Vu Quang

Vu Quang was one of the first Vietnamese refugees to arrive in Northfield during the early summer of 1975, sponsored by the Trinity Lutheran Church and the Northfield Refugee Committee. He was a highly educated man, a former colonel, and a writer. Before he left Vietnam, he had been working as the Dean of Instruction at the National Defense College in Saigon as well as the editor in chief of the monthly National Defense Review.

Vu Quang’s family at his house (Feb 16, 1980). Photo Courtesy of Judy Dirks.

Life must have been drastically different here in Minnesota for Vu and his family, yet they were quickly accepted into the Northfield community. At one point they were staying in the St. John’s House at St Olaf College. However, they lived in various locations around town until a long term home could be found. The Quang family took the changes and challenges in stride and soon established themselves in their new homeland. Vu taught part time in the Political Science Department at St Olaf College, and his wife Cecille, a former French and piano teacher, also worked for the college.

The writer in Vu did not disappear either. He was a frequent contributor to The Northfield News. In an article “Refugees’ imagination goes too far” published in August 1975, he compared the reality of America with the imagination of refugees: “Even in a country like America where communication becomes very advanced, it can’t reflect truly all aspects of a way of life or an image of a nation…”

Vu Quang and his family (May 30, 1980). Photo Courtesy of Judy Dirks.

“America is a country in which the mass media are relatively large and strong compared to other nations. In spite of that the image of the United States isn’t always conveyed correctly to the world. In Vietnam, or generally speaking the Asian countries, in which the press, radio and television are much more limited, the American picture came to us in two aspects: On one hand, we imagined a vast, dry, wild, prairie land in which the American pioneers fought the native Indians on their way to exploring a new country. Many tough battles were fought and the pioneers were always the victors. On the other hand, we imagined a narrow land in the East with many skyscrapers, big factories with high smoke stacks spreading black smoke along the horizon. Is this the true America? The imagination of a foreigner goes too far. Imagination usually does…”

References:

Jeff Goldberg, “Quangs here by virtue of barge,” (Northfield News, July 10, 1975).

Vu Quang, “Refugees’ imagination goes too far,” (Northfield News, August 7, 1975).