In 1979, when the horrifying images of Vietnamese refugees who were fleeing from the violence and desperation under communist rule and boarding shaky boats to cross the South China Sea were shown on TV, thousands of ordinary Canadians from across the country responded and opened their arms and hearts to welcome and help those who made it to the other side of the sea. Many of these Vietnamese refugees, who were also known as the boat people, have since rebuilt their homes and community in Canada. Pham, The Trung and his wife Thai, Ni Phan, are two of them.

Pham was a graduate of Saigon National University of Art when South Vietnam fell into the hands of the North Vietnamese communist regime in 1975. The communists introduced an agricultural revolution, seizing-often violently - privately held lands and converting them to state ownership. Many resisted and faced harsh repercussions, even death. Pham's parents were originally farmers in the Mekong Delta, forced by war to relocate earlier to Saigon. As a young art graduate, and then single, Pham was assigned a job by the state, drawing propaganda posters for the Vietnamese government to protest the conflicts along the border of Vietnam and China.

Because of his job, Pham often had to travel away from his family. Military draft was imminent. On the eve of the Vietnamese Tet (New Year) in 1980, Pham decided to escape from the oppression he was suffering. He and his youngest brother, the two youngest of seven children, left their family after the New Year's Eve family dinner to search for freedom.

For Pham and his brother, it was the beginning of a five-month long journey to freedom.They boarded a 10-metre long wooden boat at Ca Mau, the most southern point of South Vietnam. The boat carried about 59 people, including the elderly, young men, and women with small children. The boat met with a terrifying storm, which destroyed the gas tank. The boat went off course and was later seized by a North Vietnamese navy patrol while sailing toward international waters. All the passengers were subjected to intimidation by the patrol and threatened with imprisonment. The crew and passengers decided to offer as bribes the few belongings they had brought with them on the journey.