Janet Nguyen

AsiaXPAT: Lets see now, a little more than 30 years ago you were part of the first wave of Vietnamese boat people and after a daring escape from the country you and your family were lost at sea for a week. When you finally came ashore you spent 18 months in a refugee camp in the Philippines before emigrating to Australia. Today you live in Bali and commute to Singapore for work. That’s an incredible odyssey and I would assume that despite your current professional success there is a part of you that never forgets the past?  

Janet Nguyen: No I never forget and I don’t want to forget. I tell people that I am a boat person and in fact I am actually proud of it. For me it made me who I am. If you grow up in a very privileged life, you would probably be a completely different person and maybe not appreciate so much of life. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded and I never forget or disrespect that.

AX: Your positive attitude seems to have served you as well. There are however many immigrants whose attitudes and experiences are not so positive.

JN: I do feel that there are a lot of boat people that are very resentful of what has happened in their new country as they tried to integrate and then of course there is also resentment from that country not wanting to accept any more immigrants because they are perceived as free loaders. We were so lucky because we arrived in the first batch back in the late 70’s. We were made very welcome and had a lot of support in Australia and were not locked up in a detention center and not treated like prisoners. Those type of events obviously make for a different perspective on your new country.

AX: What do you remember of Vietnam and the war?  

JN: I was very young when we left and I just completed grade one so I have very little recollection of Vietnam but I do remember escaping and getting on the boat when the war ended and I remember losing our house in Vietnam. As far as the war itself, I remember the tanks driving through the streets of Saigon but we were fortunate in that we did not live near any live battles.

AX: Your father was a military man.

JN: Yes he was a colonel with the south Vietnamese army and when the war ended in 1975 because he had served the government who were the US allies we actually got a special visa to emigrate to the US for the whole family but my father declined because he wanted to stay back to help rebuild the country. He said if all the Vietnamese abandon their country, what is going to become of it? Naively he chose to stay, a decision my mother never really forgave him for. He was soon incarcerated in a prison camp because of his service in the south army and we did not hear from him for over a year before my mother, who was very dogged in finding where he was, organized his escape and we were soon on a fishing boat with 350 people escaping the country.

AX: You arrived in Sydney in 1979, which I believe was the first wave of Asian immigration down under. What was your experience like?

JN: There are stories of discrimination in Australia and being treated badly but personally my experience was completely different. I was the only Vietnamese in the whole class but I felt special, not necessarily different.

AX: Do you consider yourself Vietnamese or Australian or a bit of both?

JN:  I am proud of my Vietnamese ancestry but I am Australian. I think many refugees have a deeper appreciation for their new country. For us, we didn’t feel like Australia owed us anything. We were really grateful for them to take us in. What were the chances of us surviving at sea when we left Vietnam in a fishing boat?  We could get wiped out in a storm or robbed or murdered by pirates so there was a lot of peril. By the time we eventually got to Australia we just felt lucky to be alive and to be in a new country that was taking us in and giving us a chance. My parent’s main goal was to see their children grow up and be educated and we were given that chance. 

AX: Have you been back to Vietnam since?

JN: When I moved to Hong Kong one long weekend my husband said we should go somewhere and he basically booked the ticket and away we went. I didn’t have time to think about it because if I did I might not have wanted to go. Going back I had reservations, especially the memories of escaping but also it was the fact that I knew I was Vietnamese but I didn’t really know what that meant and I didn’t really know what Vietnamese people were like. And I thought, what if I go back and I hate the people or if they are horrible and I am actually one of them? But the people were friendly and happy and it made me feel really good.

AX: What is your prognosis on the economy in Vietnam?

JN: I think there is a lot of opportunity in Vietnam and it is slowly moving away from communism to a sort of capitalistic market. But it is still state run and there is obviously room for improvement. Still, I really love Vietnam

AX: You were in Hong Kong for five years before relocating to Singapore. There is a natural rivalry between the two. How do you see it?

JN: Well I guess if you love Hong Kong you hate Singapore and if you love Singapore you hate Hong Kong. But I don’t think it’s that simple.

AX: Is there room to love both?

TN: I have never known anyone who loves both but I am sure you can. Both are island cities and financial hubs of Asia but just very, very different places. Hong Kong has that contrast that I love, the new and the old. And its got grit and energy that you can feel. It’s freewheeling and for me it’s a very hip town. In Singapore you have big boulevards, big wide roads and everything is clean. Fantastic public transit, like Hong Kong, and it’s a very safe city if you have a young family. But Singapore it kind of lacks personality and is somewhat sterile. That’s not bad or good, just the way it is.

AX: Seems like Singapore is a bit contrived.

JN: No question but in terms of business it is actually a fantastic place to work, very welcome and encouraging and easy to incorporate your company. Rules and regulations are there and you have to stay inside the guidelines but anything to do with financial industry is highly encouraged. Actually, either Hong Kong or Singapore you can’t go wrong.

AX: And in that respect, for generations of Asians before you who were interested in a career in commerce they would invariably have to leave the region. But today not only can you stay in Asia you can thrive here as well. As an Asian, is there a sense of pride in that?

JN: Oh absolutely. I think I am very lucky to be here at this particular time and place. There is no question that most of the opportunities in finance going forward are out here. I have friends in Australia and North America who are all very keen to come out and work in Asia. The future is now.

AX: And the future for you right now is Singapore and Bali. Have you read Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller?

JN: Yes I did and I enjoyed the book, she is a very clever writer. But it doesn’t relate to me at all and where I am at in life.

AX: What about the book and the movie’s depiction of Bali?

JN: The movie in particular was a somewhat romanticized version of Bali, which is ok. There are busloads of middle-aged women who come to Bali looking for love and many looking for the same medicine man from the book. But for me Bali is much more than that and certainly much more cosmopolitan than it’s depiction. It is a very cultured and modern place that also has a slow and peaceful lifestyle if you desire it. You can do almost anything in Bali.

AX: And is there time for reflection as well in regards to the journey your life has taken?

JN: Absolutely, I thank the Lord every day. I'm a Buddhist so I believe in fate and karma and I am sure my grandmother and my ancestors have done a great job so I am benefiting from all that good karma.

• Print
• Back to top