WEBVTT

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I acted against my parents,
against Vietnamese culture,

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against all the education I'd received
from my parents and society,

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I threw everything overboard

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and got pregnant out of wedlock.

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Having a child with a foreigner, at the time,
both of my parents were in the party,

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so it could have had negative consequences
for them in Vietnam.

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And then keeping the pregnancy secret

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and the incessant worry:
What happens if you have a miscarriage?

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What if you lose the baby prematurely?

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Then I would have to leave.

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I can’t stay if I’m not married.
Always this anxiety.

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Heavily pregnant, doing shift work.
Sometimes I did 12-hour shifts

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on my own, cooking in the
kitchen at the chemicals port.

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There were not that many dock workers.

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I only had to cook for around 100 people.

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I simply carried the huge heavy
pots on my belly

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and worked.

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And there were no problems.

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When my child was born,

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my husband – I had just given birth,
and he says: “write it in capitals!”

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He was so proud.

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He went straight to the post office,
and faxed the telegramme to Vietnam:

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“You are now grandparents,”
and so on.

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And then my parents gave their blessing
in writing,

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they sent it to the embassy. Then the
embassy sent me a notice

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confirming that the Vietnamese government
was now giving me pemission to get married.

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But then I still had to pay 8060 marks
compensation to the Vietnamese state.