Linda Thai and her mother
The issue of immigration is again a dominate concern in the United States. Over the decades, the Irish, Eastern Europeans and Chinese met with hostility and at times violence when they sought opportunity or asylum on our shores.
David James is a local writer and reviewer who has a series in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner profiling immigrant Alaskans. He suggested today’s guest to me. Linda Thai was part of the Vietnamese exodus in the 1970s. She was only two years old when she and her parents boarded an overcrowded boat in the middle of the night to escape the persecution and possible death. As you’ll hear the found a new home in Australia, but the trauma of events still shapes their lives.
Reviewer Frank Soos looks at Bruce Feiler’s latest book The First Love Story.
And Chris Lott corrects some mistaken notions in his latest edition of Katexic Clippings.
It’s great to hear Linda’s story. In a time when war, poverty and other violence is forcing millions of people to leave their home countries, citizens in destination nations are reacting with fear and protectionism, lashing out against refugees seeking safety. Australia is no exception. Linda’s story reminds us of a time when The Lucky Country was more welcoming of refugees and her insights help listeners understand the decade’s long process that can be required when people are trying to adjust and integrate into to a different culture. Thanks Robert for allowing Linda to tell her story.
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Thanks John. It’s a remarkable story. I hope you’ll listen to part two which I’ll post tomorrow. Good catching up on you via Facebook.
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