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Anthony Lenh Dinh Ngo
Anthony Lenh Dinh Ngo was born on April 30th, 1950 in a village located near the sea of Thai Binh city in North Vietnam. In 1954 when he was 4 years-old, Vietnam became divided. No...ver másAnthony Lenh Dinh Ngo was born on April 30th, 1950 in a village located near the sea of Thai Binh city in North Vietnam. In 1954 when he was 4 years-old, Vietnam became divided. North Vietnam chose to follow Communism, but South Vietnam chose to be a Democratic nation. His parents did not want to live within a Communist nation so they decided to escape to South Vietnam. During this time, the United Nations was evacuating North Vietnamese to South Vietnam. Anyone who wanted to evacuate had to go to Hai Phong city, approximately twenty miles from his village. As a result, Ngo's family chose to travel by boat with a group of other North Vietnamese escapees. On the day of their escape, the men stayed on the boat far from the seashore and from the port to avoid loyal Communist North Vietnamese that would report the escapees to the Communist soldiers. When it was dark, Ngo's mother carried her baby (his sister) and his younger brother, his older sister held his hand; they joined groups with some other women and children and went to the seashore, the place which they had planned. The boat gave off the light signals and the women and children had to walk from the beach into water to reach the boat. They prepared some banana trees for small children can hold on because of deep water; he and his older sister held one banana tree and one lady pushed them. When they came to the boat the water raised up to his mother's nose because of the tide, they could die if they came little later. Fortunately, they sailed to Hai Phong safely and the United Nations flew them to South Vietnam.
After few peaceful years, the war was broken because Communist North Vietnam wanted to occupy South Vietnam. On August 20th, 1970 Ngo joined the South Vietnam Navy and eventually became a Navy Officer. When South Vietnam fell to the North Vietnam on April 30, 1975, he was one of many soldiers placed in “re-education” camps, which were worsen than prisons. He was in the U-Minh forest camp for three years, after which he returned home to his wife and two children. He was tired of living under the harsh Communist government and tired of watching out for local Communist spies. He decided to take his family and attempt to escape Vietnam. However, he had little money and escaping was extremely difficult, but he had a skill that escapees needed, he knew how to drive a boat and navigate the waters. He would try three times before he was successful. The first attempt was made from Ha Tien. Ngo and his family paid for passage, but the boat never arrived. In the second attempt, he drove his friend's boat on the Mekong River, going from Long Xuyen to the sea. But the engine broke down and everyone on the boat was caught by Communist soldiers. The men were taken to prison while the women and children were allowed to return home after one week. The plan for the third attempt also included navigating a boat down the Mekong River from Long Xuyen into the sea. Ngo and a naval friend would be responsible for navigating the boat carrying a group of eighty-three escapees. The group would include his family, two brothers, a sister-in-law, two cousins, and a few friends and their families. The group left on December 15th, 1980. By mid-night they had reached the sea. There was a horrible storm. The little river boat, measuring 39 feet x 9 feet containing a ten horse power engine, was no match against the massive waves of the sea. The waves drenched the boat with water. The only thing they could do was pray. The storm finally passed. After three days at sea, the boat finally landed in Malaysia. The group was sent to a refugee camp on the Malaysian island Paulo Bidong. Ngo, his family, and relatives would spend three months there before the United States approved them as immigrants to the United States. The U.S. then moved them to a refugee camp in Galang II, Indonesia. After two months in Galang II, they were moved to Singapore where they spent one week before being flown to the United States. It was May 21th, 1981.
His life in Vietnam has allowed Ngo to see the conflict between two different ideologies: Communism and Individualism. This conflict has caused a war taking too many lives. A war that has divided families ( a war that “dad” and “son” were in different side of the battle, which happened to many Vietnamese families). Now having lived in the United States, a rich, powerful nation with much freedom of choice, he has a better understanding about the world and its conflicts. He is a Catholic because his grandfather was a Buddhist who converted to Catholicism. Many of his cousins, however, continue to be Buddhists. As a result, he enjoys reading and learning about the different world religions and the Bible. His passion for religion has driven him to write this book, to share his insight and discovery from reading and learning about the Bible.ver menos