Behind the Ivy - Summer 2018

BEHIND THE IVY

since they have the same pronunciation in French.

Malaysia with a Canadian delegation, she generously thanked the Malaysian representative for allowing not only her but also hundreds of thousands of other Vietnamese people onto Malaysian shores. At the end of the conversation, Ms. Thúy was greeted with enthusiastic applause and girls rushing to praise both her and her work. She shared herself with us in a way that was so open and unbridled, a way that you would never expect from someone you’ve just met. She held the complete attention of thirty girls on a Friday afternoon. People always warn, “never meet your hero”, but I beg to differ.

difficult, during her visit, to make the switch and refer to her as “Ms. Thúy” in person. She was so real. Based in Montreal, Ms. Thúy continues to write but also travels around the world to promote and receive awards for her books. During our afternoon conversation with her, Anne Broughton asked Ms. Thúy whether the different translations of Ru lead to potential gaps in understanding among different audiences. She promptly replied “no”, and said that each language and culture has interpreted the book differently. For example, in France, Ms. Thúy was given an award for the “strange” structure and form of the book (her words, not mine). In Italy, she was presented with an award for promoting multiculturalism by the chairman of the Bank of Sicily. Ms. Thúy’s honesty was quite apparent in the stream-of- consciousness-like stories she shared during our conversations. At one point, confused as to whether there was a feminine form for “hero” in English, she pointed to the inner part of her arm and asked what the difference between “heroine” and “heroin” was,

She then added, “Maybe it’s because we’re addictive.” In all seriousness, Ms. Thúy’s honesty was exemplified when she shared stories about her family’s experience with war and immigration. For example, when her uncle, a veterinarian, was sent off to a reeducation camp, she told us that the detainees were split off into groups of tens and were rationed ten peanuts a day. While enduring hunger, her uncle and other educated members of the society targeted by these camps were left with no energy to think. “This is how you take away power from the people,” she said, by “depriving them of the ability to think.” Ms. Thúy also mentioned that her experience as a boat person paled in comparison to that of her uncle’s. The boat her family was on did not encounter any Malaysian pirates, whereas her uncle’s boat encountered four pirate boats. These pirates, outnumbered by the many Vietnamese refugees on a boat, used rape as a method of humiliating the men and women on the vessel and thus gaining power over them. Yet, despite the experiences with these pirates, when Ms. Thúy visited

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 | SUMMER ISSUE