Read stories collected from Vietnamese communities around the globe.
Welcome to our archive of oral history. These are stories that have been collected directly from Vietnamese communities around the globe and curated into categories. Choose a category below to begin exploring stories.
Follow the harrowing journey of the Boat People as they struggled for both their lives and their freedom on the open sea. Be inspired by the humanitarian efforts that saved them, and hear about life in the refugee camps.
Scattered across the world, the Boat People shaped unknown and alien places, into their new homes. Hear their stories of adjusting to their new surroundings.
See the Boat People’s legacy; the strength and resilience of the Boat People inspires the next generation to reach greater heights. Hear the struggles of the new generation, who will define exactly what it means to be Vietnamese-Canadian.
A very abridged timeline of the warm Canadian response to the Southeast Asian refugee crisis in the late 70s and early 80s. Shown at the 30th anniversary of Canada's Nansen Medal Award in June of 2016, at the Museum of History.
Shown at the 30th Anniversary of the People of Canada's Nansen Medal Award, in recognition of the warm and empathic response of ordinary Canadians to refugee crises across the globe.
In this video, the children of the Southeast Asian refugees that arrived in Canada in the late 70s and early 80s speak to what they believe it means to be Vietnamese Canadian.
In the late 70s, as the refugee crisis in the South China Sea became more dire and publicized, a group led by Rupert Neudeck formed the committee “A ship for Vietnam” to rescue the Boat People fleeing oppressive regimes. And so the Cap Anamur was born against the “express will of the German government”, but funded and supported by the German people themselves. The organization would go on to save 11,300 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea, and exists to this day helping those in need all around the world.
Everything from food carts, school, the city, and the countryside; hear what everyday life was like before the exodus of the Boat People, and all that was lost along with their homeland.