They saw people waiting in line at booths for hours, only to be given an 800 number to call, with messages recorded in English or Spanish. They only knew of three FEMA staff who spoke Vietnamese. In total, the friends estimated, they translated for nearly 200 people a day.
Though residents were allowed to return to clean up their houses in Versailles in early October, no one could stay there past 8 p.m. At the time, the soil in certain areas was being tested for toxicity.
"It was unsanitary, but people wanted to come back because it's a close-knit community with a lot of elders," says Mimi-Cristien Nguyen. "They just wanted to go home. They have this idea that they'll come back, rebuild, and live together again."
Some families have known each other for 50 years, tracing back to North Vietnam. In 1954, many evacuated to South Vietnam after Communist forces ousted French colonists, and then again to the United States in the 1970s and 1980s following the Vietnam War. After all this evacuation, they bonded like family.
VietBAK wants to provide long-term, direct assistance as much as possible. They say long-term efforts in the area should focus on rebuilding, housing and employment.
Though there was no electricity or running water, they slowly began cleaning up houses, a small step in the physical and mental rebuilding process.
Since the group left, the area has been open for people to move back. As of Thursday, the Rev. Nguyen says there was electricity in some parts of Versailles for the first time in three months.
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