Their migration stories, although shared and understood within the Vietnamese community, can be kept private from outsiders. Many came to Georgia through local resettlement programs or to reunite with family members. Despite language barriers and hardships along the way, that generation who fled as refugees and emigrants would open up many of the businesses, nail salons, and restaurants that now dot Jonesboro Road. The Vietnamese population expanded from around 2,000 in 1980 to almost 8,000 by 1990. This number has increased to more than 57,000 Vietnamese in Georgia today. In the decade that followed, the number of Vietnamese in Georgia rose fast. I say, ‘Oh, you Vietnamese?’ They say, ‘Oh, I’m Vietnamese.’ I’m real happy,” Nguyen says. But living on the Southside, with the spread-out, suburban single-family homes and strip malls, he had to work to spot them. “The Northside is very busy.”Īccording to Nguyen, it took some time for the Vietnamese residents south of Atlanta to come together.įorty years ago, when he first arrived in Clayton County and worked for a trucking company, Nguyen recalls hearing there were a few thousand Vietnamese people in Georgia. The Southside people are real quiet,” he says. “The Southside is different from Northside. While the Northside might have more things for young people to do, like going to bars and nightclubs, Nguyen says older people enjoy living south of Atlanta. He bought this building, too, and turned it into the senior center five years ago. For years, he invested in property around Forest Park: restaurants, homes, and a flea market. He has the look of a businessman, with a white button-down shirt tucked into his slacks. Moving around in the background at the Vietnamese Elder Association is Larry Nguyen. It has become a community space and resource for Clayton County residents. Larry Nguyen, above, founded the Vietnamese Elder Association of South Atlanta. They’ve established their own businesses and developed services to meet their community’s needs. And they’ve become a significant part of Forest Park, representing three-quarters of its Asian residents. In need of a new home, they found it in Clayton County and Forest Park. At that time, many of the elders here became refugees. The flags represent South Vietnam, a country that hasn’t existed since it surrendered to North Vietnam in 1975 following the withdrawal of U.S. Embedded in corners are yellow flags with red stripes. The reason is visible inside the seniors’ association. They were forced to leave their first home in Vietnam. Many of the Vietnamese immigrants who’ve lived in and around Forest Park for decades don’t seem to mind. The Northside community in Gwinnett County, for example, is growing at ten times the rate of the Southside. It gets little attention compared to the larger clusters of Vietnamese residents on Atlanta’s Northside, along Buford Highway, which is widely known for its Asian American restaurants and businesses, and beyond. It’s the third-largest Vietnamese enclave in Georgia, with about 8,700 residents. The seniors here off Jonesboro Road are the bedrock of the Vietnamese community in Clayton County. At banquet tables before the stage, a hundred or so people watch, looking just as happy, as they laugh with each other and beam at the performances. Inside, men and women in their 50s and up take turns on stage, singing and dancing along to decades-old Vietnamese music. They stand in front of a wall-sized collage of heroic-looking images of the Vietnam War, with fighter planes, a military ship, and a smiling Vietnamese couple in uniform at the center. The sound of music, muffled by fans, travels through the building’s open front door. This particular July afternoon is a hot one in Forest Park. The parking lot surrounding the Vietnamese Elder Association South Atlanta fills up on Saturday afternoons. This story’s topic was informed by feedback from more than 120 Forest Park residents and was reported in collaboration with a Canopy Forest Park Fellow, community members whom Canopy Atlanta trained in reporting skills. This story was produced in partnership with Canopy Atlanta, a community-powered nonprofit newsroom.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |