Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 302 West 11th Street, Elgin, TX 78621 US - How I escaped Communist Vietnam to become a priest
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How I escaped Communist Vietnam to become a priest
By Bob Horning Photography By James Luning |
Sy
Van Kim knew he wanted to be a priest when
he was in fifth grade. After all, six
cousins were priests, and 10 first and second cousins were nuns.
But when the Communists took over South Vietnam on April 30, 1975,
and closed the seminaries, they also closed his opportunity to become
a priest – at least in his own country. A long detour to the
priesthood began that included his escape from the country and a
return visit 23 years later.
Many people had been fleeing the country as the likelihood of
defeat to the North became more certain. Kim, eight relatives,
and others began planning their own getaway in 1977. About two million
eventually left the country before and after the conflict. The process
was lengthy and secret, because, as Fr. Kim says, “It was not
easy to share with others since they may be the government’s
ears. We had to study very carefully whom we could share our idea
with, or whom to invite to be part of our group.”
For example, when Kim heard that a classmate, Quan Long Nguyen,
was building a boat, he stopped by to investigate. “After conversations
and testing each other, we agreed to work together and plan the
trip,” Fr. Kim recalls. Nguyen would be the captain of the
boat and his cousin the assistant.
A little trickery was also necessary. Nguyen and some of the others
pretended to be fishermen so the authorities wouldn’t be suspicious
of them or the boat. They also made friends with people who were
close to the coast guard and policemen. “These friends could
do some dirty work for us,” Fr. Kim says. “They would
invite the coast guard and policemen to parties, weddings, even
funeral dinners. Then, while they were at the parties, you could
sneak out of the country.”
It
was in the middle of the night, March 19, 1979, when Kim’s
group of 69 made their break in a small wooden boat, 33 feet long
and 10 feet wide. They faced the prospect of being thrown in
jail if they were caught. They also faced danger from pirates, who
were prevalent then, since they knew that anyone escaping must have
money or gold to pay their way out of the country.
For fear of the coast guard at Phu Quoc Island, they headed out
to international waters, southeast of Vung Tay Bay. Then they went
southwest towards Malaysia. “We were so excited when we saw
a ship which was on the way to the Philippines, or Hong Kong or
Taiwan,” Fr. Kim recalls. “Even though the ship was a
few miles distant, we shouted loudly and burned oil in order to
send an SOS smoke signal. We hoped the ship’s crew would see
and rescue us, but our efforts were in vain. You can imagine our
disappointment.”
Their boat had only a two-cylinder engine, smaller than that
of an automobile, and they traveled for nearly a week. Eventually,
they neared their destination, only to be intercepted by the Malaysian
coast guard. They were detained for 18 hours on an island, then
pulled back out into international waters.
All this time they could barely move on the boat. “We
were seated like sardines are arranged in a fish can,” says
Fr. Kim. “Almost everyone got seasick, including me. I’m
sure we prayed a lot.” He adds jokingly, “If our journey
to Malaysia had taken a month on the Pacific Ocean, with all of
our praying, we would have become living saints.”
They decided that there was only one thing to do. “Because
of the rough waves, we couldn’t stay out in international waters,”
Fr. Kim says. “And we weren’t going to give up on the
new life of freedom we were looking for. So we ran into Malaysia
again. In order to make sure the coast guard could not pull us out
into international waters a second time, we ran our boat aground
and destroyed the engine with salt water and sand, and also destroyed
the hull of the boat.”
“When
we landed, we were relieved. Our anxiety was replaced with joy and
happiness because we were still alive, we had our freedom and we
were going to settle in a free country.”
In Malaysia, they joined a refugee camp of 40,000 people in a
one square-mile area. Their shelter was a hut made of coconut
leaves. There, Kim went to Mass during the day, studied, and chopped
and sold wood to supplement the daily ration of rice. After a month,
they were transferred to Kuala Lumpur, the nation’s capitol.
There were only volunteer jobs available at the refugee camp in
Kuala Lumpur. Kim helped senior citizens who had no relatives there,
by getting food and water rations for them from the United Nations
organization running the camp.
After nine months, they were able to leave Malaysia and fly to New
Orleans, thanks to Kim’s uncle who lived there and sponsored
their entry into the United States. They landed in America on
Dec. 12, 1979. While adjusting to the American culture and language,
Kim worked on shrimp and oyster boats, and in restaurants opening
oysters for customers. But he hadn’t abandoned his hopes and
plans of becoming a priest.
