Geneva, Switzerland — I received a text message from my colleague in the magazine informing me that I would be flying to Puerto Princesa, Palawan the following week to do a special feature for the magazine I was working for. This was 2011 and I was thrilled. It would be my first time to visit the long stretch of land on the western side of the Philippines, a place which is has been voted many times over as the most beautiful island on earth.
What struck me during my first visit to Puerto Princesa was not the Subterranean River or the Iwahig Firelfy River–although both destinations were undoubtedly breathtaking–but the strings of chaolongan, local restaurants selling Filipinized Vietnamese dishes such as phở (which the locals call chao long, although in the strictest sense, chao long is a popular dish in Saigon made of congee and a handful of delectable pork odds and ends), gỏi cuốn, chả gií², and bánh mí¬ stuffed with barbecued pork. Beyond being member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines and Viet Nam share a story rooted in the humanitarian crisis that was spawned by one of the greatest tragedies in history, the Vietnam War.
The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 only marked the beginning of a harrowing nightmare for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese. The rise of a repressive regime, economic hardship, and the bitter war being fought by Viet Nam, China, and Cambodia unraveled the fabric of Vietnamese society and caused tremendous suffering to millions of Vietnamese, especially those who were associated with the former government of South Viet Nam. Hundreds of thousands were sent to “re-education” camps where they were tortured and compelled to perform hard labor despite already suffering from starvation and disease. These dire conditions forced many Vietnamese citizens to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Although the price of being caught fleeing the country was steep (i.e. potentially death), the thought of living in fear was even more tormenting such that an estimated 1.5 million Vietnamese opted to take the risk of boarding overcrowded fishing junks and trawlers or fragile little fishing boats to sail towards an unsure future, regardless of where the waves will take them. If the scenario of the Vietnamese boat people sounds familiar then yes, it is a similar plight suffered by the Syrian refugees who risked life and limb to escape into a life free from suffering.
Hundreds of thousands didn’t make it alive. Yet for those who did, the prospects of alienation and discrimination stood on the shores bearing the welcome drinks of fear and loneliness. While many other countries closed their doors to the influx of Vietnamese who sought refuge from their arduous journey, the Philippines wholeheartedly opened its doors to the Vietnamese boat people for nearly two decades since the first wave of Vietnamese refugees arrived in 1975.
Apart from the Philippine Refugee Processing Center which was established in Morong, Bataan, as a transit point for Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees en route to their final resettlement destinations such as Canada, Norway, Australia, France, and the United States, a refugee camp was established in Puerto Princesa, which eventually became known as the Vietnamese Village.
The Vietnamese Village gave the Vietnamese refugees a new lease on life. Viet-Ville, as it is more commonly known, housed shelters, a noodle factory, a couple of French bread bakeries, as well as Catholic and Protestant churches, and a Buddhist temple.
While some of the first generation Vietnamese refugees slowly trickled out of the Philippines to complete the final leg of their journey towards a better life and a better future, a handful have remained in Palawan, effortlessly coexisting with the Filipino population and infusing our local culture with an interesting Vietnamese flavor.
Despite being a developing country, the Philippines shared what it could to help ease the suffering of the Vietnamese refugees. In turn, the Vietnamese refugees transformed the challenge of being in an unfamiliar and land and culture into an opportunity by creating what are now considered successful businesses from nothing.
Today, chaolong has been embraced by Filipinos as a hearty comfort food signifying that this distinctly Vietnamese cuisine has found a home in the Filipino palate and obviously in the Filipino heart.
Food played an important part in breaking the ice between the Filipinos and the Vietnamese who had found a safe refuge in Bataan and Puerto Princesa. Food served as the common language that said, “Welcome,” “Thank you,” and, in the case of the tangled strings of noodle submerged in chaolong’s savory soup, “May you be blessed with a long and prosperous life.”
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