AmerasianWorld.com
That is the original name of SaigonNezumi.com.
I am an Amerasian. A Japanese Amerasian. Children of War. I formed the Amerasian Foundation to help my fellow Amerasians. With the help of AAHope Foundation and the Amerasian Childfind Network, I came to Vietnam to continue my work. I was lucky, from Saigon, I was able to create a Global Network of organizations helping Amerasians and other Children of War from around the world. Together we helped search and reunite Amerasians, and Adoptees, with their Asian mothers or American fathers.
I will be blunt, the majority of people really are not interested in the plight of Amerasians around the world. It is so easy to label us the sons and daughters of prostitutes. Whether we are in the US, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, or Vietnam, we endure this harsh label. Our mother’s endure it even more but they teach us to walk with our heads up. I always like meeting mothers of Amerasians since they really make me feel proud of who I am and of my Japanese mother.
In return, I vow to always protect the mothers of Amerasians. W, Amerasians, owe this to our mothers.
I am an Amerasian.
The mother of my two daughters (now in their 20s) is Chinese Vietnamese. Over all these years I never thought of my daughters as Amerasian, but of course they are, as you are. From the 70s and 80s, the media defined Amerasians as abandoned children of American servicemen left behind in Vietnam. That is certainly an important constituency, but I thank you for broadening my perspective on my childrens’ identity. And we fathers must protect the mothers of our Amerasian children, although my wife is quite able to glare down any insensitive lout attempting to put her down.
I am Amerasian too, but it’s my mother who’s American. I have 3 Amerasian siblings (“war babies”), all of whom are half African-American and half Viet Namese. Nearly all of my nieces and nephews are Amerasian, as is one brother-in-law. Amerasians rock!
KEVIN, AS YOU KNOW I SPENT 18 MONTHS IN VN DURING THE WAR. THE WOMEN WHO STAFFED THE HOUSES ALMOST NEVER CARRIED THEIR CHILDREN TO TERM. THE MAMMA=SANS VIRTUALLY KEPT THEM AS SLAVES THEY HELD THEM BY HOLDING THIER ID CARDS UNTIL THEY PAID OFF THIER DEBT, WHICH GREW LARGER EVERY MONTH. SHE PROVIED AND CARGED THE GIRLS FOR EVERYTHING. SHE WOULD PAY THEM AND MOST WOULD SEND MONEY TO THEIR FAMILIES. THEY THEN WOULDN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE ON FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH. THEY COULDN’T LEAVE BECAUSE IF CAUGHT WITHOUT AN ID CARD THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN JAILED AS VC AS A RESULT THE MAMMA-SAN WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO HAVE CHILDREN. SINCE MOST DOCTORS WERE TRAINED BY THE FRENCH THEY WERE PROFICENT AT ABORTION. SO VERY FEW CHILD WERE BORN TO LADIES O THE NIGHT. MOST AMERASIANS WERE BORN TO COUPLES WHO WERE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND THE SAME AS ANY PLACE. AS FAR AS THAT TEACHER GOES FIRING HER WAS TO GOOD FOR HER. I’D LIKE TO SLAP HER FACE. WHEN I SAW WHAT SHE WROTE I WAS MAD ENOUGH TO SPIT FIRE.
Simply very touching.