Arrived in America: 1981

Experiences: Concentration Camp Survivor • Boat People Survivor

Location: Pulau Bidong

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A Brief Biography

Mr. Long Chi Nguyen was born in 1947 in Hanoi. After the Genève Treaty in 1954, when the country was divided, he was stuck in the North until 1955; then he left for the South.

He went to school until 1968 when he responded to the General Mobilization and was accepted to Thu Duc Officers School. After graduation he was selected to the Army Intelligence Department. He was sent to Japan, attending the Pacific Intelligence School, Okinawa. After finishing his service at the first Army Corps, in Da Nang in 1973, he was transferred to Saigon. After 1975, when the South VN was captured, he had been imprisoned in different “re-educated camps” from the South to the North for 6 years. In 1981, only two weeks after being released from the re-educated camp, he fled the country by boat. On the second day of the journey, which was February 2, 1981, when in the international sea, his boat was attacked by Thailand pirates. All men were asked to lying face down on a pile of fish while women were raped. He was shot at the chest. On the fourth day he reached Pulau Bidong Refugee Camp. Due to the loss of a lot of blood, he became unconscious as soon as he had arrived at the Jetty Bridge of the Camp. He was allowed to be re-settled in the U.S.A. on September 25, 1981. His boat identification number is PB046/SS0686 IA.

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Nguyen Chi Long