Writer Urges the U.S. to See ‘a Hidden Treasure of Talents’

Trong Minh, who arrived in the United States three months after the fall of Saigon in 1975, gestured toward the open restaurant door looking out onto bustling Little Saigon and began speaking rapidly in Vietnamese.

“He says Little Saigon was once a deserted area but the Vietnamese refugees built it up to this magnificent, very impressive business district in a few years,” said Rick Murphy, translating for his friend.

Minh had made his point: The concentration of more than 800 Vietnamese-owned businesses exemplifies the accomplishments Vietnamese refugees have achieved in their adopted country. Even more to the point, Minh said, it illustrates the fact that Vietnamese refugees in the United States and in other receiving countries have been an asset rather than a burden for society.

Six years ago, Minh, a former journalist and screenwriter in Vietnam, began chronicling the achievements of Vietnamese refugees.

The result is “The Pride of the Vietnamese” ($32), which for the first time assembles profiles of the best and brightest of the Vietnamese refugee community.

These distinguished Vietnamese “luminaries,” as Minh calls them, are scattered around the globe--in France, Finland, Germany, Australia, Japan, Canada and the United States.

The bilingual self-published book--the English and Vietnamese versions start at opposite ends of the book--provides biographical sketches of 60 Vietnamese “stars” who are, as Minh writes, “gathered together into a constellation where they can shine in unison for the glory of their country.”

They include:

* The family of Thoa Nguyen, whose three sons and two daughters all received engineering degrees from the University of Washington on the same day in 1987.

* Nguyen Huu Xuong, a UC San Diego professor of physics, chemistry and biology whose invention of a machine to help AIDS researchers has made national headlines.

* Hoang Thieu Quan, who became the first woman to serve as director of finance in Montreal, Canada, in 1991.

* Dustin Nguyen of Costa Mesa, who co-starred in TV’s “21 Jump Street.”

Minh, 52, writes in his introduction that he hopes that “a look at the track record of Vietnamese achievements in the overseas setting will cause both fellow Vietnamese and foreigners to realize that Vietnam is a hidden treasure of talents.”

Seated at a table with the book’s translator, Nguyen Van Giai, and Murphy, who edited the English section, Minh said he was partly motivated to write the book to combat negative stereotypes of Vietnamese refugees in the United States.

“I want people in my second country to know Vietnamese people are busy, that they work hard,” said Minh, whose real name is Vu Trong Chat. (As is the custom of Vietnamese authors, he adopted a symbolic pen name. Trong Minh translates into Values Intelligence.)

“The Pride of the Vietnamese,” which Minh hopes will be the first of a series of similar volumes, was launched in December with a press conference attended by several hundred members of the Vietnamese community.

Translating for Minh, Murphy said: “He realizes it’s at an opportune time because Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong are being forcibly repatriated. He says the book, by talking about the Vietnamese character, culture and history, will show that there is no cause for their repatriation--that they’re potential contributors to this society.”

“The Pride of the Vietnamese” will be available only in Vietnamese bookstores, although Minh hopes eventually to have it distributed in general bookstores “so the American population can understand my people.”