FORT SMITH -- On April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Communists, Lai Nguyen made a life-changing decision.
Nguyen, who was working as a U.S. Agency for International Development translator in South Vietnam, his wife and his two youngest children decided not to board a United States-bound plane in Saigon because he couldn't obtain passage for his mother-in-law and her two orphaned grandchildren.
Because of that decision, Nguyen spent eight years as a prisoner-of-war in a Communist re-education camp, and 11 more trying to gain admission to the United States as a refugee while eking out a meager living hunting gold and teaching English.
This summer, Nguyen, who chose the name "Petrus" when he became a United States citizen in 2000, made a book tour through Arkansas as part of the state library's "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" program.
His self-published book, "A Long, Hard Road to Freedom," co-written by Dr. Derlyne Gibson, describes a journey filled with hardship and danger, sustained by his Catholic faith, love of family and the kindness of friends. Gibson, a retired art professor and author of several children's books, became friends with Nguyen's family when they attended English classes taught by her husband.
She urged Nguyen to write his life story, and, after he moved to Fort Smith, the two exchanged notes via e-mail in order to complete the book.
"Publishers told us, 'No one wants to read about Vietnam anymore,'" Gibson said, "and so we decided to publish the book ourselves."
It is available online through amazon. com, barnesandnoble.com and several other sources. It has been bought for all 230 Arkansas libraries and is being sold at Hastings in Fort Smith.
One week after returning home in 1975 to Kon Tum, in the highlands of western Vietnam, Nguyen was apprehended by two armed policemen and taken to a re-education camp.
"Much has been written about the Nazi concentration camps of Hitler and the gulags of Russia," Nguyen said, "but I have seen very little written about the Vietnamese Communist camps... They did not kill the prisoners as Hitler sometimes did, but they let them die slowly."
Nguyen and the other Catholic prisoners were sustained by the Eucharist, brought by family members who risked their lives to give them spiritual nourishment.
"Our families 'smuggled' the bread into the camp by hiding small pieces in a small plastic bag at the bottom of a can of shrimp paste or mixed with cereal. We shared the sacrament and received it every Sunday, or daily if we could. The priests in the camp would consecrate the pieces of bread for us."
In 1983 Nguyen had fluid in his lungs and a possible case of tuberculosis and was released because the implementation of the United Nations Orderly Departure Program for refugees.
He never relinquished his dream of bringing his family to the United States and tried for five years to escape by boat. In Nguyen's final attempt to escape, his boat experienced mechanical failure and Communist police waited to arrest the escapees as they drifted toward shore.
Finally, Nguyen decided to apply for United States residency through the Orderly Departure program. As a former USAID employee and prisoner-of-war, he, his wife, Hien, and unmarried children qualified for refugee status, but it took four years for the paperwork to go through. The Nguyens left behind their three oldest children, Thu Hoai and Linh, both married with children; and Sister Ane Le Hang, a sister of St. Paul de Chartres.
When they arrived in Houston in 1994, Nguyen sought to move to an area where there were fewer Vietnamese immigrants so that his family would learn to speak English and assimilate into U.S. culture. A friend from USAID, Ed Tolle, invited him to move to Green Forest (Carroll County) where his family could find employment at Tyson Chicken. The Tolles and parishioners from St. Anne Church in Berryville helped them to get settled in an apartment and took them to church and local stores. The parish held a welcome potluck in their honor and continued to help Nguyen's daughter, Sister Ane Le Hang, who built a nursing station and purchased medical supplies with St. Anne contributions.
When Nguyen's daughter Rose married Thanh van Dang at Christ the King Church in 1996, Petrus, Hien and son Lam followed Rose to Fort Smith, transferring to the Van Buren Tyson plant. Rose moved to Fort Smith following her wedding.
After Nguyen became a U.S. citizen in 2000, he began to plan a trip back to Vietnam, a dream he believed he never could have fulfilled as a Vietnamese citizen and former P.O.W.
In 2002, he and his wife left for Vietnam with $1,300, enough to provide a loaf of Easter bread for every pilgrim in the Vietnamese highlands, raised by their friends in Christ the King and St. Anne churches. The highlanders, whose churches had been destroyed under Communism, traveled many miles during the Christmas and Easter holy days in order to worship freely.
"They are dying of hunger, dying of sickness with no money for medical treatment and dying of no hope for a better life under a Communist regime."
Although Nguyen has visited Vietnam twice since 2002, he has not had to provide Easter bread since 2005 when the local government started allowing priests to go to remote districts every Sunday to say Mass. Instead, Nguyen assists the orphans at two Montagnard orphanages, Vinh Son and Kon Ho Ra Chat, and the lepers at the Dak Tia Leprosarium, as well as Sister Ane Le Hang's clinic.
Ten months ago, Nguyen was overjoyed when oldest son, Linh, moved to the U.S. with his family. His oldest daughter, Thu Hoai, who has grown children, is unlikely to emigrate to the U.S., and Sister Ane Le Hang made a free choice to stay with her religious community and minister to the Vietnamese people.
Nguyen's 20-year journey to America, undaunted by imprisonment, financial hardship, thwarted escapes and Communist red tape, will give Arkansans of all faiths a renewed appreciation for the freedoms they take for granted.
