ABOUT
THIS BOOK
This
is a collection of English
verse
translations of poems written by authors of Vietnamese
origin living nearly all over the world. Our humble wish is to introduce their
culture to you poetry-loving readers.
*
The
end of the Vietnam
War brought
about, among others, two consequences: the Vietnam
Syndrome,
and the Boat
People.
The
Vietnamese who fled their country following the collapse of the South Vietnamese
(Republic
of Vietnam)
government in 1975
consisted
of those who crossed the ocean, crowded into small boats, and those who crossed
the border, stealthily amid wild jungles, constantly throughout two decades,
totaling nearly one million. This did not include about half that number
who lost their lives because of the communist police, the pirates, dehydration,
starvation, and drowning. And since the majority did it by sea, they all
were called Boat
People. Approximately
half that million were received and resettled in the United
States,
while the rest in Australia,
Canada,
France,
the United
Kingdom, Germany,
Japan,
Switzerland,
Norway,
Sweden,
New
Zealand, Belgium,
Finland,
and many other countries.
The
current strength of the Vietnamese communities in 150
different countries of the world
is estimated at over three millions, mostly in the US.
Together,
most Vietnamese individuals and organizations abroad now would consider
themselves Political
Refugees.
And
they have their own unnamed
“Vietnamese’s
Vietnam
Syndrome,”
which is different
from and more complicated than the Americans’
Vietnam
Syndrome.
Not
only the Vietnamese Political Refugees themselves but also their descendants,
the next generations, do have in their hearts and minds the same emotions and
reflections.
Naturally,
poets are among those who experience so deeply their personal ups and downs as
well as understand so profoundly their fellow-citizens’ vicissitudes of life
that they cannot fail to express their true sentiments and thoughts in their
writings.
*
You
will find in this anthology, through 146
poems by 81
Vietnamese
of both sexes and of various ages living in the USA,
Australia,
Belgium,
Canada,
France,
Germany,
Norway,
and Vietnam,
the core of their feelings (or syndrome): Feud
(with those who have caused deaths, injuries, pain, separation from relatives,
loss of property...); Nostalgia;
Gratitude
(to the host countries that have offered refuge and opportunities...); Improvements
(to integrate into and contribute to the welfare of their adoptive societies); Aspirations
(for a free, democratic and prosperous Vietnam).
These
poets, however, have tried to maintain their four-thousand-year-old cultural
legacy while self-confidently to integrate into the melting-pot.
*
The authors are not only individuals, strangers, of a different race; but, as human beings, reading their works might suggest to widen our knowledge, to discover, learn about, and sympathetically share their situation, somewhat our very own human condition.
We
hope that this might be a modest part in promoting communication and
understanding between nations.