'History is repeating itself': Why former refugees from Vietnam are helping Syrians

'I want to see what we can do to help the Syrians because that is us'

Truyen Le Nguyen (AP)

When Jonathan Huynh heard the haunting story of two young Syrian boys and their mother fleeing their country and drowning when their small rubber boat capsized on its way to Greece, he saw himself.

The 37-year-old California chiropractor was a toddler when his family took to the seas to flee communist Vietnam. They survived and wound up at a Malaysian refugee camp.

"I just felt like history is repeating itself," said Huynh, who along with other Vietnamese Americans is helping organise a walk-a-thon in Fountain Valley, California, to send medical aid to Syrians fleeing their country's four-and-a-half-year civil war.

Jonathan Huynh, who saw himself when he heard the story of two young Syrian boys and their mother fleeing their country and drowning (AP)

Seeing their community's story in the plight of those boarding tiny, rickety boats for Europe, some Vietnamese Americans are reaching out to help. In addition to the four-mile walk, some in California have started a Twitter campaign to generate compassion for those taking to the seas and a fundraising drive to support migrant rescue efforts.

More than three decades ago, Vietnamese began fleeing in tiny boats to try to find a better life. Some died, and others wound up in refugee camps before heading to the United States.

Today, the Vietnamese-American population is approaching two million, and its influence is growing, especially in Orange County, home to the largest segment of the population.

While the politics surrounding the Syrian conflict differ from those after South Vietnam fell to communist rule in 1975, many Vietnamese Americans said they feel connected to the new refugees.

"I want to see what we can do to help the Syrians because that is us," said Tom Q Nguyen, a 48-year-old escrow business owner whose mother and sister died at sea in the 1980s.

Several hundred thousand people fleeing war-torn areas in the Middle East, Africa and Asia have sought to reach Europe by sea this year in a growing crisis that has raised diplomatic tensions across the continent.

The US has announced plans to take in 10,000 additional Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year. And Secretary of State John Kerry has said the U.S. will accept 85,000 refugees from around the world next year, and up to 100,000 in 2017.

Humanitarian groups have urged the US to do more to help, while some U.S. intelligence officials and lawmakers have raised concerns that Islamic State group extremists may have infiltrated migrant groups.

Vietnamese-American actress Kieu Chinh (AP)

Duc Nguyen, who was rescued by a US Navy vessel after escaping Vietnam as a teenager, said he faced reluctance from some community members when he started trying to raise money this summer for the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a rescue group based in Malta.

So the 51-year-old filmmaker and other Vietnamese Americans started a Twitter campaign asking people to make and upload videos saying why they care. Since then, he said, he's getting a positive response.

"I want to create a movement to get people to choose whether they care," he said.

Nam Loc Nguyen, who recently retired from refugee work at Catholic Charities in Los Angeles, said he has been in touch with Vietnamese groups in California and Texas that want to help resettle Syrian refugees. In Canada, Vietnamese community members are helping raise money to sponsor them, he said.

Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at University of California, Berkeley, said refugees have spoken out in the past on behalf of asylum-seekers who haven't received as warm a welcome in the country to which they fled.

"This is truly inspiring," she said of the Vietnamese community's efforts, "especially in light of how disgraceful much of the response to the Syrian refugees has been."

Associated Press