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Description
Mary (changed for privacy) was born in 1954 in North Vietnam, but was quickly swept up in the movement of people relocating due to the rising political energy associated with the Socialist Viet Minh and liberation of the North. The family went to South Vietnam when she was just a baby, the same year that Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel. Her family had been Catholic for some generations and she was brought up with this spiritual background. She grew up to become a teacher of elementary school children. She did not follow the politics of the war closely, but had a brother in the Navy of South Vietnam. Following the year 1975, knowing the victory of the war was in the hands of Communist power, Mary and her family attempted to escape Vietnam on multiple occasions, some of which resulted in prison sentences. With only a son of four years old, and her brother's immediate family, she managed to finally leave Vietnam with 148 others on a small boat meant to hold half as many. Thus, her and a few close relatives became part of the Boat People, or the largest exodus of Vietnamese refugees in Vietnam's history. In transition, the family was educated in the Philippines on what was to be expected in America, where Mary also had another son. They arrived in California in 1985. The experience, as outlined in her testimony, was one that lives strongly in her memory and will always be remembered as a blessing to survive. Although many boat people arrived in America unwillingly, Mary expresses a deep gratitude for the life she has developed here, for the quality of education for her two sons, and the ways that people are able to live freely and speak up about inequalities. She admits that there is good and bad to every situation, and holds traditions that feel right to her, stemming from a life of two worlds and the experience of the journey between them. [Profile bio] Raelynn Gardner was born in Southern California, but grew up in Florida. She moved back to California in 2004 and went to Riverside Community College for a few years, renting in various Riverside locations, one of which was a house that belonged to the interviewee. She transfered into USC in 2010 as a biomedical engineer major and lives near campus. Jason was born in Upland, California, and is currently a film and production major at USC. Prior to being a student here, he served as a tank crewman in the United States Marine Corps. Corey was born in Paterson, New Jersey and moved to Southern California 8 years ago. He went to Rutgers University in New Jersey for 2 years before transferring to USC. He is double majoring in Psychology and Economics at USC. [Profiler bio]
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