VIETNAMESE REFUGEES DAY, May 2-2009/House Resolution 342/Ngày Người Tị Nạn Cộng Sản VN

Rep. JOSEPH CAO (R-LA) statement from the US House floor on April 28th, 2009:
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 342 to designate May 2, 2009, as the Vietnamese Refugees Day.
As the Vietnam War came to an end, millions fled Communist-controlled Vietnam by boat and by land, across the Cambodian, Laotian, and Thai borders into refugee camps.
Like me, many of the conflicts refugees came to the United States. In fact, it was April 28, 1975, exactly 34 years ago today, that, as Saigon fell, I climbed aboard a C-130 destined for the United States and my new life.
Millions of others did the same, leaving their beloved homeland to find a new life.
To date, over 2,000,000 Vietnamese boat people and other refugees of the conflict remain dispersed globally.
In the United States, as of 2006, 72 percent of Vietnamese-Americans are naturalized United States citizens the highest rate among Asian groups.
Vietnamese-Americans have made significant contributions to the cultural and economic prosperity of the United States. They count among their ranks artists, singers, actors, scientists, astronauts, restaurateurs, Olympians, and elected officials. While Vietnamese-Americans accomplishments are significant and notable, it is critical that their history and the history of their ancestors be recorded.
Mr. Speaker, on May 2, 2009, the Library of CongressỌ Asian Division is joining many Vietnamese-American organizations across the United States in sponsoring a symposium entitled: Journey to Freedom: A Boat People Retrospective. In honor of this significant event, I ask my colleagues support House Resolution 342 to designate May 2, 2009, as Vietnamese Refugees Day
By doing so, we enshrine in the hearts and consciousness of Americans the tragic, heroic, and uplifting stories of perseverance and the pursuit of freedom of millions of Vietnamese refugees to ensure these stories will stand as an inspiration to generations of Americans to come.

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