[ndlr] Paru le 19 mars 2015, le témoignage d’une famille vietnamienne d’origine chinoise (hakka) qui a quitté le Viêt-Nam en 1978. Présentation de l’éditeur.

Saigon, November, 1978. Under the cover of darkness a desperate family leaves home and friends, hoping to escape the harsh regime of Communist Vietnam. Their goal is to reunite with the four oldest children sent ahead to the United States, but first they must evade ruthless communist patrols. Eleven-year-old Nam Moi is confused, afraid and now homeless. Her future seems bleak and devoid of hope. The risks are great, but it was not the first time her family had taken risks. Long ago, her Ung ancestors had migrated from China to northern Vietnam. When the country was partitioned in 1954, they moved again to South Vietnam.

Nam Moi, or “little girl from the South”, was born in Saigon during the Vietnam War. Her family survived the fighting, but living under Communist rule was very hard. After years of planning and debating, Nam Moi’s father made the bold decision to escape, in hope of finding a better life for his children somewhere else. Nam Moi had been taught that sometimes gambles must be taken for a better life. But would this huge gamble bring freedom or cost them all their lives?

Nam Moi: A Young Girl’s Story of Her Family’s Escape from Vietnam is a true story of triumph over repression, danger and hardship. Escaping from Vietnam meant traveling on a rusty cargo ship in the South China Sea for months, barely hanging onto life. Nam Moi’s father paid precious gold for the chance to escape the country, but the price the family paid to survive was much higher than gold. They had to start their lives all over again.

Today, few people know CHARLENE LIN UNG as Nam Moi. She has made a new life for herself and her two children in Los Angeles. In the United States since 1980, she has overcome many obstacles—learning a new language and culture, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering and working for one of the top aerospace companies in the country. She is currently a successful engineering manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Many years after her escape from the Communist Vietnam, she is still on a journey, but now it’s one of discovery to advance our knowledge about the solar system.

Site de l’auteure : Hakka Girl et page Facebook

Image “à la une” : Famille de Ung Ly Sang © 2015 Charlene Lin Ung

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