Tam Nguyen: A refugee reveals her recipe for success

Life in Canada will present a lot of challenges for families fleeing Syria, but it also holds endless opportunity.

This week, CBC News is looking at the success stories of people who found refuge here years ago and started over.

People like Tam Nguyen of Hamilton know what it's like to leave everything behind. Nguyen's escape from Vietnam decades ago will resonate for many of the Syrians who will settle here in the GTA in the coming months.

The journey to Canada

Nguyen was just eight years old when her family fled their home in Saigon — which was by then renamed Ho Chi Minh City —  in 1980.

"It was hush, hush because it was a police state. They monitored your movement everywhere," she said. "Boom, one night we take off in the middle of the night." 

Her family, including her parents and little brother, eventually made it onto a fishing boat. A boat she said was crammed with more than 100 people. It was built to hold only 35.

"We hit open sea, hoped for the best," she said. "Then we got attacked."

Her brother, who was just six, was captured by pirates and never seen again. Her family was devastated at his loss but determined to carry on. They spent three months in a refugee camp before finally arriving in Canada.

Her first memory?

"Just being able to eat, have a full stomach," she said laughing. "It was so nice."

Starting over in Canada

Food has continued to play a vital role in Nguyen's life.

She watched her mom cook and sell Vietnamese meals to other families in the refugee camp.

Decades later, now a mother of two herself, she volunteered to make spring rolls for her kids' school. They were so popular, she soon couldn't keep up with the demand.

Her one-woman operation eventually became Saigon Soul Food on James Street South in Hamilton.

"This is our workspace right here," she said walking through the bright kitchen. "We live here, and we do this, all day."

Paying it forward

Think of an assembly line, without the machinery.

Five women sit at two small tables, rolling one spring roll after another in rapid succession.

Like Nguyen, all the staff are Vietnamese, who came to Canada as refugees.

"I'm trying to create an atmosphere for my boys. My husband is Canadian and my boys speak only Vietnamese to me," she explained.

"It's important because I don't want them to lose a part of me. If they lose the language, they will forget I'm not Canadian-born. I am Vietnamese-born."

Her personal recipe for success is to always work hard and take nothing for granted, something she`s certain is intrinsic to all refugees, like the families arriving from Syria.

"Everyone appreciates a second chance, so I'm quite sure they will make wonderful name for their country again," she said. "Right now they just need the help." 

Nguyen and her husband, Cameron, are working closely with the City of Hamilton.They say they're ready to feed Syrian families, provide financial support, whatever it takes.

"I came from war-torn country, I know exactly how it feels to leave your home and get a fresh start with nothing," she said.