, Cungdiem's mother is forced into an arranged marriage with a South Vietnamese soldier. Part of the family successfully escapes by boat, and Cungdiem's parents attempt an escape on foot through Cambodia. After their capture and release from a remote prison, they attempt an escape by sea, where they suffer storms and pirates. They spend time in refugee camps in Malaysia and the Philippines, until finally they reach the United States-where the struggles continue with turncoat sponsors and school bullies. Follow this family history as they struggle and eventually succeed, becoming educated and successful and accepting their new country with patriotic fervor.

They Left Us Behind

The Story of a Young Girl's Family and the Struggle to Reach AmericaBy Jack Freeze Cungdiem Tang

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © Jack Freeze and Cungdiem Tang
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-7357-2

Contents

Author's Note................................ixAuthor's Acknowledgement.....................ixForeword.....................................xiiiIntroduction.................................xixChapter 1. Mekong Delta......................1Chapter 2. Phu Loc...........................27Chapter 3. Can Tho...........................41Chapter 4. Saigon............................57Chapter 5. Cambodia..........................75Chapter 6. Rach Gia Bay......................93Chapter 7. Malaysia..........................115Chapter 8. Los Angeles.......................135Chapter 9. Fort Myers........................153Epilogue.....................................163Conclusion...................................169Biography....................................173Synopsis.....................................175

Chapter One

MEKONG DELTA

"The Family"

I was called Cungdiem, and this is my story. It begins with my great grandparents Ngo Thi Dai and That Van San. They were united through an arranged marriage by their Chinese parents, recent immigrants from China. A small farming village called Phu Loc in southern Vietnam was where they settled around the year 1900.

The village was ideally located in the rich farmland of the Mekong Delta where the Mekong River enters after meandering for 2800 miles from the plateau of Tibet. Upon reaching the delta, this River of Nine Dragons splits into numerous branches that spread throughout the region. Phu Loc is twelve miles from the South China Sea as the crow flies, and it lies along National Highway One between the towns of Bac Lieu and Soc Trang in the Soc Trang province. Saigon could be reached along this highway by traveling around 150 miles to the north.

My great grandparents brought their Chinese culture with them as they easily settled into the small town of two hundred residents, mostly of Chinese descent. Fortunately for us, we can now claim to be bilingual, having the ability to speak Cantonese as well as Vietnamese – not counting English of course. People will argue though whether Cantonese is a unique language or a dialect of the Chinese language. I think it can be viewed in two ways; it is either a dialect for ethnic and cultural reasons or a separate language because it is unintelligible with other variations of Chinese. Oh well, the main thing was that we could understand just about everybody that came along.

Aside from the ethnic connections to the townspeople, the area was an abundant "rice bucket" and "fruit bucket" with coconut, longan, and mango trees, thanks to the waterways that provided the nourishing silt from neighboring countries to enrich the soil. Of course, they had their foreign occupations, every country wanted this bountiful land.

The French especially! It wasn't fair! Just before my grandparents arrived, French Indochina was established in 1887 with Cambodia and three Vietnamese regions; Tonkin in the north, Annam in the central region, and Cochinchina in the south. Laos was added in 1893. Two years after they arrived, the capital was moved from Saigon to Hanoi. The country was in turmoil. Even though the monarchy was preserved, they were only figureheads. French authority would control and implement the policies under this façade. And to add insult to injury, all of the provinces except Cochinchina would be French protectorates. Cochinchina would be ruled directly.

My great grandparents had to be wary when protecting their culture. France was imposing a policy of adoption rather than relying on one of association where native rulers could keep their culture and hierarchy while making policy. The French Revolution principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity, would now be applied to the colonies. So Indochina would be "Frenchized" with French as the official language of the government. The Indochinese were going to be turned into Frenchmen!

Resentment throughout the country resulted from the conflicting values and customs of the French as compared to the traditions of the Indochinese. Small towns like Phu Loc depended on the tradition of group problem solving and decision making. It was not easy for my grandparents to not be involved in local politics as the wave of French individualism swept in to local governments. French influence was having a devastating effect on local society and it was a bitter pill to swallow for the newly arrived immigrants.

But life goes on! In the summer of 1930, they were blessed with the first of two daughters and they named her Thai Thi Tuyet. She would grow up to be a beautiful, kind, and intelligent woman. Of course she would, she would become my grandmother!

In spite of the Vietnamese mutinies in the French army, Japan's occupation during World War Two, and now the guerilla war being fought by the Vietminh, my great grandparents managed to live a fairly normal farming life and were able to provide for my grandmother's education. The tuition costs, difficult entry requirements, and transportation problems to the nearby town of Soc Trang were overcome and Thai Thi Tuyet was entered into college there in the fall of 1951. Her major would be the French language which would enable her to find work more readily, perhaps in the government or teaching profession.

Our young first year student adapted well into college life. She was well organized and disciplined so her class attendance and homework studies followed a strict regimen. But being young with a great love for the outdoors, an appreciation learned from her parents, she would venture out during her spare time for long walks along the trails and canals that divided the emerald colored fields. In the more dense areas, the thick palm groves on each side of the canals would almost overlap to form a canopy of shade as the sampans would be rowed along underneath by a lone farmer as he stood there in his Ao ba ba and conical hat. These clothes were very functional for work and play. The silk shirt was long sleeved and buttoned down and split at the sides at the waist, making two flaps. In front were two pockets at the bottom – very popular and colorful! At other times, she would pass groups of women bending over and harvesting rice in a paddy field while others were gathering rice stalks into piles. When they noticed her, they would all rise up and wave with a friendly greeting. The ravages of the incessant hillside guerrilla war had not reached these unassuming people even with the French colonization and the Vietminh.

The first semester had been easy for grandmother. She already knew the basics of her courses from her rigorous training at home and the local school. But spring time had arrived and April would bring the blossoms and bird migrations. Her walks would now include a search for the popular Asian Koel, a member of the cuckoo family of birds. They would be easy to spot being 18 inches long with a long tail. The male is blue-black with a red eye while the female is dark brown with white streaks across the body. Grandmother would quietly listen for the melodious song of the male, a repeated "Koo-Ooo" during the breeding season while the female would respond with a shrill "kik-kik-kik". Her favorite bird was the red-headed crane with nearly a six foot wing span. These birds were almost friendly, sometimes landing on the sampans...