Home is Always Somewhere Else

HOST: When the American war ended in Vietnam in 1975, thousands of Vietnamese fled to the U-S. These refugees learned to live in a new country, building a vibrant community from coast to coast. But the legacy of warfare and post-war trauma still haunts them 30 years later.

Vietnamese American writer and journalist Nguyen Qui Duc (Nwin-Kwee-Duhc) reflects on the formation of a Vietnamese community in the US, and his own ties to his homeland.

Chapter Two. “Home is always somewhere else” by Nguyen Qui Duc, Read more...

Sokhom Tauch

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[00:00:00] Sokhom: I am Sokhom Tauch and I’m executive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization in Portland Oregon.

[00:00:09] Dmae: And would you tell me a little bit what it means to be a refugee?

[00:00:14] Sokhom: I I was a refugee in 1975, came into Portland back then something August in 1975 and the tough thing is the change in culture but a shock in culture and also the language barrier that we had back in the ’75 and the job is to come up with different language skills. So we had hard time really get a real job other than picking strawberry, dishwashing at a restuarant or busboy at a restaurant. But that what my experience is and we didn’t even know how to take the bus at that time because no such thing like this organization back then. Read more...