Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment in a Prep News series called Immigrants of SLUH. So far, News Editor Noah Apprill-Sokol has interviewed over ten members of the SLUH community about their immigration experiences.

Few know the immigration story of Biology teacher Nhan Pham. It is a story that often goes unspoken in the halls of Saint Louis U. High. Only his students and close faculty members are even aware that he hails from Vietnam, and even fewer know that he and his family fled Vietnam as refugees due to political persecution. Hidden under his quiet and shy demeanour is the story of hardship and tragedy but also resilience and hope.

It is difficult to imagine what life was like for Pham in his childhood town of Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Chi Minh City of Pham’s youth is the stuff of history textbooks or old newspaper printings. As a town often shrouded in mystery to those not from there, it is often described as being the stronghold to the oppressive Communist regime. Yet, in some aspects, Pham was like most SLUH students—a normal kid trying to make the best of life. Each day he would go to school in the morning, listen to teachers give lectures, and study for upcoming tests. He would spend time after school with friends and play a pick-up game of soccer in the street.

“There were no phones or electronics, so what we did for fun was to hang out with our friends,” said Pham. “We spent a lot of time just hanging out and playing sports, not organized by the school—we had no organized sports, but we organized all the sporting events ourselves. We spent a lot of time with each other so it was a lot of fun.”

Growing up in the poor area of Ho Chi Minh city, Pham’s family often found it difficult to get through each day. Pham’s father, who had fought for the South Vietamese Army (the opposition to the current government), had been labeled an enemy of the state, and as punishment for his “crime,” he was banned from being officially unemployed, forcing him to work odd jobs that would go unnoticed by the government’s patrol in order to raise enough money to support Pham and his four other siblings.

“Imagine how stressful it would be to be my father, who was told that he could not work by the government but had to find enough money in order to feed the family. It is difficult to even imagine,” said Pham. “Here people stress about all sorts of things, but there really is no comparison when it comes to the stress that my parents must have felt.”

For Pham, growing up, he particularly remembers his own poor childhood education experience, a jolting contrast to the current education that SLUH offers.

“For some years we didn't have any textbooks,”said Pham. “We never did a lab because we didn't have the equipment for any labs, and we didn't have the space because we had a lot of kids in the classroom. People barely scraped by. Food was scarce. A lot of people were poor, so it was hard in that sense.”

Yet, poverty was not the only hardship for Pham and his family. The government was an oppressive force in his life. Controlling all aspects of social life, including the media, education, and even religion, the Communist regime enforced serious restrictions and laws, and serious penalties were put in place to any of those who resisted. While young at the time, Pham still remembers seeing the fear and stress on his parents’ faces.

“I certainly saw the fear,” said Pham. "My dad would be listening to the radio, and he liked to listen to the BBC. He would have to turn the volume all the way down, and he would have the radio right next to his ear. My mom would be sort of peeking out the door because there was a policeman that was assigned to the neighborhood that would be roaming around and patrolling the neighborhood.”

The tipping point for Pham’s family though happened when Pham was in fourth grade. As his three older sisters were looking to go to college, the government banned them from attending any college in Vietnam due to Pham’s father’s ties to being a part of the South Vietnam Army. That was the final straw. Pham’s father, who had already endured much harassment from the government, applied for asylum status for him and his family.

Eight years passed as Pham and his family  waited with uncertainty for their paperwork to go through, not sure that they would be even allowed to leave the country that had oppressed them for all those years, much less be accepted into the United States. Due to the immigration system being corrupt in Vietnam, Pham recalls there being some bribery involved in order for the paperwork to be processed. 

Finally, on Feb. 28, 1990, Pham, who was now in his senior year of high school, and his family departed Vietnam, leaving behind family and friends but carrying with them hope for a better future.

“We had to just basically leave everything,” said Pham. “There was a lot of bribery along the way. You did whatever you needed to do just to get the paperwork approved, and when we left we carried a few boxes and $50 to $70 in cash.”

The first stop on their way to America was in Bangkok, Thailand, where they stayed in a refugee camp for five days before they could get on a plane for the United States. Living conditions in this camp were difficult. Pham and his family (a party of seven) were given a small place to stay and little to eat. Yet, it was the excitement that they would soon be in the United States that motivated Pham and his family to persevere.

“All seven of us were crammed into this space, like a pack of sardines,” said Pham. “But, we knew that we were not going to be there for long, and we were very excited to be going to a new home.”

Pham and his family arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 5, 1990. Now, after living in the United States for 31 years and being a citizen for 20 years, Pham still feels the emotions that he first had when he arrived in Minneapolis.

 “The feeling that I have is gratitude. I always remember what it was like for me, what it was like for my family, and I know none of this is my own making,” said Pham. “I know that I tried to work as hard as I can and so has my family, but all of it has been a gift.”

 “The feeling that I have is gratitude. I always remember what it was like for me, what it was like for my family, and I know none of this is my own making. I know that I tried to work as hard as I can and so has my family, but all of it has been a gift.”

Nhan Pham

While his childhood experience and the trauma of fleeing his country will always stand out in his memory and identity, Pham prefers to embrace the freedoms that living America has given him and hope that Vietnam will one day be a place where the authoritarian rule does not exist.

“I wish that my country would become more democratic. Maybe it's good in theory, but in practice, it's a failed form of governance and I have gotten to see that firsthand growing up,” said Pham. “I will never forget about my time in Vietnam and the liberties that I have now that I did not have in Vietnam.  I really cherish these freedoms.”