“Welcome, welcome!” says Truong Anh-Tuan as customers enter New Saigon, the Vietnamese restaurant he owns at Argyle and Broadway. “Please!” Anh-Tuan gestures for them to sit down. Then he moves from table to table, making sure everyone is happy. Today he’s even more animated than usual, as his thoughts are focused on the upcoming celebration of Tet, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year. It’s weeks before the February 19 date, but Anh-Tuan is already making plans.
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“I have to buy the decorations. I have to contact the lion dancer. They come and dance here and that means we’ll have good luck. That’s what we believe. And I have to buy firecrackers, a lot of them.” His smile suddenly turns into a scowl. “Firecrackers illegal now in Saigon. The people don’t like it because this is tradition for hundreds of years, but the communists don’t care about the people.”
He sailed to Malaysia and reported to the American delegation. Because he was a former serviceman he was given political refugee status and was sent to the Philippines. Exactly one year after he left Vietnam he arrived in the U.S., and his wife joined him here four years later. Out of his nine siblings, five have left Vietnam. One brother lives in Oklahoma City. Three sisters and a brother live in France.
–Zoe Zolbrod
