Trinh Do
Trinh Do is a Vietnamese-American writer and author of the memoir: Saigon to San Diego: Memoir of a Boy Who Escaped from Communist Vietnam. As a young boy, Trinh fled Vietnam with his family after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and eventually settled in San Diego, California. Trinh's memoir recounts his family's harrowing journey to escape communist rule, their struggles to adapt to a new culture, and his own personal journey of self-discovery and assimilation. Through his writing, Trinh offers a unique and personal perspective on the immigrant experience, the challenges of cultural identity, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Immigrating to America as a Vietnamese refugee escaping from a war-torn country, life seemed impossible for Trinh Do. But with the profound memories and lessons of his parents to guide him, he eventually made his way to a fulfilling and successful life. In a recent open discussion with ICAN for Black April and Vietnamese American History Month, Trinh shared his experiences growing up, his perilous journey to America, his career, and how his family history shaped his life. He discussed the loneliness and excitement of journeying to a new country and what he hopes for new generations, all leading to the creation of his memoir. Trinh's story is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of family to guide us through life's most challenging moments.
The Motivation Behind the Memoir
While attending Stanford Business School in 1990, Trinh Do was the only Vietnamese student in his class. During orientation, where students introduced themselves and shared their accomplishments, Trinh was in awe of his classmates: doctors, submarine commanders, Olympic athletes, and even children of billionaires. When it was his turn, Trinh humbly shared that he was a poor orphan from Vietnam who survived a treacherous nine-day boat journey to the US.
“I am just a poor boy from a war-torn country now known as Vietnam. I came here as an orphan. I came here as a penniless boat person. I barely survived a nine-day boat at sea where I thought I would die. And came here as an orphan and grew up here alone, managed to get through high school, and managed to get through college. And I’m here today.”
He explained that there was nothing special about him besides going through hell and back. He has experienced unimaginable hardships, from political indoctrination, family separation, journeying to America alone with no money, and losing his parents at 18. His story resonated with his classmates, and for the next two weeks, Trinh shared his experiences repeatedly, as many of his classmates at Stanford wanted to understand what life was like in a war-torn country and how he had persevered.
Trinh decided to write down his story of escape from Vietnam and spent two nights writing non-stop, resulting in a 25-page short story. He then gave the draft to a friend in his accounting class to get feedback on whether it made sense. The friend was so impressed with the story that he encouraged Trinh to publish it and suggested he speak with the Stanford Business School magazine editor. Trinh was initially unsure if anyone would be interested in his story but eventually gave the draft to the editor, who agreed to publish it in the very next edition of the magazine.
Once the story was published, Trinh’s classmates and professors read it, and he received a lot of positive feedback and even more questions from the whole school. However, due to its length, the school had to edit the story to only three pages. Trinh and his classmates felt that the revised version didn’t do his story justice, so he turned the original 25-page draft into a book and gave it to everyone in his graduating class. Even then, his classmates thought 25 pages weren’t enough and encouraged Trinh to write a book so that more people and the next generation could read it and the history could be recorded. Trinh found that at that time, his generation of Vietnamese immigrants didn’t want to share their stories since it meant reliving a horrible nitty gritty past, but following the lessons of his parents, Trinh didn’t want to shy away from confronting his difficult past and decided to spend more time to write an entire memoir.
The Challenges Behind the Memoir
Trinh faced many challenges and obstacles while writing his story. One of the most significant was the emotional weight of reliving difficult memories, particularly those related to the loss of his parents during their attempted escape from Vietnam. Despite the pain and uncertainty of not knowing their fate, Trinh persevered and eventually made it to safety in the United States, along with his siblings.
Throughout the writing process, Trinh grappled with a mix of emotions, ranging from sadness and grief to gratitude and determination. While it was difficult to confront the past, he found a measure of catharsis in being able to share his story with others. Trinh saw this as a way to honor his parent’s sacrifice and the struggles of all those the war and its aftermath had impacted.
