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Vietnamese family in the area reunites with those who assisted in their immigration to the US

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Blytheville, Arkansas – Five siblings, the Truong family, fled communist Vietnam in the 1980s and arrived in the United States.

Ten years after their father, David Huu Truong, became the first member of the family to arrive in America, his children followed suit.

Two guys named Nick Tu and Nguyen Van Hai, who were also fleeing, built a small fishing boat and went to a camp for refugees in Malaysia, where they assisted the Truong family escape. Today, after 35 years, the two men and the family were reunited. They reconnected over Facebook two weeks ago, and they could finally see each other in person.

Tu stated that he had been concerned about the family for thirty years.

“The thing is, in my mind I’m worried about them for 30 years. And I’m thinking what are they doing now, did they survive?” Tu said.

Van Hai traveled from Finland, and Tu traveled from Miami to rejoin the family they had previously assisted.

In addition to spending time with them and saying “thank you,” the purpose of today’s event was to honor everyone who has contributed to the Truong family’s success.

Sandra Smith was among the women who facilitated the family’s journey from Malaysia to the United States. Quynh Chau Stone, the lone girl in the group of siblings, expressed how much it means to them to have realized the American Dream.

“It means so much to us, that’s why exactly why we want to do our part as American citizens, to contribute, to give to this America that gives us so much,” Stone said.

The eldest brother, Hung Truong, resides in Blytheville at the moment, while Quynh Chau Stone is a resident of Texas and runs an organization named the Source of Hope, which provides food assistance to more than 5,000 families.

The Truong family wants everyone to be aware of their story and to be reminded that hope always exists and that hardships are fleeting.

“I just want you to know, don’t give up in life. And no matter what it is, every family goes through their struggles, but with struggle, know that’s only temporary, because struggle is real but it’s also temporary. We are the example of the American Dream,” Stone said.

 

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