Posted on 08/31/2005 2:49:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Last night, Nhi Tran slept among angels.
HOUSTON Tuesday morning the New Orleans resident, his wife, Susan, 8-year-old son Johnny and other relatives were homeless, roaming Houston in their cars looking for a haven.
As they listened to Radio Saigon Houston KREH-AM (900), a woman's voice offered a ray of hope. The speaker announced in their native tongue that hurricane victims were being placed in Vietnamese homes throughout Houston. People were gathering at Hong Kong City Mall on Bellaire Boulevard.
After two hours of waiting in line behind hundreds of other Vietnamese displaced by Katrina, Tran found his angel. Tammy Nguyen saw Tran from a distance. Standing beside him was Johnny, who bore a strong resemblance to her son.
11 guests for the night Nguyen, the mother of two, was at the market to pick up some groceries. She ended up taking home the entire 11-member Tran family instead.
"I felt compelled," she said. "When I saw the child, I knew I had to offer what little comfort I could to his family. I thought perhaps they could find some semblance of peace in a real home rather than in a shelter among hundreds of strangers."
Volunteers mobilized by Radio Saigon managed to find shelter for about 500 hurricane victims in local Vietnamese homes, Buddhist temples and churches. The Vietnamese Dominican Sisters are housing 200 of the refugees at their convent.
"So many of them couldn't speak or understand English," Vu Thanh Thuy, the station's CEO, said of the refugees. "They didn't know where to go. When I heard reports that there were people sleeping in the parking lot of Hong Kong market, I knew we had to do something.
"On Monday, we called all the community leaders and volunteers to open their hearts and homes to strangers. I've been amazed by the response. Hundreds of people have come out. And when they didn't have a room to offer, they dropped off gas and restaurant certificates."
'Strangers' also 'family' Trang Van, 67, was among the people placed in homes Monday night. She came back to the mall Tuesday afternoon with her 2-year-old granddaughter to catch up on the news of the damage in New Orleans.
"I knew there would be people drifting in today. I wanted to be there with them. They're strangers, but at the same time, they're family. We're all waiting to see if we still have a home to return to," she said as she pulled a blanket closer to the toddler asleep in a shopping cart.
"We came in one van. There were 11 of us — not much room to bring anything else but the clothes on our backs," she said in Vietnamese.
Nguyen arrived back in her Spring Branch home Tuesday with Tran and his family in tow. Tonight they will at least have a home-cooked meal, she said.
Tran, the owner of a laundry, settled into the bedroom with his family. "Yes, I'm worried about what's left in New Orleans," he said. "My car, will I have my car to go to work in? But at the same time I'm joyful that in a moment of difficulty there would be someone like Tammy to lift us up. We had fallen, and someone noticed."
dai.huynh@chron.com
Bump!
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. Matthew 24:38-39
BTTT
Great lede. Great story.
And rhis is exactly the sort of generosity I'd expect from the Vietnamese in America. Most over the age of 40 remember arriving here with nothing, and many having survived a terrible and dangerous journey.
.
And just look at what the Freedom Loving Vietnamese had to go thru just to get here...
...or NOT:
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
.
Thanks. We should never forget.
Yes.
Thanks for the ping!
In my wife's family, half a dozen or so went for "reeducation." Two are permanently cripped as a result.
Many of her friends' husbands here in the States had been pilots or other RSVN officers, and most of those guys did 16 years (it always seems to be 16 for some reason).
My duty in Viet Nam required me to live in a small poor village and protect the people. To this day I am amazed by the kindness I witnessed there. They took care of each other.
My duty in Viet Nam required me to live in a small poor village and protect the people. To this day I am amazed by the kindness I witnessed there. They took care of each other.
Me too. That being said we have PLENTY of Vietnamese immigrants here in Silicon Valley. Yes, we have a few Vietnamese gangbangers, but they are overwhelmingly wonderful people. Very industrious, studious, and glad to be here!
Great story. American immigrants giving back...helping those who need it most. Thanks for posting.
.
Please thank your wife's family for its LOVE of FREEDOM and for being the shining example
for the rest of us to follow in a new time of war...
...with our own FREEDOM directly at stake here at home.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.