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by Russ Katz (Author)
At just ten years old, playing in the lush trees, starting mischief with the boys; Kim loved her family and friends, the sounds of the market, the tastes of the foods, she enjoyed life, and wished it would never change. What she didn't know yet was all that she loved was about to be torn from her prying fists. "Wake up, wake up..." her sister yelled, shaking her. Looking out the window behind their bed, Vi't C?ng marched just a hundred meters from her home just outside Saigon. Pop pop pop pop gunshots from the AK-47's jolted their muscles as a full scale attack on the American Army base began. Their small home caught in the crossfire, they spent the night of T?t, the 1968 New Year, in the safety of a small dark makeshift cellar.
The war finally came to an emotionally sad ending, the streets in crisis, people fleeing by the thousands. The North Vietnamese Army declared victory renaming Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. April 30th, 1975...this was a day that will change Kim's life forever.
Forced into oppressive Communist life was hard and depressing. Kim's dreams of an education in America were crushed, her husband taken to prison, her brother in law taken to a reeducation camp, their family business ransacked and closed by the police; food became scarce, money even worse. Stories of boat people attempting escape caught her attention. Such sad stories though, a coworker captured by pirates, beaten, and then tossed to the sea to die. A mother losing her children, drowning in the seas. The list goes on but her desire for freedom outweighed the risks.
In less than a year she found herself being stuffed into a hidden compartment at the bottom of a small wooden fishing boat with many other desperate souls seeking freedom. The darkness, rancid smells, and thick air choked her lungs. Cramped, her body ached and below her waist was all but numb. Without warning the diesel engine kicked up louder and the boat started moving faster. Pah pah pah pah pah she heard in rapid succession. Bullets pinged off the side of the vessel, splintering the wood through to the cabin. Still, the boat did not slow. Again Pah pah pah pah pah. The sounds of bullets hitting the side of the boat echoed in her ears. Everyone jumped. The engines kicked off and the boat came to a dead stop. Oh my god they already caught us. Falling over into the dirty sea-ridden floor of the boat, fish juice mixed with unthinkable bodily fluids washed back and forth around her face. Reaching her hand to her side, feeling a sharp searing pain. It was wet, blood was everywhere. The shimmering brilliant lights of the spot lights and yelling faded into the background as her head became light, dizzy, as everything went black...
