“Decisions, Decisions: Rick and Anh’s Story”

Originally published in CCBC's Red & Black Newspaper on February 8, 2007

    During the Fall semester of 2006, I attended an interview held by the Head of Multicultural Department Gayona Beckford, Natalie Kimbrough (E-203), and Heather Woodland in the K building. The featured guests were Rick, a veteran of the Vietnam War, and Anh, a former Refugee from Saigon, South Vietnam.
     First up was Rick, a veteran of the war.  A native of Memphis, Tennessee, he was stationed around 1971 at age 21.  Rick was in college for a year when he lost his military deferment for partying and was later drafted. Politically, Rick leaned toward anti-war side, however influences from the past prevented him from evading military duties. Years ago, Rick’s father was dishonorably discharged for “desertion” in World War II and suffered socially ever since.  Rick tried to get as much insight into his decision wherever he could find it. However, the sources were either outdated (one Vietnamese immigrant neighbor who had not been in Vietnam since the 1950s), while others were biased (anti-war and pro-war advocates). After returning home, he was warned by friends not to wear his uniform in public or to mention that he was a veteran, for risk of harassment or worse.  Although he believed that the government did what was best because the issue was larger than any individual, he also admitted never wishing what he experienced on anyone else.
     Next to speak was Anh, a refugee from Saigon who left in 1978 at age 24 with her husband, daughter and siblings-in-law. Before the war, Anh was from a middle class family but economically and socially regressive policies enforced by the Viet Cong forced Anh and her family to make a drastic decision. Having left most of everything they had in their home and sold off the rest to Viet-cong soldiers for an exchange to leave, the family squeezed themselves into a 65-foot long boat with 300 other refugees. Later the deteriorating boat landed on an island off the coast of Malaysia, where the government offered asylum to the shipwrecked group. Anh, her family, and the others endured the next 18 months on the island refugee camp with rationed food or water shipped from the mainland. Once they were able to attain a legal immigration approval and a flight to the United States, Anh and family were flown to New York and later sent to Baltimore, where they were sponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Association. In 1991, Anh visited her native homeland after the government lifted its ban on allowing apostates in the country.
     It is well known a lot of people who attend CCBC did not grow up in a bowl of cherries, and yours truly is no exception. Some of us already have a good horror story under our belt and just want to achieve a better life than what we grew up with. As I’ve eventually learned so far from some of my own misfortunes, those miseries we experience in our lives sometimes turn out to be the very wicks that fire the cannons of determination. The decisions we make determines what kind of person we are, so how will we know unless we are not provoked into making one? Injustices drive the leader from within ourselves, while it forces the rest of us to simply build up the courage to make a decision that may seem like mistakes at the moment. Decisions are never easy, and never always good, but they shape us into the person we are meant to be.
     When it comes to deciding world priorities, nothing is absolute and every struggle needs someone to fight for it. In Rick’s time, Vietnam was not the only problem, as people were also fighting for Civil Rights. Today is no different, for not only is there terrorism, but genocide, poverty, AIDS, along with the problems in our own back yards. There are so many things to fight for but it’s hard to decide which struggle is more important. Decisions we make, even if they seem insignificant, still affect the world in subtle ways. Anh and Rick show us the complications of life: pushed into becoming the persons they were, all by doing what they could with what they were dealt. And by taking chances and enduring all challenges, they have become leaders in their own right.  Both Rick and Anh survived, literally, and spiritually, and used their advantages to speak up for a mostly voiceless demographic. Just think about it, two ordinary Marylanders made a change just by deciding to share their stories at a college interview.

"Shelter"

      After learning that Mom had to travel to Hartford for a conference, I just had to come along to sightsee. It was January though, and when we arrived to the city, I could have mistaken the place for a ghost town. It was so cold, the only people standing outside were waiting for the public bus. After eating lunch at a local café the next day, I joined those transporters under the hut, but it remained cold, so cold. My layered bundling covered two thirds of my body. I think my eyes alone remained visible. The wind made the chill less bearable. My only solace from the freezing torture was the graffitied iron sanctuary surrounding me and the others.
As the waiting continued, a cab drove by with its number painted on the side: 666-6666. “How Demonic” I thought. The underworld would feel nice during this desperate need for warmth. I contemplated raising my arm to hail the cab, but I could not bear to let any body heat escape, even from my arm.
If God was not finished with my endurance test, He added another challenge with a phone call from Mom. Unfortunately, my phone was in my purse, lying comfortably on my back. What should I do now? Let it ring and have mom assume my death, or sacrifice my arm’s heat to relive her anxieties? As I began to lift the first finger, the bus finally arrived. With each step I felt the heat of the bus thaw every vein and capillary in my arm.
I found a seat in the back and finally left a message on my phone. One of the locals, a man, turned to me and smiled: “New in town?” He asked.
“How’d you guess?” I chattered.

Money Management

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