Vì Hai Chữ Tự Do (For Freedom)

By Thu Nguyen

There’s a song that often plays around this time in the Vietnamese community, and its name I shall take personal creative liberty to translate as “Pursuit of Happiness” (Xin Đời Nụ Cười). I want to translate the chorus first, which is the core of the song and also where we can start with understanding the somberness of April 30.

Tự do, ôi tự do (Freedom, oh Freedom)
Tôi trả bằng nước mắt (I’ve paid for Freedom with my tears)
Tự do hỡi, tự do (Freedom, oh Freedom)
Anh trao bằng máu xương (You bestowed Freedom with your flesh and blood)
Tự do, ôi tự do (Freedom, oh Freedom)
Em đổi bằng thân xác (I exchanged my own life for it)
Vì hai chữ tự do (For Freedom)
Ta mang đời lưu vong (I live a life of Exile)

What is the Freedom that this song refers to? What is the Freedom that millions of Southeast Asians sought in the United States of America?

Growing up, my parents explained to me that they sought life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as proclaimed by this country in its declaration. In fact, this country graciously welcomed them, provided them with an endless supply of food stamps and medical care until they could gain a stable footing, and, most importantly, a pathway to citizenship. They were able to pursue higher education, make a living, buy a home, and raise two successful children. (One leading a civil rights organization and the other pursuing a career in design - as non-doctors/lawyers/accountants/engineers, I’d call that a small win in the fight against intergenerational trauma.)

My parents sought the Freedom to have a roof over their heads that they owned, to make a living that they could keep for themselves and not be extracted, and to vote for the people who governed the society they were part of.

Yet today, OCA is suing the U.S. government for threatening to take away these exact freedoms. In the first 100 Days, the Administration has tried to abolish birthright citizenship, take away programs that we, our parents, siblings, and children have benefitted from such as Pell Grants and Medicaid, enact tariffs that harm small business owners and local economies, and obstruct voting for women, veterans, victims of natural disasters, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color.

On the day we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Southeast Asian American pursuit of Freedom, we also commemorate this Administration’s 100th Day of Harm(ing Freedom).

While my peers and I struggle to heal from the intergenerational trauma brought about by our parents’ PTSD as war refugees, it’s sombering to think that we are trauma-bonding right now as we fight to protect Freedom here in the U.S.! On the eve of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, also the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, and this Administration’s 100th Day of Harm… I celebrate the life that my parents have given me through their pursuits of Freedom, and I invite you all to join me in the fight to protect our freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. And if you have been on this train with us, I thank you for your continued support of OCA and our work to protect and advance your socioeconomic and holistic wellbeing.