Later he heard that Fr. Joseph Tran was in Lansing. Fr. Tran
had been the associate priest in Kim’s parish in Vietnam after
his ordination in 1974, and now serves as the pastor for the Vietnamese
community at St. Andrew Dung-Lac Parish in Lansing. He encouraged
Kim to come to Michigan to study for the priesthood. Even though
everyone advised him against going north because of the cold weather,
he did anyway. Now, he can say, “After living in Michigan over
20 years, I love it, even if I have to adjust my genes in the winter.”
He began seminary at St. John’s in Plymouth, Mich., studying
there three years before his final year at Sacred Heart in Detroit.
On June 9, 1990, 11 years after fleeing his country, Joseph Sy Kim
– the name he took upon becoming a U.S. citizen –
was ordained a priest by Bishop Kenneth Povish at St. Mary Cathedral
in Lansing.
Fr. Kim describes his ordination as “the result of a deep,
insistent longing that would not be stopped by the many roadblocks
that I encountered. I also truly believe that being forced to
wait this length of time for the fulfillment of my dream has helped
me to be more grateful for my vocation.” Fr. Kim has served
several parishes in the Lansing Diocese, and he has been pastor
of Blessed Sacrament Church in Burton for more than three years.
Return to Vietnam
Last
summer, Fr. Kim returned to Vietnam for a three-week visit.
Going along were two parishioners, Ray and Gail Fielder, another
boat person named John St. Joseph, Fr. Kim’s uncle, two of
his uncle’s daughters, and a friend of one daughter.
“I started to think about returning to Vietnam about two
years before I actually went,” he explains. “I wanted
to see my mother’s grave and my relatives on my mother’s
side in North Vietnam, whom I had never seen.” Fr. Kim was
born in North Vietnam, but his parents moved to the South when he
was five months old. His mother died in 1969, and his father, who
is 85, now lives in California with some of his family. “I
also wanted to experience the life of the North Vietnamese, see
how things have changed in the country since I left and see what
I could do for those who haven’t had the same opportunity I
have had.”
There were a couple side benefits to going. It allowed Fr.
Kim to carry money to his relatives from the Kim family in the States.
He was also able to take a suitcase of medication for Dong Vinh
Parish in Bien Hoa on behalf of the Blessed Sacrament Parish Nurse
Ministry, as well as two suitcases of clothes for people in North
Vietnam.
The highlight of the trip was the celebration of Fr. Kim’s
12th year of ordination. It was made extra special because the
Mass and festivities took place at the church where he was baptized
– St. Peter An-Cuong Church in Nam-Dinh City, about 90 miles
southwest of Hanoi. A band, along with six to seven hundred people,
many in festive dress, went in procession to the mission church.
After Mass, there was a party in the dinner hall, in which a large
banner with a photo of Fr. Kim celebrating his first Mass hung on
one wall.
He also was able to celebrate Mass at the church where he received
first Communion and was confirmed. The Fielders say the trip
seemed to be party after party, as everywhere they went the people
wanted to honor Fr. Kim. “There was so much I wanted to see,”
Fr. Kim says. “I was happy to meet my uncles, aunts and other
relatives, but wished I had had more time with them and with parishioners.”
The
thing that Fr. Kim says has changed most since he left is the economic
boom in the cities. “There is still a big gap between rich
and poor, and a lot of corruption,” he explains. “One
regret was not being able to help my own people, who are so poor,
especially in the countryside. I couldn’t forget one couple
who fished in the small creek. The man sat on the wooden skiff and
controlled the fishing net while the woman on the bank pulled the
skiff by a rope, because they didn’t have money for a motor.
The unemployment rate in the countryside is about 20-30 percent,
and those who do have jobs earn only $40-50 a month.”
Fr. Kim says that even though the people live in poverty, they
still preserve time for Mass and Church activities. “They
don’t trade their faith for material things. Everyone, young
and old, goes to celebrate Mass and receive the sacraments, especially
penance. The church is packed even though the temperature may be
90-100 degrees (no air conditioning). And though the people don’t
have money to give to the church, they do have time and energy.
Whenever the pastor needs something done, they do it without questioning.”
He also says that there are abundant vocations in the country now,
though the Church in Vietnam needs permission to ordain priests
and bishops, and to assign personnel.
