My name is Peter, but people call me Saigon Sam.
My real name is Canh Van Nguyen
and I'm a chef and I cook Chinese food
and I've got a shop called Saigon Takeaway.
"Sam" fled Vietnam in 1981
with his wife and 5-week-old baby
There was a big war there.
Source: BBC Panorama
Gun and bomb blow up everyday.
2 million people escaped Vietnam by boat
but many died at sea
Elizabeth Sam's Daughter
But I just didn't realise when he said "we got a boat over from Vietnam to Singapore"
I just assumed it was a huge boat but, it was a tiny little wooden one at first.
Ebalina refugee rescue, June 1980
I was just really shocked when I found out and I was like anything could have happened.
We never go across the sea like that. Yeah, but we have to go. Just go. That's it.
When we were on the sea, we were rescued by a British oil tanker called Ebalina.
Ebalina refugee rescue, June 1980
Sam then began his new life in Middlesbrough
When I first arrived in Middlesbrough, it was very nice.
Just like heaven because I know I'm in a freedom country.
There was a bit of racism I think when he first came because obviously it was the eighties.
I even remember my dad, well he still does it now actually, he seals up his letterboxes
because he doesn't want anyone to put anything dangerous in them.
I think they've had an occasion where they've had fireworks put through them.
Yeah, it's pretty bad.
Racism is everywhere. Yeah, every country got it. So you must try to live with it.
You cannot jump through into their house and expect them to love you.
My dad is still cooking at 63 which is pretty awesome to be honest.
I think he does it because he doesn't want to disappoint any of his customers.
They'd be devastated if he retired.
He's always said to me that he wants to find the guy who was sailing the boat that took him over to the UK.
After six months I wrote a letter [to the captain] and I ask my teacher to correct the sentences.
Yeah so I sent to them.
Always remember, really. Amazing.
1 month later we revisited Sam with some exciting news
So we found this article from 1981 about your rescue specifically on the Ebalina.
I recognise this healthy baby, yeah.
Sadly the captain who rescued Sam recently passed away.
Although, we were able to track down his wife.
She wrote Sam a letter.
It was the beginning of an ordinary day at sea on our way back to Singapore for orders.
However, in the early hours of the morning the third officer
informed my husband that there was a small boat in the water.
I don't know how to say thank you
because you saved my life
and thirty-five people on board.
Someday if I met them maybe we can have a pint of beer with them or something. What can I do?