Colorado woman shares family's harrowing story of escape from Vietnam
BROOMFIELD, Colo. — “Dai Duong” means “grand ocean” in Vietnamese, which is a fitting name for Quynh Nguyen Forss’ younger sister, who was born on a broken down fishing boat floating on the the South China Sea.
Her family was fleeing Vietnam to escape communism in 1979 in the best way they knew how. Nguyen Forss was 5 years old that the time.
“One of those nights while we’re floating out there early in the morning, my mom goes into labor and that wasn’t supposed to happen because it was supposed to just a be a three or four day journey to Hong Kong, but she went into labor and my aunt and my dad had to deliver my youngest sister out at sea,” explained Nguyen Forss. “My dad cut the umbilical cord with some small scissors he found on the boat, and they used fishing line to sew up her belly button.”
All of this and more of their journey is depicted in Nguyen Forss' self-published book called "Fleeing to Freedom." She said it took several years to write and that she worked with a newspaper editor to verify all the information she got from her parents.
“It was important for me to write it because I want my kids to know the sacrifices that my parents made to give us this beautiful life. Also, for my parents I wanted to document their sacrifice and the heroic things that they did and gave up for their children,” she added.
She shared the boat with 18 other people also attempting to escape Vietnam, including her aunt, uncle, both parents and two sisters.
Nguyen’s family expected to spend a few days sailing on the South China Sea to Hong Kong, but the engine of their fishing boat broke down. It left them stranded for several days until an oil rig stopped and towed the boat to an island. There, Nguyen Forss and her family waited for the boat to be repaired. After an 18-day trip, her family arrived in Hong Kong.
“Thank God we were able to safely make it to Hong Kong after being stranded at sea, my mom going into labor and giving birth, and running low on food and water and our engine dying. It’s a miracle that we survived,” Nguyen Forss said, frankly.
After that, she and her family spent several months in refugee camps in Hong Kong before moving to Colorado, where her two brothers were born. Nguyen Forss eventually attended University of Colorado, Boulder, a result of her parents stressing the importance of an education.
“My parents didn’t know any English. My dad knew very little English. They worked multiple jobs day and night, and they pushed education on us, that it is the key to a better life,” she said. “My parents are so brave for the sacrifices they made they were in their mid-20s when this happened and their goal was just wanting a better life.”
She hopes people, especially her own children, will understand these sacrifices her parents made to find a better life and give their children a better life. She also hopes this book honors them.
“I want to live my life to make them proud and writing this book I hope... ” she said, trailing off while holding back tears. “I hope they're proud about it, and I hope my kids can one day look back on it.”
Dana Knowles is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS and can be reached at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.
Brian Willie is the content production manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can contact him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.