Sophie Tran has always been a bridge between the older and younger Vietnamese generations. She is a TV host with her own travel and entertainment show and also a part-time interpreter. She lives in Orange County, California, which has one of the largest Vietnamese diaspora populations in the United States. Her parents are the founders of an educational Vietnamese program for children.
Tran is a member of Subtle Viet Traits, a Facebook group for Vietnamese people to share memes, advice and stories. The community currently has over 70,000 members, most living outside of Vietnam.
In March 2020, Tran posted in the Facebook group about her mom’s reaction to the changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tran’s mom has been a volunteer at a Vietnamese senior center for almost a year. Her parents help teach a guitar class to the classmates at the center. Up until recently, classes at the center were suspended over COVID-19 safety concerns.
In the post, Tran said the cancellations brought back memories for her mom from the end of the Vietnam War. The classmates at the center had said “Bye, for now” because of the class suspension. It reminded her mom of how, when she was younger, she said goodbye to her classmates and never had the chance to see them again.
“That senior center is a Vietnamese senior center,” Tran said. “All those other seniors have also gone through the same experience, and they've also once said ‘bye’ to someone. So I'm imagining all these people who experienced that. That's really terrifying.”
How Vietnamese people are reacting to the pandemic stems from the historical and personal trauma that they experienced, Thomas Nguyen, Psy. D, said. Nguyen is a licensed psychologist in Minnesota. He has worked to address mental health in the Vietnamese community.
“COVID-19 certainly brings back a lot of memories, brings back a lot of fear due to their own personal trauma that they had in the past,” Thomas Nguyen said.
Events like World War II, the Japanese invasion, migration from North to South Vietnam, food rationing and the refugee experience may have happened decades ago, but the memories linger on.
When the outbreak first became serious in the United States, there were concerns about hunger, and panic-buying ensued.
“They would load up on rice,” Nguyen said. “They would load up on other household goods that they may not need. But that is a way for them to really control their own emotions, for them to feel secure.”
Besides behavioral changes, there can also be effects on mental health, such as experiencing more anxiety, depression and headaches.
Nguyen suggests for older and younger Vietnamese folks to maintain a daily routine, create opportunities to virtually reconnect with peers and get an adequate amount of sleep.
“For those who are able, certainly being able to be supportive and understanding about their own personal reaction and not to react too harshly toward the parents,” Nguyen said. “Give them a sense of understanding and compassion. Maybe it's a behavior that may be odd and bizarre, but we have to understand that these people have been through so much in their life.”
Vietnamese health services and resources are limited in the Midwest, but one primary support for older Vietnamese adults is their families.
“I think the first step to helping the older generation is to practice empathy,” Tran said.