“Ava” from Hong Kong

 

"I count my lucky stars everyday"
 

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Ava was only two years old when her family fled Vietnam in 1975, too young to remember anything about the home they left behind. The war had ended, and her parents knew that they had to leave their homeland. Thankfully, her aunt’s husband worked with the U.S. embassy and was able to get their names onto an evacuation list. With only what they could carry on their backs, her parents took her onto a helicopter, then onto a U.S. ship bound for Guam before arriving at Camp Hamilton. Unlike so many others, she did not “have to endure a dangerous boat journey or face the risks of pirates” in her pursuit of fleeing the country.

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Adjusting to life in the U.S. was not easy. Her family arrived with almost nothing and had to rebuild from the ground up. They worked hard to establish stability, learning a new language and navigating an unfamiliar culture. Although she was aware of the challenges, she recognised the many opportunities that came with being in the U.S.

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Now, when she returns to Vietnam it is as a tourist. The country has “changed, developed, and grown”. Yet, she is very aware that her life today could have been vastly different had her parent’s not chosen to leave all those years ago; she ended by saying that she "counts her lucky stars every day."

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