Randy Tran, an Amerasian and a singer

 

Yesterday, I had the good opportunity to catch up with Randy Tran, an Amerasian who left Vietnam in 1990 on the Homecoming Act ticket. He arrived at the cafe with a spring in his steps and a strong handshake. At my prodding, a bespectacled Randy, with a 5 o’clock shadow and a soft voice, begin to tell me his story while we waited for tea to arrive.

Randy is my nickname that I picked up from my singing career. I was born and raised in a small town near Hoi An and Da Nang. I never knew who my birth mother was because she left me with a Catholic church a month after I was born. The nuns and the pastor raised me until my adoption by a Vietnamese woman. However, when the Amerasian Immigration Act was passed in 1982, my adopted mother sold me to a Vietnamese family who intended to use me as a ticket to immigrate to the US. I was really upset and told my adopted mother that I’m human, not a thing that can be bought and sold but she didn’t really care. 

From 1983 onwards, I lived with my new family who initially treated me decently and even put me in school. This was the period when Amerasians became ‘hot’ items because of the Act and many wealthy families were able to afford to buy an Amerasian ‘identity’ in order to immigrate. However, it also leads to many Amerasians being taken advantage of with the promise of better lives, money, and enough food to eat if they are willing to sign documents stating that they are legally related to their new Vietnamese family. However, by 1987 the family had decided that I was a bad ‘investment’ and took me out of school. In 1987 the Homecoming Act was passed, making it easier to immigrate – you only have to look Amerasian or ‘un-Vietnamese’ to get a visa – to America so we ended up immigrating in 1990.

Unfortunately, within 3 weeks of our arrival, my family became eager to kick me out of the house. I remember being really ill and no one asked if I was okay, if I had taken my medication or even give me soup. I was ignored! They went as far as to ask me to eat less food because it was costing them money! Finally I told them that the welfare money given to us should be split into equal parts and I’ll be responsible for myself. Every month I received $40 in food stamps and $180 in cash. I had to give $100 to the family just so that I could sleep on their sofa. I started putting myself in high school, hung out with other Amerasian kids and eventually left my Vietnamese family. It was really hard on me because they were the only family I knew and they were so much part of my life even though they were never really very good to me.

I believe that all the Amerasians left today were unfortunate victims of frauds. I blame them for being so naive and blinded by false promises of better lives, money and most of all, being part of a family. At the same time I can also understand why they were so vulnerable to deception. When you have nothing, someone comes along and offers more than what you have had in your whole life until then, what do you do? Say no? 

Since winning a couple of singing contests in the US, I got into the music industry and became famous among the Amerasian community. In 1990 I came to the United States a nobody and after two years, I’m somebody. I’m famous! 

I live in Michigan now although I lived in Orange County in California for a long time. I returned to Vietnam for the first time in 2007 to try and look for my birth mother. I found someone who claimed to be her but a DNA testing proved otherwise. I’ve not stopped looking since and hope to find her some day. And I’m also here to find out more about the Amerasians who are still remains in Vietnam and I’m exploring ways to help them to leave and go to America. To let more people know about the Amerasian story. After all they don’t really belong here.