Nguyen, who was working as a U.S. Agency for International Development translator in South Vietnam, his wife and his two youngest children decided not to board a United States-bound plane in Saigon because he couldn't obtain passage for his mother-in-law and her two orphaned grandchildren.
Because of that decision, Nguyen spent eight years as a prisoner-of-war in a Communist re-education camp, and 11 more trying to gain admission to the United States as a refugee while eking out a meager living hunting gold and teaching English.
This summer, Nguyen, who chose the name "Petrus" when he became a United States citizen in 2000, made a book tour through Arkansas as part of the state library's "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" program.
His self-published book, "A Long, Hard Road to Freedom," co-written by Dr. Derlyne Gibson, describes a journey filled with hardship and danger, sustained by his Catholic faith, love of family and the kindness of friends. Gibson, a retired art professor and author of several children's books, became friends with Nguyen's family when they attended English classes taught by her husband.
She urged Nguyen to write his life story, and, after he moved to Fort Smith, the two exchanged notes via e-mail in order to complete the book.
"Publishers told us, 'No one wants to read about Vietnam anymore,'" Gibson said, "and so we decided to publish the book ourselves."
It is available online through amazon. com, barnesandnoble.com and several other sources. It has been bought for all 230 Arkansas libraries and is being sold at Hastings in Fort Smith.
One week after returning home in 1975 to Kon Tum, in the highlands of western Vietnam, Nguyen was apprehended by two armed policemen and taken to a re-education camp.
"Much has been written about the Nazi concentration camps of Hitler and the gulags of Russia," Nguyen said, "but I have seen very little written about the Vietnamese Communist camps... They did not kill the prisoners as Hitler sometimes did, but they let them die slowly."
Nguyen and the other Catholic prisoners were sustained by the Eucharist, brought by family members who risked their lives to give them spiritual nourishment.
"Our families 'smuggled' the bread into the camp by hiding small pieces in a small plastic bag at the bottom of a can of shrimp paste or mixed with cereal. We shared the sacrament and received it every Sunday, or daily if we could. The priests in the camp would consecrate the pieces of bread for us." In 1983 Nguyen had fluid in his lungs and a possible case of tuberculosis and was released because the implementation of the United Nations Orderly Departure Program for refugees.
He never relinquished his dream of bringing his family to the United States and tried for five years to escape by boat. In Nguyen's final attempt to escape, his boat experienced mechanical failure and Communist police waited to arrest the escapees as they drifted toward shore.
Finally, Nguyen decided to apply for United States residency through the Orderly Departure program. As a former USAID employee and prisoner-of-war, he, his wife, Hien, and unmarried children qualified for refugee status, but it took four years for the paperwork to go through. The Nguyens left behind their three oldest children, Thu Hoai and Linh, both married with children; and Sister Ane Le Hang, a sister of St. Paul de Chartres.
When they arrived in Houston in 1994, Nguyen sought to move to an area where there were fewer Vietnamese immigrants so that his family would learn to speak English and assimilate into U.S. culture. A friend from USAID, Ed Tolle, invited him to move to Green Forest (Carroll County) where his family could find employment at Tyson Chicken. The Tolles and parishioners from St. Anne Church in Berryville helped them to get settled in an apartment and took them to church and local stores. The parish held a welcome potluck in their honor and continued to help Nguyen's daughter, Sister Ane Le Hang, who built a nursing station and purchased medical supplies with St. Anne contributions.
When Nguyen's daughter Rose married Thanh van Dang at Christ the King Church in 1996, Petrus, Hien and son Lam followed Rose to Fort Smith, transferring to the Van Buren Tyson plant. Rose moved to Fort Smith following her wedding.
After Nguyen became a U.S. citizen in 2000, he began to plan a trip back to Vietnam, a dream he believed he never could have fulfilled as a Vietnamese citizen and former P.O.W.
In 2002, he and his wife left for Vietnam with $1,300, enough to provide a loaf of Easter bread for every pilgrim in the Vietnamese highlands, raised by their friends in Christ the King and St. Anne churches. The highlanders, whose churches had been destroyed under Communism, traveled many miles during the Christmas and Easter holy days in order to worship freely.
"They are dying of hunger, dying of sickness with no money for medical treatment and dying of no hope for a better life under a Communist regime."
Although Nguyen has visited Vietnam twice since 2002, he has not had to provide Easter bread since 2005 when the local government started allowing priests to go to remote districts every Sunday to say Mass. Instead, Nguyen assists the orphans at two Montagnard orphanages, Vinh Son and Kon Ho Ra Chat, and the lepers at the Dak Tia Leprosarium, as well as Sister Ane Le Hang's clinic.
Ten months ago, Nguyen was overjoyed when oldest son, Linh, moved to the U.S. with his family. His oldest daughter, Thu Hoai, who has grown children, is unlikely to emigrate to the U.S., and Sister Ane Le Hang made a free choice to stay with her religious community and minister to the Vietnamese people.
Nguyen's 20-year journey to America, undaunted by imprisonment, financial hardship, thwarted escapes and Communist red tape, will give Arkansans of all faiths a renewed appreciation for the freedoms they take for granted.