All Thanks to the Market! Ngan Vu One night I was eating dinner with my parents. It was the usual Vietnamese dinner—rice, soup, vegetables, and a main dish. For me, it seemed like an ordinary dinner. However, for my parents it wasn’t just any kind of soup or vegetables. It was a special soup made with a rare type of greens that they often ate in Vietnam but not here in America. My mom kept rambling on and on about how good it tastes, how it reminds her of Vietnam, and how valuable it is to find it here. I was wondering how my mom was able to get a hold of this “special vegetable” because many other people probably would love to have this for dinner as well. “How’d you get this, mom?” “There was a family that was able to grow it, and your great-aunt saved some in advance for us before it went into the market.” Then I remembered that my great-aunt and great-uncle were the people who helped start the Vietnamese Farmers’ Market in New Orleans East. They contributed to the development of the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East by providing an area and a building for the market to take place. The first migration of Vietnamese people in Louisiana was in spring 1975. My great-aunt said that she was part of that migration period. Not until 10 years later did my great-uncle and great-aunt begin the Vietnamese Farmers’ Market. I asked my great-aunt why did they begin this market and what made them do it. “Well your great-uncle and I thought that the community needed a bigger area to sell Vietnamese food. There were many little markets scattered in New Orleans. One vendor might sell Vietnamese produce in one place, and another vendor might sell chicken and ducks in another place. It would be much easier and more convenient for the vendors and shoppers to go to one area. It created unity and a trend. Mostly on Saturday mornings, the vendors bring out their items—garden-picked produce, live chicken and ducks, freshcaught fish—lay them out and set up their stalls for business. It was very lively and an enjoyable time to go to the market.” This Vietnamese market that started in the mid 80s resembled Vietnam very much. How did it start? The market developed easily due to three reasons: the sub-tropical climate in New Orleans, the proximity to water, and the value of keeping our home culture alive. Imagine seeing live chickens walking around the parking lot as opposed to buying a frozen chicken in the frozen meats department at Wal-Mart. The market was a vital aspect of the Vietnamese community in New Orleans because the community consisted of refugees. They migrated to a new country doing what they could do best—farm and fish. Many of them brought seeds with them and did what they could do to survive. The climate was similar to Vietnam's climate, so the refugees adapted quickly and planted their seeds quickly. They grew green onions, Malabar spinach, daikon, cilantro, mint, Thai basil, and countless Asian vegetables. "Their gardens were a treasured link to the
country they had left behind." (Nanette) One of the main places they farmed was behind the levee near the Alcee Fortier Blvd and Dwyer Blvd intersection. This was a very convenient spot to farm because the market was just down the street on Alcee Fortier Blvd as well. The first Vietnamese immigrants did not own cars or couldn't afford them. Their transportation was mostly by walking. Therefore they walked every day to bring their fresh-picked produce to the market. In order to carry as much as possible by hand, they would carry two baskets full of vegetables or fruits on the two ends of a thick bamboo stick while that stick sat across their shoulder. It looked like hard work, but that was how they transported things in Vietnam. They were able to bring along with them their method and culture to New Orleans because of the market. I and many other young Vietnamese Americans would often see that image of an elder carrying the baskets with the stick on her shoulder and feel that it was normal. We were made familiar with our Vietnamese culture by just this small but powerful image. Many of us younger generations are losing our identity slowly, and I think the Vietnamese market really puts our culture into perspective. I would not be able to enjoy authentic Vietnamese food with my parents every day, if the market wasn't made available for us to have the correct products to cook with. The Vietnamese community almost lost this connection to our culture after Hurricane Katrina. Katrina was devastating to everyone in New Orleans, but imagine if it wiped out a whole immigrant community that worked so hard to be created. The Vietnamese community was not going to give that up. We were the first few groups of people that came back and reestablished quicker than the rest of the city. In a way the Vietnamese community made the East running and available for others to come back too. Mr. and Mrs. Khanh were the first to open their market—Minh Khanh—after Hurricane Katrina. They contributed a lot to the development of the Vietnamese community reestablishment in the East. They provided the necessities for returning New Orleanians to rebuild, even if they only had a few bruised tomatoes. Father Vien The Nguyen—the pastor of Mary Queen Vietnam Church—and our community forced Entergy to provide electricity in our Vietnamese community way before other parts of New Orleans were provided, because the