“I’m first generation from Vietnam. My parents lived in a refugee camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for several years. Many Vietnamese were dislocated during and after the Vietnam War. The United Nations finally brought everyone onto the mainland of Malaysia. My mom said people with clipboards told people where to go; they decided our fate. Our family was supposed to go to Austria, but my mom pleaded to the man with the clipboard that she needed to go to the United States because she had two sisters here. Mom didn’t know if he understood her, but she kept pleading. He took her out of the line for Austria and put her in the line for the U.S. Mom always called him the ‘Man with the Clipboard.’  My parents fled to the U.S. in 1975 with nothing. An American church sponsored them.

My parents first stepped foot in San Gabriel, CA. Dad worked in the fishing industry in Vietnam but couldn’t find a job in California. He knew there would be more opportunities in New Orleans,  so he moved our family there. I grew up there. Dad became ill when I was very young. My mom single-handedly took care of my dad and raised three kids–I was the youngest. I watched my mom work day and night, every day. Her first job in the U.S. was bagging groceries at a supermarket. Then, she worked for a men’s neckwear company, making money on production rather than by the hour. Mom trained herself to be ambidextrous so she could make twice as much as someone who was just single-handed. She also learned that she didn’t need to know a lot of English to do nails; she could still make money and provide for her family. That’s how I got into the nail business, starting in high school. Mom would still be working if it hadn’t been for COVID. She’s an amazing woman–I want to be a carbon copy of her. 

My family moved from Florida to Ackerman, MS in 2020, during the middle of COVID. We opened a salon in August 2020. My kids started high school and needed a summer job learning how to work. That turned into serving coffee. Vietnam is the second largest coffee bean producer in the world. My dad loved coffee, and I took sips when he wasn’t looking. I loved Cafe DuMonde. My kids loved it, too. I turned something we loved into something that would teach my kids how to work and give them spending money. I have two kids at Ole Miss. My middle one didn’t want to go to college, so we opened The Coffee Shop in Eupora for her. I work the rush hour with her every morning then open my salon in Ackerman at 9 a.m. This is a mother’s love. 

My mom is proud of all of her kids and doesn’t worry about us. We work hard and have done well for ourselves. We learned it from her, and I’m passing it down.”

Kali

(The 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon is April 30. It was the end of the Vietnam War. This year, we are telling stories of veterans and those affected by the Vietnam War.)