A Brief History of Little Saigon

Between 1975 and 2000 more than two million Vietnamese fled their homeland. The first two waves of mass emigration are known as vuot biên (translated as “to flee by sea”). My parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles were among those who escaped Vietnam as boat people, leaving their homes just three days before the fall of Saigon in April 1975. Their escape was fueled by rumors of a Communist-led bloodbath.