ASA 02 -A01
Reflection #7: A Day in the Life of Mike Ngo
Dante's Life Sentence
This article opened my eyes a hidden side of the industrial prison complex I've learned about, a side that directly relates to my history, my culture, and my community. The way incarceration affects Southeast Asian families, especially those who have seen and escaped war, creates different emotions and family dynamics. Ngo's parents are not ashamed of his incarceration, as other families unaffected by war like the Vietnam War would be, but they feel an unforgivable guilt. Mike Ngo feels it too, not just for the events and choices leading to his incarceration, but also the choices he is forced to make while in incarceration.
While I had heard that gang activity was common in Southeast Asian American communities, especially with the younger first generation and the second generation, I personally never knew anyone involved in gangs. I see now that the high rates of gang activity and incarceration can be attributed to the difficulty these individuals had in adjusting to the new country, society, and culture, combined with the lack of support these new communities received from the government. Only the well-off immigrants and those who were lucky enough to receive support from non-governmental organizations, like my parents did from Christian volunteers, got a good education and were able to keep themselves and their children off the streets.
I see now how fortunate my family is in avoiding gangs, incarceration, and getting a good education, so my question now is: what could the government have done to help my brothers and sisters who weren't so fortunate? And what can I do now to address this ongoing issue?
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