Her family had a very good plan. But Linh was not very happy when she heard it. Though she knew she had to go along with it. Everyone had to leave her behind. This way, if Linh's family got caught, there is still hope for her to escape successfully.
The reason for the flee was that the country, Vietnam, was full of communism.
On the very first day of the plan, Linh was very, very, nervous. All that she thought about was whether her family would get to America safe or not. A few days later, she received a letter from her family, Linh was very happy that she nearly cried. The letter said that the whole family got to America safe and sound without any problems at all.
Now is was her turn to try to escape. Linh couldn't wait!
The next day, Linh was ready to go. She was so happy, though she didn't know what dangerous things lied(sic) beyond her. . . .
One night, when Linh's ship was in the middle of the sea, a little motor boat was spotted nearby. It belonged to the government. That's the way Linh got put in jail. The government caught her.
Linh stayed in jail for about six months. She had to work as a slave for the government. That was her only way of surviving. Because if she didn't work, she would not be given any food. Everyday Linh would get up by herself and do her job. She had to protect herself by watching out for the high tide. The scary thing was, that the jail was on a small island that was miles away from anything.
One night, during Linh's jailry (sic) time, one woman tried to escape from jail. Unfortunately, the woman fell into a ditch and couldn't get out. At the same time, water started coming in. And that woman didn't even know how to swim. So the next morning, her body was found, dead. Everybody was sad and frightened after that terrifying scene.
A few weeks later Linh was free again. She wrote a letter to her family. They were glad to hear from her.
Linh made another plan and her second escape was successful. If Linh gave up hope, then, now, she wouldn't be here.
Karen, 6/10/96