Daughter from Danang - Vietnamese girl sent to US at 7 yrs reunites with mother at 28 yrs
11 replies, posted
It's a for-TV film made by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco, which originally aired in 2002 on PBS. It's about a vietnamese girl who was taken from her mother at the age of 7 to live in the US, and 22 years later finally is able to meet her long-lost mother again.
The runtime is 81 minutes long, but if you are willing to watch it, the full version is available for free on hulu, right here:
[url]http://www.hulu.com/watch/69787/pbs-indies-daughter-from-danang[/url]
However, I doubt too many are willing to watch the whole thing, but I still thought the film was an incredibly interesting topic, so I will summarize it here:
[list]
[*]A US soldier falls in love with a Vietnamese woman but is sent back to America 4 months into her pregnancy. It was not rape, but in Vietnamese culture it is still considered preposterous to sleep with America, so the fact that she is part american has to be hidden from the public.
[*] At the end of the Vietnam Warin 1975, some families were told that their children would be killed unless they were sent to America. US forces believed these children to be orphaned, even though many had been taken from their real family.
[*]At the age of 7, Heidi is sent to America to be raised by a single mother living in the south. Since there is a lot of racial tension in her town, she is extremely Americanized, and told to hide the fact that she is part Vietnamese. She is almost never hugged or told she's loved, and during her college years is kicked out and told to never come back. This is the second time she has "lost" a mother.
[*]After a period of serious depression, she decides to begin searching for her birth mother, and after months of trouble, she locates her through the help of an agency.
[*]In 1997, the agency sends her and a translator/guide/teacher to Vietnam for 7 days in order for Heidi to finally reunite with her mother and family. She says she wants to finally be with someone who can love her unconditionally.
[*]The entire family as well as extended family and friends is very open to Heidi, and is also very touchy-feely as opposed to most Americans. Heidi is further surprised at the poor living conditions, food, and smells. She gives them gifts such as expensive watches, and wears very nice clothing.
[*]Nearing the end of her stay, she admits she feels little connection with the family, and wants to leave early, but decides against it.
[*]In Vietnam, it is customary for the wealthier family members to support the poorer ones financially. Additionally, financial issues are often very openly discussed following the Vietnam war. The family straight-up asks Heidi if she can give them money, and maybe even take her mother as a guest in the US for some time.
[*]Heidi freaks out and doesn't let her own family console her, feeling that they just want to use her for money. She also mentions that in her early memories she never perceived her mother as outgoing (like how she really is), but rather as very quiet and loving. She describes the trip as not living up to her standards.
[*]After leaving, obviously disappointed, her family writes to her explaining how they are sorry for giving her culture shock, but still persist to ask for some money (keep in mind even something like $20 a week would have been enormously helpful to them).
[*]Heidi has not written back once in the time between 1997 and 2002.
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I do understand that Heidi had been through a lot in her lifetime. She lacked a truly caring mother for most of her life, and was very unsure of her true identity. I also understand that she had been seriously depressed before her trip.
However, I think the way Heidi acted was downright cruel. Her mother said she had been wishing that she'd be able to reunite with Heidi for her entire life, and once given that chance, Heidi turned her away. Imagine being the mother, and losing the same child twice in your life.
Also, the problems she saw with her family were mostly due to poor research of Vietnamese customs and culture, and internal conflicts in her head. She could have sucked it up for that one week and been incredibly nice to her long lost family, and once she returned she could deal with the problems she felt with the "failed" trip.
She seems incredibly closeminded, almost as if she expected her family to act American. Growing up in a racist town in the South must be difficult, but it seemed that the fact that she even [i]wanted[/i] to find her mother would be enough to prove that she was not as closeminded as those around her.
Personally I think she is an awful person for handling the situation in the way she does.
What are your thoughts?
By the way mods, I didn't make this just to discuss the actual movie, but more to discuss this story and if the way she handled the situation was right.
isnt this p. much 'Heaven and Earth' but on PBS and with her mom
Sadly, this happens because of the cultural differences as you mentioned.
People in Western countries today are accustomed to a capitalistic world, thinking that money is everything, whilst the Asian culture still carry signs of communism (if not all) in which money is looked upon in a more open and freely way, compared to the greedy and suspicious eyes of people in the Western world.
Jo's avatar is side tracking me from the thread.
:smith:
Is that Carmen Electra?
[INDENT] :smith: indeed [/INDENT]
This is pretty true on the part where it says that in the Vietnamese culture the wealthier family usually helps out the poorer one. I was born in Canada but my family back in vietnam lives very close to eachother. Even my parents still sends back money on monthly basis. A hundred dollars here can last a long time over there.
-snip- Oh wow
I saw a show on TV how a guy randomly met his son where he decided to gas up even though theres still a lot of gas and pay using a check(son is cashier)
[QUOTE=Matrix374;29796749]I saw a show on TV how a guy randomly met his son where he decided to gas up even though theres still a lot of gas and pay using a check(son is cashier)[/QUOTE]
Saw that one too, the show was one in a million (maybe im wrong).
On-topic : I feel pretty bad for the mother, If i was the girl I would have at least given a few dollars if I could.
[QUOTE=LeetBaby;29798479]Saw that one too, the show was one in a million (maybe im wrong).
On-topic : I feel pretty bad for the mother, If i was the girl I would have at least given a few dollars if I could.[/QUOTE]
yeah that show
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