Thang Nguyen 555

Vietnamese boat people in New Orleans, post-Katrina resettlement and resentment (against Toxic landfill).

When I showed up at the Hong Kong Mall in Houston, with a backpack full of Katrina Relief Prepaid cards to be given out for free,

I did not realize that the Vietnamese seeking shelter there actually were going through their third evacuation (North to South VN, South VN to New Orleans,

and then New Orleans to Houston).

And I did not know that later, their neighborhood was slated to be a hurricane debris dump (hence, they were twice victimized by Katrina).

One comment from the priest struck me ” in 1975, we were temporarily put up in Fort Chaffee, now 2005, we were right back there seeking shelter from the storm”.

The irony doesn’t stop there until they found out to their surprise that their neighborhood were mapped out to be a Katrina landfill, without the community being consulted.

We saw a replay of King’s days, this time, with Vietnamese priests leading the charge. The story ended with a compromise, and the community turned more visible,

if not for the notorious landfill that wasn’t there before Katrina.  The producer ended the hour-long expose with a shot of Katrina vigil, against the background of

cloudy sky, people lining up on the hill, resembling Parting the Waters, America during King years.

We will recognize struggle, strength and sense of justice in the American way (this time, without Superman pushing back against huge Waste Management dumpsters).

And that is then. This is now. Louisiana is experiencing another oil spill of historic proportion.

And once again, the Village of Versailles share the burden of the State they found themselves in.

I am sure they have inner strength and one another to deal with it magnanimously.

In the words of the old man in the documentary, “we are here to stay. This is our last stop”.

I visited that community in one of my quick stops during Vietnamese New Year.

Owner of the restaurant who cooked Pho, a Vietnamese must, happened to be an American who married a Vietnamese lady.

I am not sure that restaurant is now operable. But the memory of that village is now framed in a larger context: that of a people whose way of life

is every bit exemplary and worthy of being called American. The new waves of American, to say the least. Get used to these new neighbors, just as they

to the new landfill next door.