I’m a Vietnamese Refugee. We Are Proud to Speak the Language of Our New Home as All Immigrants Should

Originally published by Fox Digital

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, waves of South Vietnamese refugees fled to the United States, seeking freedom and safety. About 125,000 refugees were airlifted initially, with upwards of 800,000 refugees fleeing in the years following – many of whom ended up settling in the U.S. As of 2017, Vietnamese-Americans comprise approximately 3% of America’s immigrants, and represent the sixth-largest foreign-born population.

Upon resettling in the United States, many refugees encountered a language barrier which made navigating new lives in a new nation a challenge. As a member of a refugee family who narrowly escaped the treachery of the communist Vietcong, my family was one of the many blessed and fortunate South Vietnamese families who received a gift to start a new life in America. We are grateful every day to the U.S. for this generous opportunity.

However, like many, we were faced with complex systems, unfamiliar schools and an employment market that required English proficiency. In our quest to assimilate into American culture and earn our citizenship, mastering the English language was necessary to foster a sense of belonging, unity and collective American identity.

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