6-year-old's arrival makes family complete

Posted for Sarah Poulton

BOARDMAN — After what seemed like a lifetime of separation, 6-year-old Mi Hoang Diem Le gave her parents the best Christmas present they could have hoped for.

Mi Hoang arrived in Akron on Thursday evening from Vietnam and was greeted with hugs, kisses and gifts after being separated from her parents for three years. Mi Hoang had been living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with extended-family members while her parents were living in the U.S.

Her father, Hung Van Le, 34, moved to Boardman on Aug. 23, 2002, and her mother, Trang Thi Diem Pham, 24, followed on March 13, 2003. Le has been working in an Asian restaurant and Pham is employed at Fancy Nails in Boardman.

Le and Pham were McCain Act children, whose parents were re-educated when the North Vietnamese communists took over South Vietnam in the 1970s. The McCain Act allows them and their families to apply for resettlement in the U.S., but they applied before Mi Hoang was conceived. Since the wait for resettlement is long, and time is of the essence, Le and Pham had to leave their daughter in the care of relatives until they could arrange for her to join them.

Goran Debelnogich, resettlement services coordinator for the International Institute of Akron, said he assisted the family in bringing the child to the United States, just as he assisted both of her parents to resettle here. His job is to sponsor refugee families and bring them to safety in America, he said.

“There are strict rules,” Debelnogich said. “For several years we have been trying to bring this family together.”

During their three-year separation, Pham was able to visit Mi Hoang for six weeks in early 2004. At the time, Mi Hoang was living with her great-aunt, and Pham was amazed by how much her little girl had grown.

Pham said it was very painful to leave her baby girl for a second time, but she knew eventually they would be together.

“It was very hard,” Pham said. “Lots of tears.”

Debelnogich arranged for Pham to fly to Vietnam early to accompany Mi Hoang during her flight to the U.S. He said when an unaccompanied minor travels in their program, they usually send a nonrelative to accompany them, but Pham refused and insisted on traveling with her daughter.

When Pham and Mi Hoang arrived at the airport, Pham said she felt relieved that this situation was over. She said it hurt to have her daughter so far away, and she finally feels at ease.

“I feel very good,” Pham said. “My home now full.”As Pham and Le are still struggling to become fluent in English, she said she worries that the adjustment period for Mi Hoang will be difficult.

Pham said she is concerned that Mi Hoang will have a hard time adapting to life in America and is nervous that Mi Hoang and will have a difficult time learning English.

“I was scared,” Pham said. “But not as much now.”

Pham said Mi Hoang is nervous about starting school. She will begin school as a first-grader in the Boardman school district as soon as her paperwork is completed, Pham said.

Other than that, Pham said Mi Hoang is adjusting just fine.

She said they haven’t had any problems with her, and she seems to like everything. When Mi Hoang left Vietnam, she knew why she was leaving and that she was coming to be with her family, she said.

“She understood everything,” Pham said.

Pham said that while Mi Hoang is happy, she misses her friends from Vietnam very much. She said that she knows her daughter will make new friends quickly and that she wishes she wouldn’t have had to wait so long to be with her.

Nevertheless, everyone is happy, healthy and together after years of separation, Pham said. She is overwhelmed with joy and said this is the best Christmas present she could have asked for.

“We are so happy,” Pham said. “My family is complete now.”