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Childhood
Where is the main character's hometown?
Where was the main character borned?
In a few sentences. Tell us about the main character's childhood. Describe life at home, in the town/city or in the community. What was most memorable about the main character's childhood? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Departure - Internal Migration
This section is about the journey from Vietnam to another country.
If the main character of the story made significant stops in different cities within Vietnam prior to leaving, please provide information here as part of the Internal Migration.
Example: We departed in Bien Hoa where we lived, and took a bus to My Tho, from there we boarded a small boat to Vung Tau before we got on a larger boat to sail into the sea. City of initial departure: Bien Hoa Did you make any significant stops along the way? Yes, My Tho City of final Point of Departure: Vung Tau
City of initial departure
Did you make any significant stops along the way? You can provide up to 3 cities/towns.
Tell us more in a few sentences. Why did you/your family choose to leave Vietnam? Who did you leave Vietnam with and who did you leave behind? What did you take with you when you left Vietnam, and why? Did anything significant happen along the way? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Departure - External Migration
Tell us more about the journey when you departed Vietnam. Can you remember what the day was like? How was the weather. Were you part of an organized departure program? Or did you leave by boat? Do you remember the size or name of the boat?
Final departure city from Vietnam
In a few sentences, describe how you left Vietnam and how you felt? How was the trip planned? How many days did it take? What events happened along the way? Was there a moment in your journey that changed the way you see the world? Please limit to 1000 characters or about 150 - 250 words.
Camps
If the main character of the story resided in one or more refugee camps, please complete this section. Note, you can provide up to three refugee camps.
Refugee Camp 1
In a few sentences, tell us what the experience was like at these stops? (e.g. islands, refugee camps, first asylum countries) What was life like at the refugee camps? What do you remember the most? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Refugee Camp 2
In a few sentences, tell us what the experience was like at these stops? (e.g. islands, refugee camps, first asylum countries) What was life like at the refugee camps? What do you remember the most? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Refugee Camp 3
In a few sentences, tell us what the experience was like at these stops? (e.g. islands, refugee camps, first asylum countries) What was life like at the refugee camps? What do you remember the most? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Resettlement
Where did the main character of the story finally resettle?
Tell us more in a few sentences. Why did you choose this new country? Did you have a choice? What was that process like? What was it like arriving in a new country? What do you remember most about the first day when you arrived? This is limited to 1000 characters (about 150 - 250 words).
Images
Share any photos that have significance to you. It can be photos or artifacts from the past or present, brought from Vietnam, handed down between generations, or even something new that reminds you of your family’s diaspora story. Examples of artifacts can be a family recipe, your refugee or immigration papers, heirloom jewelry, a piece of clothing, or any artifact that holds a story.
NOTE:
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One image is required for the cover of your story
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Images should be either jpeg, jpg, png or gif
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No image file should be larger than 2MB
Please upload a Covered Image for your story. *
Additional Image Upload:
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You may upload up to 9 more images.
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Please select all images at once for upload.
Audio/Videos
Your Story
Elaborate more on your story. You are limited to about 10,000 words. You can choose to tell your entire story chronologically, pick a specific part of the diaspora journey that is significant to you or share with us a creative writing or personal essay you’ve written. Click here for example stories and resources in the Journeys toolkit that you can use as guidance. If this is part of an oral history project, please copy and paste the transcript.
In addition to adding your story to the Journeys Collective, please check other reasons for submission.
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