After the war in Vietnam, the new govemment made life difficult for the Vietnamese people, where the citizens had to suffer through hard labor in order to gain money. And even when the people worked hard for their wealth, the government would take over their hard-earned property and possession in order to limit their resources and power; the communists knew if people were too wealthy, the Democrats would rise against the government and possibly take over. Since Tam was 10 years old at the time, he did not put himself in the work force to make money, but he knew profits were important in obtaining enough food and shelter