Operation BabyLift

Perhaps you don't care. Perhaps it never bothered you. Perhaps you have questions. Here I plan to add text and resources that I found interesting while growing up and trying to establish who I am as an orphan from Vietnam. If you have written something, or have books or poetry you have read that you think lends to this section, please contact then with me. I would like to have a section here for each orphan who also left Vietnam as part of Operation Babylift where they can share their story. Until I am done with this section I leave you with this poem I read in college from Valuing Diversity and Similarity: Bridging the Gap through Interpersonal Skills by Joe Wittmer, Ph.D.

Asian Is Not Oriental

ASIAN is not Oriental head bowed, submissive, industrious model minority hard working, studious quiet

ASIAN is not being Oriental, Lotus blossom, exotic passion flower inscrutable ASIAN is not talking Oriental, ahh so, ching chong chinaman no tickee, no washee

ORIENTAL is a white man's word. Oriental is jap, flip, chink, gook it's "how 'bout a backrub mama-san" it's "you people could teach them niggers and mexicans a thing or two you're good people none of that hollering' and protesting" Oriental is slanty eyes, glasses, and buck teeth Charlie Chan, Tokyo Rose, Madam Butterfly it's "a half hour after eating chinese food you're hungry again" its houseboys, gardeners, and laundrymen Oriental is a fad; yin-yang, kung-fu "say one of them funny words for me" Oriental is downcast eyes, china doll "they all look alike." Oriental is sneaky Oriental is a white man's word. WE are not Oriental we have heard the word all our lives we have learned to be Oriental we have learned to live it, speak it, play the role, and to survive in a white world become the role. The time has come to look at who gave the name.

Anonymous (1989)

Post-Trip Wrap-up is a short story written by Joshua Woerthwein about his trip in 1997 back to Vietnam.