Next Life on his family's escape from Vietnam

During much of the Vietnam War, my father was in communist prison because he had an education. When it became clear that the Communist Party would rule Vietnam after the war, he became concerned about his own freedom, and looked at China as an example of the dehumanizing effects of a totalitarian state. It was then that he came up with the idea of ​​building his first boat, which he offered his closest friends to escape in. It was not a luxurious offer, as the chance of survival was very small. But they were stubborn and were picked up by a European boat outside Singapore that took them on to the United States, France and Norway. He chose Norway because he wanted a new start, in a country that did not have a previous history with Vietnam. I was born when they arrived in Norway in 1980. My name is Hai because I was conceived on the boat in chaotic conditions. The esoteric meaning of my name is "eternal chaos", while the direct translation is "sea".

The morality of our refugee history is that moral lasts forever and must be safeguarded at all costs, while life is temporary and comes in second to moral and freedom.

I have attached a picture of the boat that the father made, there were 51 people who were transported in it. It is my second oldest brother who is on the deck (now editor of Filmmagasinet).