‘Time to Live’ : Refugee’s Anguish Ends in Joyous Reunion

When his wife and daughter emerged from the aircraft, Chinh Xuan Vu squealed sharply and clamped his hand to his chest, over his heart. For him, it was the end of a nine-year ordeal.

A family had been reunited. No more false hopes. No more anguish.

In 1977, Vu was forced to flee Vietnam. He had no choice but to leave behind his wife, Chau Bui Thanh, and his infant daughter, Vu Anh Chi. All these years, Vu had worked toward a reunion with his family.

Finally, the Hanoi government consented to allow his wife and daughter to leave Vietnam. They flew to Thailand Aug. 7 and spent 10 days in Bangkok before the long flight to California that ended with Monday night’s tearful reunion on a runway at John Wayne Airport.

When Chau Bui, 36, and Vu Anh, now 10, descended from the airplane, Vu rushed to them and hugged them tightly. He was still squealing in delight.

‘It Will Take Time’

“Do you recognize who I am?” he asked his daughter.

Vu Anh nodded and kissed her father.

Obviously exhausted by the long trip, the little girl looked bewildered amid the sea of people who turned out to meet them. She smiled at My Bui, her aunt, who came from San Jose for the reunion. She had not seen her in six years.

But Vu Anh could not describe how she felt.

Nor could her mother, still crying.

“I don’t know what to say. I really don’t,” Chau Bui said in fragmented English. “It will take time to know what this means.”

Vu, who was accompanied to the airport by his three brothers and about 20 friends, could only grin.

“It’s so wonderful,” he said before taking his wife and child to a Garden Grove apartment he had justed rented. “I can’t believe that they are finally here.”

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) also was present at Monday night’s reunion. Vu had sought Dornan’s help in getting the U.S. State Department to coax the Vietnamese government into granting Chau Bui and Vu Anh’s release because of Vu’s declining health.

Earlier in the day, Vu had spoken quietly of the last nine years. He remembered the fateful day in 1977 when he was forced to leave his wife and infant daughter, who was “barely beginning to walk.”

Vu, 42, is weak and suffers from asthma, a heart condition and other respiratory ailments. He has had major lung surgery five times and has had one lung removed. He had to quit his job as an electronics technician because of his health. He lives on disability insurance, but he has to spend $500 a month for a portable oxygen resuscitator to which he is hooked constantly.

“I’ve lived through much trauma. I’ve been fighting for too long, even with myself,” he said. “But it’s time to stop worrying and start living.”

Vu said he resisted the communist regime in Vietnam and feared incarceration. So he decided to leave, thinking that once settled somewhere else he could send for his wife and child.

Fled Country

“I didn’t want to take the risk. But I had to leave because I would have been arrested if I had stayed,” he said.

The boat on which Vu and 15 other people sailed out of Vietnam developed mechanical problems on the first day at sea. Their food was contaminated, and they survived the next 27 days with only small rations of water.

They were rescued by a Korean boat and taken to Indonesia. He spent six months there before coming to Orange County, where he has three brothers. Although he found a good job, his health steadily deteriorated until he was forced to retire.

In the meantime, he kept the dim hope his wife and child could join him here. Chau Bui tried to escape 10 times, he said. Twice she was jailed for trying to flee Vietnam. Occasionally, letters from his wife and daughter arrived. But he never spoke with them.

Wants to Live Quietly

For now, Vu simply wants to live quietly in the Garden Grove apartment. He wants his daughter to continue the piano lessons she began in Vietnam. He wants to take her to Disneyland “first thing.”

“But mostly, I just need to meet her first. It’ll take a little time to get acquainted with her because we don’t know each other. But I have big plans for her. It will be wonderful,” he said proudly.

As he spoke, Vu’s eyes moistened. He kept his composure throughout a 45-minute conversation, hints of smiles creased his smooth, boyish face. He said he was ready to put the last nine years behind him.

On a living room wall hung a clock with an inscription that seemed meant for the moment:

“Where there is great love, there are always great miracles.”