Vietnamese people were so determined to come back and rebuild the community that they had established in the 80s. He gave the community physical light and a spiritual light to hope for the reestablishment, and slowly we rebuilt our Vietnamese community. However that was not the end of Katrina's wrath. The city wanted to dump toxic debris and other harmful wastes in a landfill that was supposed to be located in the East. How can we live with a big trash can in our backyard? How can we farm? How can we not matter as a people living in this area? The city just wanted a quick cheap solution to "rebuilding" New Orleans, but this doesn’t come fast and easy. They can’t jeopardize others’ lives so they can save a few bucks. Thankfully we had leaders such as Father Vien The Nguyen and the non-profit organization Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans also known as VAYLA-NO to protest against this inhumane matter. “VAYLA-NO was formed in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina as a means to rally the youth to take the lead in organizing efforts to stop the toxic dumping of Hurricane-Katrina
related construction debris. Young community leaders founded VAYLA-NO to reach out to the larger community to create a voice and organize to address the critical needs in the local community. “This was the first time the youth and elders were able to work together to change the conditions of the community. VAYLA-NO became known as a youth-led, youth organizing and development, community-based organization in New Orleans that is dedicated to empower Vietnamese American and underrepresented youth through services, cultural enrichment, and positive social change.” (M. Nguyen) Not only did we gain a voice after the landfill situation but we gained confidence. The youth and the elders were able to work together making our Vietnamese culture even more noticeable. Minh Nguyen—one of the main leaders of VAYLA—believes that by being a Vietnamese-American, he was more encouraged to establish VAYLA. Being Vietnamese it is harder to get things done, because our culture is considered a minority. Therefore it was frustrating but also inspiring and proud for Minh Nguyen to work with the community through VAYLA. Throughout the years that he has been working with the youth, he saw changes in our “Vietnamese identity.” VAYLA is meant for youth to be themselves, so many of us felt more comfortable being Vietnamese in an environment where everyone is comfortable. VAYLA helped us become more proud of our culture through the establishments we’ve made for the Vietnamese community. We saw a real goal to fight for, and that made us take notice of our culture and the community. After our victory over the landfill situation, we showed that the Vietnamese community in the East had unity and power to withstand natural disasters and man-made disasters. Even when living in FEMA trailers surrounded by gravel, they would keep the Vietnamese traditions alive by putting some soil on there, and soon it would turn into a garden. I can still see the old rusty fence and dried-out land that used to be a tremendously wonderful garden near the Alcee Fortier Blvd and Dywer Blvd intersection today. It’s important to keep the Vietnamese traditions alive, because we are the preservers. If we don’t understand or take part in our culture, we will lose it in the next generations. We are on the verge of losing our identity, because many of us are “Americanized” now. Most of my friends can’t speak Vietnamese fluently, but we do know the simple and general Vietnamese words. I believe this is because of the Catechism school that our church, Mary Queen of Vietnam, offers for the youth. The first hour of class, we would study our Catholic religion, and in the second hour, we would study the Vietnamese language. This is truly one of the big factors of how I stayed connected with my Vietnamese language. My family, mostly my parents though, is the biggest factor that helped me stay connected to my culture. For one we mostly ate Vietnamese food for dinner. My friend—Giang Tran—rarely eats Vietnamese food with his family. When he would come over to my house, he would often tell me how lucky I am to be able to eat these kinds of food. His parents barely cook Vietnamese food or speak Vietnamese to him, so my parents sometimes like to tease him about his Vietnamese. They taught him to “moi” before he
eats dinner. “Moi” is respectful way of acknowledging the elders that are eating at the table with you, and you must do that before you can eat. I feel that I am a preserver of my Vietnamese culture, because I am connected in so many ways to my culture—food, church, community, family. Being able to share that with others is the highest achievement in preserving my culture. One of my English mentors— Kalamu ya Salam—told me how to identify myself in three ways: my color, my culture, and my consciousness. I may be able to see that I am Vietnamese by my skin color, but I don’t think that makes me “truly” Vietnamese. I may be able to see that my culture is Vietnamese, because I participate in my church’s Annual Vietnamese New Years’ Festival, but I don’t think that makes me “truly” Vietnamese. I may be able to be conscious of my culture by becoming a preserver, and that “truly” completes me of being Vietnamese. I see my “Vietnamese identity” in those three ways put together. I am proud to say “Toi