Despite the emotional toll of the writing process, Trinh’s faith and courage never wavered. He remained committed to telling his story, knowing that it was a crucial part of preserving the history of his people and their experiences. Ultimately, Trinh’s perseverance paid off, and his story stands as a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
“Because now I can tell the world the story, and more than anything, I feel that is that that I owe my parents. I owe my parents, and I owe my friends and all my relatives, all the people I know in Vietnam because they don’t have the opportunity to tell the story.”
The Overarching Message Behind the Memoir
Trinh felt a mix of emotions writing the book. On the one hand, it was difficult to revisit some of the painful experiences he had gone through in my life. But on the other hand, it was also cathartic to put his story down on paper and share it with others. My motivation for writing the story was to inspire others going through difficult times in their own lives. He wanted to show that overcoming even the most challenging circumstances is possible and that there’s always hope for a better future. Additionally, he wanted to raise awareness about the plight of refugees and immigrants and dispel some of the myths and stereotypes that exist about these groups. He hopes that his story can help people understand the strength and courage that his generation possesses.
“I do want to write this for the next generation. So that they will never feel ashamed of their parents and have pride in their heritage. Because this is our politics. This is our legacy. Yes, we may be people who suffer a lot. And we’ve gone through a lot, but we are proud people and have a proud legacy.”
A Piece of Advice for 2nd Generation Vietnamese Americans
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Trinh’s message comes from the last words his father gave him when he visited him at a reeducation camp. His father told him that people would look down on him, bully him, and call him names, but how he reacts will determine his future. Trinh’s father advised him to use all the humiliation and suffering he has and will experience as motivation to improve himself and rise above it someday. Trinh has tried to live his life according to his father’s teaching, not by fighting back physically, but by working harder and achieving more than those who looked down on him. He believes that showing his success is how he has raised against those who looked down on him, and he doesn’t waste his energy reacting to them, only towards building his own path.
Most Memorable Excerpts
From the Preface:
“There are many reasons for me to write this book. First, it is a tribute to my parents, whose sacrifices gave me the chance to come to America and whose irrepressible spirit and character were enduring inspirations that gave me the strength to face my darkest hours. It is also a tribute to my childhood friends, who went through the same hardships as I did, but were not as lucky. Many are now dead or live in poverty and despair in Vietnam.
My story is not unique. It is also the story of millions of people who made dangerous voyages to escape from Vietnam. Many succeeded, but many more perished silently in the cold depth of the South China Sea. Others survived the sea but met unspeakable horrors at the hands of pirates.
This book is written in part because I strongly felt a need to tell the truth, the cold hard facts about how my generation and our parents struggled against extreme prejudice and indiscriminate hatred in holding on to their last shred of humanity. Also, I cannot imagine a more fitting way to honor the memory of my parents and countless others who died trying to escape than to tell our stories.
Last but not least, if this book succeeds in instilling in my children or a disadvantaged child somewhere the belief that with courage, hope, and faith, one can overcome overwhelming odds, then my years of writing the book will have been well worth it.”
From Chapter 2:
My father's last words to me.
“He paced around the garden, collected his thoughts, then continued, ‘You know that I was very poor once. When you are poor, people tend to look down on you and bully you. That happened to me many times in the past. What happens to you will depend on how you take the insults.’
‘No matter how others may look down at you, ultimately what matters is how much respect you have for yourself. People can take everything from you, but they can never take away your self-respect, knowledge, and hope. When people insult you, they can only hurt you as much as you let them. Fighting them back with insults, arguments, or fists really doesn't do you any good. It satisfies your anger at the moment, but it doesn't improve the situation. If anything, it lowers you down to their level. If you can learn to take all the insults that people may heap upon you, and channel them into a source of energy to make yourself better every day, then you have won. The most eloquent answer and the sweetest revenge are to prove to people that they are wrong about you. It is a lesson as old as the earth. But it is still a very hard lesson to learn. I've learned it through many years of poverty. And I have faith that you can and will learn it too. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you, son?’