美国国家公共电台 NPR Decades After Clashing With The Klan, A Thriving Vietnamese Community In Texas

Decades After Clashing With The Klan, A Thriving Vietnamese Community In Texas

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

The Trump¹ administration wants to turn down the heat on America's melting pot by creating policies that would slow the rate of even legal immigration. The president believes many foreign-born people are not assimilating to American society and are expanding the underclass. But what exactly does it mean to assimilate? NPR's John Burnett looks back to the 1970s, when large numbers of Vietnamese refugees settled on the Texas Gulf³ Coast. And he tells us how they've fared since then.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE⁴: On this day 39 years ago, the Ku Klux Klan came to the fishing village of Seadrift, Texas. KPRC-TV in Houston covered the story and interviewed Louis Beam, the Texas grand dragon of the KKK.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In Texas, the Klan is mobilizing against these Vietnamese fishermen.

LOUIS BEAM: If they are to have this state, they will get it one way and one way only, just like the Mexicans got the Alamo - by storm.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Klan says it'll hold a rally soon at which it'll set fire to a shrimp⁵ boat meant to represent all those owned by Vietnamese.

BURNETT: After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the US government helped 130,000 South Vietnamese resettle in America as political refugees. They were U.S. allies during the Vietnam War. But most Americans didn't want them in their backyard. Many Vietnamese made their way to the Texas Gulf Coast, drawn⁶ by balmy weather and fishing - a trade they knew well - only to be met by hooded⁷ Klansmen who told them America for Americans.

THE NGUYEN: Really, they don't like us - seems like discrimination. And they want to try to push us out. But we not give up easy.

BURNETT: The Nguyen joined the exodus⁸ from Vietnam and arrived in Seadrift in 1978 as a skinny, bewildered 21-year-old. He launched a crab⁹ boat in San Antonio Bay, whose placid¹⁰ waters are patrolled by pelicans¹¹ and plied¹² by sea trout¹³ and black drum. There was bad blood between the Vietnamese fishermen and longtime residents from the beginning, complicated by the language barrier. People were resentful. The newcomers were getting help from the government. Also, they put out too many crab traps, according to Diane Wilson. She's a fourth-generation fisherwoman in Seadrift.

DIANE WILSON: When the Vietnamese came and first started doing it, they would put 10 where there had been one. So they didn't know, and nobody told them.

BURNETT: Then tensions escalated¹⁴. A local white crabber¹⁵ was shot and killed in a dispute with Vietnamese fishermen over fishing territory. Two Vietnamese were charged with murder and acquitted¹⁶ on grounds of self-defense. That's when the Ku Klux Klan showed up, and things got ugly.

WILSON: After the shooting, it was like (mimicking explosion). I know several houses got burned. Several boats were set fire to. And I think a large number of Vietnamese left because they were afraid.

NGUYEN: See, really, before, I didn't know about KKK or nothing. But it end up when you get killed - the guy get killed, they show up. You know, they burn two, three boats over here - crab boats. We left after that.

BURNETT: The Nguyen and other Vietnamese crabbers fled to Louisiana for their safety. But many came back to Seadrift over time, including Nguyen, who started a family there and opened a bait shop on the town docks. He still traps blue crab. In his packing shed, workers dump a chest of ice onto a table. The cold quiets down the crustaceans¹⁷.

The Vietnamese fisherman have blended in. Forty years later, Seadrift is more a mosaic¹⁸ than a melting pot. Vietnamese is still spoken around town. And they celebrate the Lunar New Year. Vietnamese kids attend Seadrift School, home of the Fighting Pirates, alongside Anglo and Hispanic students. And everyone who makes a living on the bay is united against common foes¹⁹ - heavy regulations, ocean pollution and cheap, imported shrimp.

NGUYEN: Really, I say everything right now - we work together. We fundraise - all that. Like, church and all that - we together - the work. After hurricanes, we helped, all that. Yeah, we're good friends together.

BURNETT: A hundred and fifty miles up the coast from tiny Seadrift, Houston is home to more than 80,000 Vietnamese - the largest population outside of California. Like the Astros, the NASA space center and flooding bayous, the Vietnamese are now part of what makes Houston Houston.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: This is Radio Saigon - KREH 900 AM - Pecan Grove²⁰, Houston.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BURNETT: In addition to Vietnamese radio, street signs are in the native language. And the South Vietnamese flag - red stripes on a yellow field - flutters outside of pho noodle houses.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Vietnamese).

BURNETT: Thao Ha is driving us down Bellaire Boulevard, the main street of a sprawling²¹ district they call Little Saigon.

THAO HA: OK. So now you start to see, like, Tan Hoy (ph) Sandwich Shop. It's got Vietnamese language and English. And then Don's Cafe is a very popular banh mi shop.