la nguoi Vietnam,” which means I am a Vietnamese person. This sentence matters a lot to me and Vietnamese people all over the world, because we are Vietnamese in other countries other than our home country—Vietnam. This makes the sentence significant to us, because we are trying to show that we feel honored being a Vietnamese person in another country. On the contrary a Vietnamese person living in Vietnam doesn’t share the same passion with this sentence, because she is already living in Vietnam. I’ve watched a Vietnamese show called Paris by Night, and the characters’ theme in this DVD is “Toi la Nguoi Vietnam.” In this DVD, they commend or acknowledge many successful and high achieving Vietnamese people around the world today. Some were famous designers, political leaders (Joseph Cao), famous chefs, and much more. This DVD shows that Vietnamese have pride in their identity to share their achievements as a “Vietnamese” person, not as a regular person living America, Canada, or elsewhere. We show that we are proud of our Vietnamese ways, because we brought our expertise from our home country to New Orleans as well. New Orleans especially being a seafood city was the perfect place for Vietnamese refugees to continue their fishing expertise that they had in Vietnam. Many of them joined the fishing and shrimping industries when they migrated to New Orleans. Often my friends' fathers weren't home during the fish and shrimp seasons, because their fathers would be offshore working. This was ordinary for us to have 4 out of 10 friends who had fathers who were in the fishing and shrimping industry. This led the Vietnamese Farmers Market to expand even further, because now they sell produce from the fresh grown gardens and fish and shrimp from the Vietnamese fishermen and shrimpers. With my great-aunt and great-uncle and the help of many Vietnamese farmers, fishermen, and vendors, the market was a success that brought many Vietnamese people to New Orleans. This attraction helped the growth of the Vietnamese population. My family became part of this Vietnamese population in New Orleans partially because of the market. It was so much like Vietnam that my parents felt comfortable adapting here. Also, my great-uncle was the one who supported us. I remember the first house (more like an empty lot) my family lived in was the top level of his building. The
building consisted of two levels—top was our house and bottom was the market. I can’t remember much, but the two things I remember most are the French coffee smell in the mornings and nights and the loud market vendors and shoppers who were below us and outside. “Fresh fish! Boat just arrived!” and many other remarks were hollered daily. It was music to my ears. That is why I loved living there. The different people, the strange food, the excitement, the atmosphere were endlessly wild and entertaining. Sometimes my sisters and I would sneak downstairs and out to the market to see what was new that day. I don’t remember the market vividly, but I remember the time I got lost there. I was standing right in the center of the market, and the vendors kept waving things at me and trying to sell me stuff. I didn’t know what to do, and they started to scare me. I stood there and cried until the lady who always gave me free sweet potatoes brought me back upstairs. I have forgotten how she looks now, but I would really like to thank her. I’m really honored to have a family member who helped start the Vietnamese Market in New Orleans and to have the opportunity to live in the growing period of the market and community. This allows me to stay connected to my culture and become a preserver of my Vietnamese traditions. I look up to my elders who established this market and helped the Vietnamese community to grow. I will definitely contribute to the growth of my Vietnamese community and my Vietnamese culture. The developing Vietnamese community, and especially the market, are also attractions to local New Orleanians and tourists. Many well-known restaurants in New Orleans such as August and Luke get their ingredients from the Vietnamese Farmers’ Market. The market provides the people of New Orleans to make Vietnamese food that’s an addition to the city’s gumbo, and my family is one of the many that can enjoy authentic Vietnamese food for dinner while living in New Orleans and while preserving our culture and identity. All thanks to the market! Works Cited Maxim, Nanette. "Gardening 101: Community Garden Report, New Orleans East." Gourmet. 20 April 2010. <http://www.gourmet.com/food/2009/05/gardening-101-neworleans-east>. MQVN. Mary Queen of Vietnam Church. 6 May 2010 <http://www.mqvn.org/>. Nga, Thuy. “Toi La Nguoi Vietnam.” Paris by Night 99. DVD. Toronto. 2010. Nguyen, Lam. Personal interview. 10 March 2010. Nguyen, Hai. Personal interview. 20 March 2010. Nguyen, Minh. Personal interview. 6 May 2010. New Orleans Online. "From the Far East to New Orleans East." 20 April 2010. <http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturalhistory/vietna mese.html>.
Project for Public Spaces. "Vietnamese Farmers' Market." 20 April 2010. <http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces//one?public_place_id=170 Save New Orleans East. "Our Struggle." 20 April 2010. <http://www.saveneworleanseast.org/>. VAYLA-NO. Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans. 6 May 2010. <http://www.vayla-no.org/>.