Our roots impact our past, present and future. Returning to our roots helps us better understand who we are at the present. Over a thousand years ago, our ancestors founded our country and endured countless foreign invasions. Our people also endured civil wars, famine, natural calamities. However, after two enormous exoduses, one in 1954, the other in 1975, the Vietnamese refugees scattered around the world. Through all the challenges we faced, we still hold fast to our belief in freedom and democracy. We need to get back to what makes us strong – OUR ROOTS.
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Republic of Vietnam
As a result of the First Indochina War and the Geneva Conference of 1954 that marked its conclusion, the territory of the State of Vietnam became divided along the 17th parallel, with separate regimes in the North and South. The Government of South Vietnam, which in 1955 reorganized itself as the Republic of Vietnam. South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN or Việt Nam Cộng Hòa), was a country that existed from 1955 to 1975.
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“Re-education” Camps
After the North Vietnam communist invaded South Vietnam in April 1975, they utilized forced
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Refugee Camps
After the South Vietnam regime fell to the Communist rule in April 1975, South Vietnamese tried to get out of the country at any cost. Many trekked through dangerous forests to neighboring countries, like Cambodia and Thailand. The majority risked their lives on small, perilous boats heading to the open sea, faced with possible captivity or killed by communist coast guards, confronted storming seas, food and water deprivation, robbery, rape and murder by pirates in order to reach the shores of other South East Asia free countries. Some were able to make it successfully, while other unfortunate hundreds of thousands perished at sea. They were known as Vietnamese Boat People (Thuyền Nhân Việt Nam). In 1979, the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) was created under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to permit immigration of Vienamese to the United States and to other countries.
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