After the fall of Saigon, many desperate people fled by the South China Sea in a mass exodus now known as the Vietnamese boat people. One twelve-year old girl among the hundreds of thousands of refugees, Thanh Dương, managed to survive the boat trip, an attack by pirates and a year on an uninhabited island while waiting for a sponsor willing to help her relocate. When some generous sponsors in Athens, Alabama came to her rescue, CARE International put her on a flight to the USA, a place she had only heard vague reports about.
She had heard stories of the tall blonde people who lived in the country and wondered if they ate white rice or red rice. She had wondered if they would have mosquito nets available or if she would have to do without. She had also expected it to be very cold, at least in comparison to her homeland in the tropics.
Her feet first touched American soil in the Seattle airport—the gateway to a new life under the banner of freedom. After a long flight, she sat at a table to rest with some family members before they boarded for the next leg of their journey.
While they waited, a lady with a basket over one arm walked to her table. She smiled at Thanh, then reached into her basket and picked out the most beautiful apple Thanh had ever beheld. With an outstretched hand, she raised her eyebrows to ask if Thanh would accept the shiny red gift.
Thanh remembered, “I opened both hands to accept it and gave her a broad smile in return then absorbed every detail of it before taking a single bite. The smell, taste, and sheer weight of that enormous Red Delicious apple remains vivid in my memory.” It had been so long since she had real food, clean food, and this shiny apple was such a perfect gem, it seemed a priceless treasure of a gift.
She remembered life as a “spoiled little rich girl” in Vietnam where they chose fresh food daily from the open market. Even back when they could afford such things, the apples there were tiny compared to this giant of an apple. The first bite filled her mouth with flavor and juicy sweetness. While she chewed each bite, she held it out in front of her to simply take in its beauty.
She had left behind her homeland, her house, and her parents, and survived a year as a refugee on KuKu island in Indonesia. Now, her first “taste” of America—this simple gift of a Red Delicious apple—represented her every hope for life in the USA. Thanh had little understanding of the prosperity she would find in this Land of Opportunity, but she recognized “if this is what life in America is like, then it must be even more rich and decadent than I imagined.”
We often take for granted the opulence we enjoy in America. This little girl appreciated the joy of plentiful food, clean food, and food to share must mean life in the USA would be living like royalty. This small gift from a lady at the Seattle airport in July 1980, made a tremendous impact on Thanh as she embarked on the trip that changed her life, forever.
Long time Bible student and teacher, Lisa Worthey Smith is sometimes called the Parable Teacher for her gift of explaining biblical truths with everyday events. Her most recent release The Ground Kisser, is the memoir of a Vietnamese girl, Thanh, and her inspiring story of courage, strength, and perseverance through unimaginable hardships.
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I so enjoyed the apple!