BURNETT: Thao Ha came to Houston with her parents in 1975. She's a sociologist²² at MiraCosta College in California. According to her, the flinty fishing towns were not the only places hostile to Vietnamese back then.

HA: There was some racism²³, some bullying²⁴ from the neighborhood kids. They told us to go back to our country and called us gooks and things like that.

BURNETT: Houston's Vietnamese community, like the one in Seadrift, offers a lens through which to view the current climate toward immigrants. Some immigration hardliners consider these enclaves too foreign. And the Trump administration wants to admit newcomers based on skills and education, not family-based immigration, which is how most Vietnamese got here.

HA: When Vietnamese came in '75 and '80, there was a governmental support. There were government programs to bring us here. And that's the complete opposite now, where it's doing everything that they can to turn away immigrants, to turn away asylum-seekers, to push out those who are already here.

BURNETT: After the war ended, Vietnamese refugees carried with them a fiery²⁵ anti-communism. Like the Cubans before them, many became staunch Republicans. That political fidelity²⁶ continues today. Steven Le, a conservative family doctor, represents Little Saigon on the Houston City Council. He supports Trump's aggressive border security.

STEVEN LE: You know, obviously, I think all countries should have borders and making sure that there's not a lot of illegal immigration, you know, happening.

BURNETT: But he doesn't think the president should slow down legal immigration. In fact, Le believes there's a way to make sure immigrants become part of the larger community.

LE: I find the easiest way to assimilate and to be proud that you are an American is actually make them a citizen - plain and simple.

BURNETT: According to a recent study by the Migration² Policy Institute, Vietnamese in America are thriving. Compared to other immigrants, Vietnamese have higher incomes, are less likely to live in poverty and more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens, though they lag behind in English proficiency²⁷.

Mike Trinh is proud to be part of the prosperous Vietnamese business community of Little Saigon. After becoming a champion kickboxer, Trinh opened Mike's Seafood²⁸.

MIKE TRINH: I can say it's the immigrant mentality²⁹. We work our butt³⁰ off for everything. We carve a niche³¹ out of - from nothing.

BURNETT: Mike's specializes in Vietnamese-Cajun seafood and Asian-Southern fusion³² that's all the rage in Houston. Trinh leads us into the kitchen with bubbling vats³³ of shrimp and the air pleasantly piquant³⁴.

TRINH: We spice. We season everything - onions, garlic, everything. Vietnamese community - we like a lot of flavor. And some people put ginger³⁵. Some people put - everybody has their own twist of how they do things.

BURNETT: Across town, we visit an historically Vietnamese apartment complex, where we meet My Linh Tran. She's a 22-year-old math and science teacher who's also navigating³⁶ two cultures. Tran stands outside of her parents' apartment that looks onto a Buddhist³⁷ shrine³⁸ in the courtyard.

MY LINH TRAN: I know a lot of my friends - my American friends - there is shock because I'm still living with my parents. But they don't understand. It's a choice. And if I can and if my boyfriend - I have an American boyfriend - is OK with it if we get married, like, I want to continue to stay with my parents. And he seems OK with it.

BURNETT: Her parents want her to retain as much of her Vietnamese identity as possible.

TRAN: They don't really like it that I have an American accent when I speak Vietnamese. But they don't understand the fact that I have a Vietnamese accent speaking English, as well.

BURNETT: The administration has removed the phrase a nation of immigrants from official terminology³⁹. Meanwhile in Houston, city officials boast it has become the most diverse city in America. And the Vietnamese are deep in the heart of it. John Burnett, NPR News, Houston.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

8 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

9 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

10 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

11 pelicans   

n.鹈鹕( pelican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Kurt watched the Pelicans fire their jets and scorch the grass. 库尔特看着鹈鹕运兵船点火，它们的喷焰把草烧焦。 来自互联网
• The Pelican Feeding Officers present an educational talk while feeding the pelicans. 那个正在喂鹈鹕的工作人员会边喂鹈鹕边给它上一节教育课。 来自互联网

12 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

14 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

15 crabber   

n.捕蟹者，捕蟹小船，专爱挑剔的人

参考例句：

16 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

17 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

18 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

19 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

20 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

21 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

22 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

23 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

24 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

26 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

27 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

28 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

29 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

30 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

31 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

32 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

33 vats   

varieties 变化，多样性，种类

参考例句：

• Fixed rare issue with getting stuck in VATS mode. 修正了极少出现的VATS模式卡住的问题。
• Objective To summarize the experience of VATS clinic application. 目的总结电视胸腔镜手术(vats)胸外科疾病治疗中的临床应用经验。

34 piquant   

adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Bland vegetables are often served with a piquant sauce.清淡的蔬菜常以辛辣的沙司调味。
• He heard of a piquant bit of news.他听到了一则令人兴奋的消息。

35 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

36 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

37 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

38 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

39 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。