Would Fr. Kim return to his homeland permanently? “If I
were directed by the bishop for some reason, of course,” he
says. “But I like America and its freedom. It would be difficult
to adjust to the Vietnamese culture after so long in America.”
Three Impressions
of Vietnam
John
St. Joseph, who had escaped from Vietnam in 1975 at the age of 11,
went with Fr. Kim’s group last summer to visit Vietnam.
Upon reaching the countryside, he wondered to himself what had been
going on the last 28 years. “There was no change, no progress,”
he says. “Poverty was still rampant. The entrepreneurial activity
of the big cities and the time of peace had not affected the rural
areas.”
One thing St. Joseph was impressed with was the faith of the Catholics.
“Despite being under communist, atheist rule, the people
have maintained, practiced and passed on the faith to their children,”
he reports. “That’s especially noteworthy in the North,
which has been communist since World War II.”
He says that most Catholic families have a shrine in a prominent
place in their living room, so you can’t miss it. “They
are not afraid to show that they are Catholic, even though being
a Communist Party member is necessary for getting ahead in Vietnam.
They put their faith before material things.” He also notes
that all of the Catholic churches are full, and that they are trying
to raise funds to build more. “They are big churches, too –
about the size of our cathedrals,” he says.
St. Joseph, who lives in Grand Blanc, was affected enough by the
trip that he wants to return often to Vietnam to help out, and plans
to live there when he retires so that he can teach and do charitable
work.
Ray and Gail Fielder are members of Blessed Sacrament Parish
in Burton. For Ray, the journey reinforced in him the desire
to live out Catholic social teaching. He declares, “We need
to get out of our comfort zone and go to the poor. Vietnam is where
Jesus would be. We can see poverty in the U.S. and hide from it;
but there you can’t escape it since it is everywhere.”
Ray notes that his parish is in the initial stages of a relationship
with a parish in Vietnam that will enable Blessed Sacrament to provide
medical supplies and other aid to their poorer brothers and sisters.
Bringing a closure to the Vietnam War was an important part
of the trip for Gail. “I have carried guilt and remorse about
the destruction wrought on a gentle people and their beautiful country.
Many conversations with Fr. Joe regarding his feelings about the
American presence in Vietnam were helpful. Then the people who we
met on the trip had a huge effect. They were warm and welcoming,
and made Ray and me feel comfortable. We were never left with a
feeling that we were outsiders. On the contrary, they went out of
their way to include us in everything.”
The Fielders did their part to spread good will, too. Many times
they passed out lollipops and bubble gum to the children. “To
them it was a luxury,” according to Ray and Gail. “They
loved it, and we would spend time with them teaching them how to
blow bubbles."
Another time at a Mekong Delta fruit farm, the Fielders showed
a picture of their grandchildren to the owners. “They wouldn’t
let us go until they had that picture,” Ray recalls. “We
couldn’t understand why they would want a picture of some strangers’
grandchildren. But when we gave it to them, they kissed it and hung
it on their wall.”
ministry focus:
The Vietnamese Community
After
the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam and the communist North Vietnamese
invaded the South, a refugee crisis began. By 1975, parishes
in the Diocese of Lansing stood up and began sponsoring the refugees.
Catholic Vietnamese in Lansing initially gathered for Mass in
the crypt chapel of St. Mary Cathedral. They also used a house
across the street from the Cathedral parking lot. In 1984, Bishop
Kenneth Povish began celebrating Mass with the community every Christmas
Eve, a tradition Bishop Carl Mengeling continues. The Lunar New
Year is the other unique holiday the community celebrates –
usually at the end of January or beginning of February.
In 1998, Bishop Mengeling created a parish for the diocese’s
growing
Vietnamese community -- St. Andrew Dung-Lac. The 160-family
parish is
located on Lansing’s south side.
Fr. Joseph Tran is the parish’s first pastor. Ordained
in 1974 for the Archdiocese of Saigon, Fr. Joseph came to Grandville,
Mich., in 1981 after spending a year in a refugee camp in Thailand.
He is one of several men from Vietnam who have overcome great adversity
to serve our diocese as a priest. In 1986, Fr. Vincent H. Van Doan
became the first Vietnamese man to be ordained for our diocese.
For more information on the Vietnamese community in the Diocese
of Lansing, contact St. Andrew Dung-Lac Parish (517) 882-8205.