AAPI Refugee Solidarity

"I came to the U.S. as a child refugee."

"We are all someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's father, someone's mother, someone's family member.  We all seek safer environments as a refuge for those we love."

I can’t remember Vietnam without my family’s voice guiding me; I can’t claim Vietnamese as my ethnic identity with the generations of Chinese blood running in my veins. Yet, I do remember it and I do identify with its history, culture, and our refugee communities. I write history into my memory banks, drawing from my parent’s quiet everyday survivals. Unlike my father I never had to give up my education and dreams to fight a war. Never had my helicopter shot down. Never had shrapnel blown into my leg so that I limped for the rest of my life. Never had my own country starve, intimidate, and imprison me for years in hard labor camps. Unlike my mother I will never raise a child without knowledge of whether her husband will survive to stand by her. Never had to eat yams for three years. Never had to leave my country for an uncertain, wavering hope for my children’s future. I am a United States citizen, with all the rights and privileges it includes. I know struggle but never have I struggled for my life. I stand with migrant children and mothers because you are part of my long lost refugee family. 

With Love,