Love in the Time of War: Resettlement and Sponsorship

The 1970s and 1980s ushered an overwhelming influx of Southeast Asian refugees to the United States because of the Secret War in Laos, the genocide and civil war in Cambodia, and the American War in Vietnam. This was also a time of protest for peace, Jimmy Carter was president, and there were supportive programs and faith-based communities who wanted to welcome and resettle refugees. Phung Huynh, Los Angeles-based artist will be joined by her godmother, Karen Jorgenson who sponsored Huynh’s family to come to the United States in 1978. In an intimate conversation, Phung Huynh and Karen Jorgenson will share their stories and tender moments during the Huynh family’s early years in the United States. This reunion of sponsor and sponsee centers on compassion, healing, humanity, and most importantly, building new families in the time of war.

For information on Phung Huynh's exhibition Angkorian Homecoming at the Institute for the Humanities Gallery, visit https://lsa.umich.edu/humanities/gallery/current-exhibitions/phung-huynh.html.