Family of Vietnamese refugees finds the American Dream in San Diego

(FOX 5/KUSI) — In the heart of San Diego’s vibrant Little Saigon community of City Heights, along a small six-block stretch of El Cajon Boulevard, nearly every shop and business owner has a story about second chances. The Tran family is no exception.

Brittany, Nicholas, Victoria, Vu and San are siblings. Their family built the Vien Dong World Foods Supermarkets after escaping at the end of the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon.

Nicholas Tran was just 4 years old. His memories are still vivid. “We didn’t choose to leave Vietnam. I’m emotional now, that’s what I remember they had to do.”

On April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of a mass exodus of Vietnamese refugees fleeing their country.

Read more stories about the 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War

“You had to walk through the swamp to get to the ocean. It was so scary, because it was so dark and you were walking through the mud, trying not to get detected,” said Nicholas.

With four children in tow – including a toddler and a 3-month-old the family left Vietnam in the middle of the night, hiding aboard a small fishing boat.

Brittany Tran Olarsch is the eldest of the siblings. She was just 6 years old when the family escaped.  “We had no food, no water for three days at sea. I remember hearing children crying, begging for water. It was the most painful memory for my mom.”

“People were so thirsty they were drinking saltwater, we had a couple of people die. The bodies, they threw them overseas and you keep moving,” Nicholas recalls.

Read more stories about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage

After surviving days out at sea, the family spent over a year in a Malaysian refugee camp. Eventually sponsored by an American church, they arrived in San Diego in March of 1979 with no money and just the shirts on their backs.

Nicholas Tran will never forget what his father had to say. “My mom cried, and she asked my dad, ‘How are we going to survive?’ And my dad said, ‘We didn’t come this far just to fail.’”

The family survived on donations and lived in a 2-bedroom apartment with other refugees. Sen, their father, a businessman in Vietnam, saw a need.

Victoria Tran talked about her father’s desire to open a grocery store. “He missed home, and we were always looking for our own kinds of food, so that’s why he started a grocery store, to help the refugees connect back to our homeland.”

So, from a small streetside market, Vien Dong quickly grew into a cornerstone of the community. What began as a way to bring a taste of home is now not one, but two thriving stores in City Heights.

“We’ve come a long way. Our parents made so many sacrifices, not knowing what the outcome would be. But they took a chance, a risk,” said Brittany.

From the Fall of Saigon 50 years ago, to the heart of San Diego today.

“The American Dream really is that you can be anything you want if you work hard enough for it. Even if the odds are against you, if you’re willing to work hard enough, and you’re here in America, it’s possible,” said Vu Tran.

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