Women’s History Month – Bravery, Sacrifice, Fairies, Folklore, and Blue Waters

My name is Trần Thị Minh Phước. I am a refugee, a boat people, a Vietnamese American, a mom and a wife.

As a young lady growing up in Việt Nam, I had the dream of getting a good education and working in a job where I could help others. Sadly, my dreams were unattainable when the government closed the University of Law in Sài Gòn on April 30,1975, which was also the Fall of Saigon. I was in my sophomore year. However, with my optimistic persistence, I overcame this obstacle. In search of freedom and pursuing my goals and dreams, I decided to leave Việt Nam in the early eighties in a small and crowded boat along with strangers. All relatives and friends were left behind or arrested. The risky sea voyage was full of dangers, but I was able to suppress my fears by focusing on my goals. I was 28 years old when I boarded a boat in 1982, living in refugee camps in the Malaysia before arriving in California in July 1982. After a 50-hour Greyhound trip from California in March 1984, I came to a land called Minnesota, where I believed that I could find the precious treasures in life – an education and a safe environment.

The memories of being a boat person, a refugee in the camp, are too painful and traumatic and I don’t want to revive the bad memories. However, it’s part of my heritage, my family history that I would proudly tell my children and among generations to come about my hardship, sacrifices, bravery, endurance, and compassion in the search of freedom. All my children have the middle name Dương, means blue or ocean.” Minnesota: in the Dakota language translates to “Sky-tinted waters.” Blue water reminds me of the blue ocean. It’s the blue ocean that separates my old and new life. It’s the blue ocean I spent five nights and 4 days in a stormy ocean. It’s the same blue ocean we saw as we flew on a plane to America, leaving our families, friends, and everything we knew and had behind. Most of all, it reminds us of our unforgettable sea journey in search of freedom.

I love school, I love education, I love fairies and folktales. I have a vision of sharing Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage with the world and fostering communication between generations through Vietnamese folktales, myths, and legends. Telling stories is a treasure! Retelling my favorite childhood folktales and stories gives me an opportunity to honor my ancestors and my heritage, to preserve my culture, to remember my roots and to enchant children and their families.

My parents taught us that “Education is important. You can lose everything in a blink of an eye, but no one can take education away from you.” It was true because I lost everything during the horrible sea journey. All I had left when arriving to shore were my education and a determined mind. Today, my husband and I teach our kids to look down on everything to see how blessed and lucky they’re to have a happy and safe home and only look up for education because there are so many great things to learn and discover.

Why do I want to become a librarian?

More than 4 decades ago, I came to America as a refugee, a newcomer. I did see the library as an umbrella because I believed it would protect me from my ignorance in a new world far away from home. It was like a vast ocean with books, resources, and information.

Alhambra Civic Center Public Library in California was the very first library I visited in America. These words still stuck with me until today “Rental Best Seller Books, $1 for 2-week rental.” I thought I would be charged for a library card and books, and I couldn’t afford it. I never asked the lady sitting on the counter anything due to my language barrier and my shyness. Every day, I came to the library, pulled out books from Learning English collection, happily jotted down all important words and turned pages one by one for reading, and stayed at the library until it closed. I said to myself that someday I wanted to be like the lady in white blouse wearing gorgeous glasses sitting at the library counter (even I didn’t know the word “librarian” to describe her position) so I could help newcomers like me. I left California without having a library card and never checked out a single book during my short stay there.

Today, as the first Vietnamese librarian (now retired), a published author, and a respected storyteller in Minnesota, I have shared my experiences and knowledge of Vietnamese culture at various events, storytelling programs, libraries, university, conferences, and schools throughout the state and beyond. In addition, I had dedicated my time to helping new immigrants transition into life in America. Within the Asian community, I am involved in various organizations. I have been recognized for my work bridging cultures and introducing the culture of Vietnam to the mainstream community.

I was so blessed and grateful of meeting great mentors and people along my journey and being recognized through several awards and newspaper articles, such as the University of Minnesota Community Service Award, Catalyst Foundation Leadership and Community Award, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, the Richfield Neighborhood Champion, the Richfield Gene and Mary Jacobsen Outstanding Citizen of the Year award, the Education Award Recipient for Excellence in Community Commitment presented by Ordway-Education for my work in advancing Community Engagement programs at the Ordway, the Alphabet Forest Blue Ribbon Author/ Minnesota State Fair, just to name a few.

“I believe our voice should be heard, our haunting memories should be shared, our achievements should be celebrated because it’s part of our heritage.”- Trần Thị Minh Phước, Former librarian, a storyteller and a published author