It’s a story of hardship that is shared by many Vietnamese Americans who escaped war-torn Vietnam as refugees for the safe harbors of the U.S.
San Bernardino recently elected Helen Tran, the city’s first Asian American mayor.
“For my father and my mother to take the risk onto leave their country, that’s how my story began,” Tran said.
“No matter how we struggled, what we had to face to survive, to live, we were happy because we had a loving family.”
Tran is telling her family’s story at an Asian American Pacific Islander heritage event at San Bernardino Valley College because she is proud of her family, and her community.
“We want a safe place to live, to raise our families to make sure we are all healthy and thriving,” she said.
Tran is a married mother of three. She moved with her family to San Bernardino when she was 6 years old and didn’t speak any English.
But thanks to the support of her hardworking mother Kim and father Victor who put her through college, about four months ago, Tran became the first Asian American mayor in the history of San Bernardino and the first Vietnamese American woman to be elected mayor of a U.S. city.
It’s a tough job, considering what San Bernardino has been through over the years.
“A lot of setbacks, the bankruptcy, the dissolution of the redevelopment agency. We had a terrorist attack,” she said.
Other major issues include poverty, crime and allegations of political corruption. Mayor Tran says she knows it’ll be a struggle to right the ship.
“This city gave my family and I a really beautiful life. We are so grateful and if we could give back to this community and say thank you for giving us an opportunity, let’s make sure that we are giving the opportunity to everyone in his community,” she said.
Her vision includes the redevelopment of the carousel mall property which she says will create new housing and job opportunities for her city, that she refers to as a sleeping giant.
“There’s so much potential with the right leadership, the right attitude, determination, and just getting to work,” she said.
Mayor Tran believes she has all of those qualities because of her parents and what she has learned from their struggles.
“And my dad reminds me all the time: you face these difficult times and challenges because it shapes who you are today and for tomorrow,” she said.
