Honolulu Weekly

On December 5, 1981, 15 Vietnamese men, women and children from Phu Khanh, Nha Trang set out on a boat 35.5 ft. long, 3.5 ft. high and 8 ft. wide to escape the communist government established in their country after the fall of Saigon. This particular boat, which soon after arriving in the Philippines became known as the “Freedom Boat,” was one of thousands that sent over a million Vietnamese refugees abroad in order to escape the brutalities of their government’s re-education camps.

After landing on the shores of Maybayo Bataan, the 15 refugees were rescued and transported to Manila, where then-President Ferdinand Marcos heard stories about how the travelers had to eat their own clothing in order to survive hunger. To honor their journey, Marcos had the boat displayed in the Freedom Plaza from 1981 to 2000.

This weekend, on August 30 and 31, the Freedom Boat will be on display at Kewalo Basin Park as part of an exhibition by Vietnam Television in Hawai’i and Vietnamese Cultural House.

Vietnam Television President Evelyn Bui has been volunteering her services to educate the islands about the Vietnamese and bring communities together since 2005. “I’m doing this to support my culture,” she says.

The exhibition will also feature 200 historical photographs of the boat people, taken between 1975 and 1998–displaying life in the refugee camps of South East Asia.

Following its international tour, the Freedom Boat will remain with the Vietnamese Cultural House.

For more information, visit [vnculturalhouse.org] or contact Evelyn Bui at 382-4297.

Freedom Boat Exhibition; Kewalo Basin Park, on Ala Moana Boulevard; ribbon cutting ceremony at 11am and a candle light vigil will take place at 7pm on Sat 8/30; exhibition continues through Sun 8/31.