For Two Cows I Ain't Half-Bad: the memoir of a young girl in the Vietnam War by Bac thi Eaton

Author:Bac thi Eaton [Eaton, Bac thi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Vietnam War, Little known History, Viet Nam, Surviving child abuse, growing up in Vietnam, Vietnam, Love Story, s History, Adventure, Woman&#x2019
Publisher: Sam Eaton
Published: 2016-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Tha lam day to con hon lam deam.

I would rather be a slave than become a prostitute.

Saigon, May of 1969

After the execution, I was no longer brave enough to work in the country. I was ready for a different job, or any job, for that matter. The Monsoon season of 1969 was especially severe at home. The crops in the Mekong Delta had washed away. The farm owners tightened their already tight belts; some lost their farms. Farm workers, especially fifteen-year-old girls like me, couldn’t find work at home, even in VC-controlled country. It was a time of hunger and desperate measures. A lot of my neighbors died.

Greedy or especially desperate parents sold their teenaged daughters into prostitution.

I was luckier than most.

My mother’s friend, Moui had moved to Saigon many years earlier. Now she was back, this time to visit and shop for some servants. She stopped at our house to tell Mom that she could use a girl like me in her Saigon business.

“What sort of business do you own? What sort of work will Bac be doing?” my mother asked.

“It’s a little grocery store,” Moui assured her. “She will have to work hard. But she can learn a good trade if she is a willing worker.”

Mom considered it while I waited, breathless. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go so far from home, but it would be an adventure.

Finally, Mom came up with her answer. “Bac is such a good, hard-working girl. I wouldn’t let anyone except a good friend, someone I can trust, take her so far from home.”

“I know she is good. She is your daughter.”

“Watch her carefully for me. Don’t let her ruin her life. Please take good care of her.”

“Don’t worry. Bac will work with my own daughter, Hong. You remember her. She and Bac were classmates in elementary school. Bac will be just like my own child,” Moui said, putting one hand on my shoulder.

“I know that any child of yours will be a trustworthy and dependable worker,” Moui added. “That is why I need her so much. I need someone I can trust to run the cash register and do other important work.”

Mom said quietly, “Bac isn’t very pretty, but she is a big help to the family. She has put a lot of food on the table when we really needed it.” Her voice caught and she started sobbing softly. “I love her.”

The next day, after paying our mothers, Moui took Kim and me to Saigon for a six-month indenture. I was nearly sixteen, embarking on the biggest adventure of my life.

It started with my first long bus ride, over a hundred-fifty miles. It took from sunup until seven o’clock in the evening. We were tired, but still excited when we got to Saigon. At the Saigon bus station we caught a taxi to continue our journey.

“Kim, isn’t Saigon awesome?” I asked my friend.

“At least it is far away from that bastard father of mine. Do you remember when your mother banged his head with her skillet and laid him out cold?” Kim asked.

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