Author: Huang Nina
Northwest Asia Weekly
Kalena’s fathers Thien Hong and Kalena (photo courtesy of Kalena Johnson)
“Part of me still can’t really understand the fact that I have a sibling,” My Hong shared after a DNA test found out he had a half-sister, Kalena Johnson.
Kalena Johnson was reunited with her cousin Annie Nguyen in person last October. By digging through some old photos, Johnson and Nguyen managed to find Johnson’s biological father and half-brother Hong.
For Hong and Johnson, the revelation felt like a fairy tale.
“When Annie initially reached out, I was totally amazed until the moment we found out that Kalena was actually my father’s daughter. Number one, how far the technology and progress we can get by looking for some saliva in a test tube Loved ones provide answers.
The other is the overall situation. Hearing that long-lost children have found their biological parents after so long is either fate or a coincidence between two people who decided to use DNA testing for different reasons. It sounds like a fairy tale, something you’d see in a movie or TV show, or something that happened to a family other than your own. It’s crazy that this is happening at the moment,” I added.
Through the DNA test kit, Johnson not only discovered her real Vietnamese ethnic background, but also found her biological father and learned that she has two half-brothers.
family gathering
My Hong, Kalena’s brothers Thien and Kalena (photo courtesy of Kalena Johnson)
When Johnson met her family in person, she was stressed, but everything went very well, although there was a lot to make up for a few days.
Johnson had planned to travel to Seattle in May before she learned of the DNA results. The timing was very good as she was able to meet her biological father Thien Hong and half-brother My Hong, in addition to seeing Nguyen again.
“I was really nervous at first because I didn’t fully accept all these feelings for him, but it was totally suppressed in the conversation before the meeting,” Johnson said.
Before meeting in person, they learned over the phone about Thien’s time in a Vietnamese refugee camp, his first year in Washington, and Johnson shared her childhood growing up at the White Center. They learned that Thien and My actually lived less than five miles from Johnson, and that they likely passed by the street unknowingly.
Find
Nguyen flipped through old family photos and showed Johnson a picture of her uncle. Johnson then showed the photos to her mum and aunts her age, asking if anyone looked familiar.
A key message from Johnson’s mother was that her biological father had an eldest son in Vietnam.
Through the photo, Johnson and her mom recognized her biological father, who was the person in the overlapping photo that her mom recognized. Johnson let Nguyen know that Nguyen confirmed that his uncle had given birth to a son in Vietnam.
Nguyen and the uncle hadn’t been in touch for nearly two decades, so Johnson wasn’t sure if a reunion would be possible. However, when Nguyen contacted her uncle, he was very excited about the idea of having a daughter and was more than happy to take a DNA test to find out. Additionally, he let Nguyen know that if the results came back and he wasn’t the father, he would be happy to help his brothers continue their search for Johnson.
Johnson ordered another DNA test for Nguyen’s uncle, who lives in Kent. She had expected results to take up to two months, but they came back two weeks later.
On April 6, Johnson found his biological father through DNA test results. Immediately after, she received a long email from her half-brother on behalf of their father, saying he was very excited about the news and looked forward to getting in touch at some point. Johnson replied, and the three of them ended FaceTiming that night. They chatted for an hour, dumbfounded, but also excited and intended to keep in touch.
newly found family member
I was 12 years younger than Johnson and actually went to the same school as her. Johnson and my half-brother, in their 40s, now live in Australia. Complications arose in the refugee camp, and he and his mother could not go to the United States. His mum ended up meeting someone and they went to Australia. At first, Thien kept in touch with him, but the relationship became complicated so they were no longer in touch.
“I grew up as an only child, so my childhood was lonely, and we didn’t have many family gatherings, so I didn’t have contact with all my cousins in my early years. Although the age difference between my sister and me can be considered It’s a generation gap, but it’s good to know that I haven’t really been alone all this time,” My added.
“For me, growing up, my matriarch was very multicultural, but I was the only Asian in my family. Although most of my friends and neighbors were Vietnamese, I never grew up with me For me, it’s more valuable than I expected. I’m already connected to the culture, but not my own, so it’s very comforting to be now officially part of the culture,” Johnson said. .
“I hope that by building this new relationship with Kalena, we can all spend more time as family. Between my dad and his siblings, many of them stop talking to each other. In turn, It meant that as I grew up, I had less and less time with anyone in my extended family. When Annie contacted us, it was the first time we had spoken in nearly two decades. I speak for the future of all of us Excited,” I shared via text.
return to cultural roots
During Johnson’s stay in Seattle, they had plenty of time to talk and communicate despite the language barrier. She even stayed at Thien’s house for a few nights, and they watched family portraits together. Thien invited her to visit Vietnam during the Spring Festival next year.
Johnson is motivated to learn some Vietnamese before visiting Vietnam next year.
“Hopefully learning some Vietnamese there will help me. But it’s also a way to deepen my cultural connection. It’s an empty space and it would be huge to visit during Chinese New Year. As a child, I Having lived on the streets of a monastery since I was a child, I was saddened to not be able to attend or have no celebrations. Having the opportunity to visit Vietnam during Chinese New Year, visit my grandparents’ cemetery, and meet other relatives, is a culture I have been waiting to experience my whole life Tsunami,” Johnson said.
Nina can be contacted at info@nwasianweekly.com.
