By Jennifer Calhoun, Dothan Eagle
Enterprise entrepreneur Hoa Mai was 12 years old in 1984 when he and his two older brothers left their village in Vietnam and slipped onto a fishing boat bound for Malaysia.
Hoa Mai, owner of Golden Nails and Hair Salon Too, escaped the Communist regime in Vietnam at the age of 12 after his father was imprisoned for working for the U.S. during the Vietnam War. (Dothan Eagle)
It was the middle of the night, and Mai knew they would be punished by the Communist regime if they were caught, but it was their only hope.
His father, an electrical engineer who had worked on American military base, had been imprisoned in a Communist re-education camp for war crimes. His mother, who had struggled to keep the family from starving, had died six months earlier.
These days, however, life is better for Mai, who is now 43 and owns Golden Nails and Hair Salon Too near the old Food World on Boll Weevil Circle and has invented tools that help repair water heaters.
He said the success he’s had comes from hard work and sacrifice and the support of a kind and loyal community.
“People don’t always realize how wonderful this community is – how good people are here,” he said.
Still, it took a while to get here.
When Mai and his brothers arrived in Malaysia, they went to an American embassy to ask for refugee status to enter the U.S. When officials saw the paper work of their father’s work with U.S. forces, they were granted permission.
“That’s when the Communists really, really punished the people,” he said. “When you say ‘poor’ here in America, you don’t know what poor is. Growing up as a kid, you only got one meal a day – one meal of not really what you wanted to eat, but what you had to eat to live. Whatever you can find to eat.”
Mai and his two brothers arrived in Fargo, North Dakota, in September 1984, with only the clothes they were wearing. His brothers, who were over 18, were sent off to trade schools while Mai was put into the foster system.
“My foster family was nice,” he said. “They were Christians and very good to me.”
When he went to school, Mai learned English in English as a second-language classes. He picked it up quickly, however, and in six months he was able to attend regular classes, he said.
Read the full article by Jennifer Calhoun from Dothan Eagle.
