Asian Americans celebrate diversity, culture and community contributions
by Joe Narkin

(Plain Press, June 2009) Over 100 members of the Asian Pacific American Federation and their guests gathered on May 7, 2009 at the Saigon Plaza, 5400 Detroit Avenue, to celebrate Asian Heritage Month under the theme of Faces and Voices of Diversity.

Keynote Speaker Nguyen Dinh Thang came to America in 1979, four years after the fall of South Vietnam. His voyage to freedom across a storm-tossed South China Sea, during which he and his family experienced great fear, thirst, hunger, and near drowning, inspired Thang to help found Boat People SOS, originally a sea rescue mission that relieved peril and extreme hardship for over 3,000 Vietnamese refugees during the early 1980’s. Ever since, Dr. Thang and Boat People SOS have been actively involved in guiding ethnically diverse communities across the United States, to transform experiences of suffering and hardship into economic self-reliance and community building.

 “You are enriching the culture of a society by honoring your cultures and traditions,” said Thang, adding that, with the exception of indigenous Native Americans, “all people arrived here as boat people, learned how to share our experiences, and developed a shared experience as a nation.”

While the United States is based upon democracy, not all citizens are guaranteed to have a voice in a democratic system unless they become active in community life, according to Thang. “What makes this country great is participation; this is a participatory democracy,” said Thang. “Democracy is not for everyone; it is for communities that know how to organize,” he said.

Having begun as a grassroots effort with the sole focus of rescuing Vietnamese refugees at sea, Boat People SOS has grown into a major national organization with 13 branches and an annual budget of $8 million per year. They have also achieved impact on an international level.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Boat People SOS set up relief operations that served approximately 10,000 Vietnamese and other Gulf Coast evacuees. More recently, in February 2008, Boat People SOS worked with U.S. officials in repatriating 170 young female workers of K&D Apparel, a Taiwanese firm operating in the country of Jordan, who were being subjected to brutal conditions while on strike in response to sweatshop conditions.

While Boat People SOS continues to offer direct assistance to individuals, including asylum seekers and victims of torture, the organization has developed a formal training protocol for communities seeking to organize based upon principles of mutual assistance and collaboration.

Although the current economic recession is causing significant hardship across the country, communities have the opportunity to determine how stimulus funds will be utilized to achieve recovery, according to Thang. “The good news is that the $787 billion stimulus package from the federal government gives us the resources necessary for recovery; the bad news is that it is our money and we will have to pay it back,” said Thang. In order to be effective, “this money must be put into the hands of the people,” he said. Boat People SOS is currently helping train local communities regarding how to access and effectively utilize available federal funds.

“Our neighborhoods and communities are stronger and will thrive as we welcome ever more newcomers bringing us the wealth of their diverse faces and voices,” said Luong Thi Gia Hoa, President of the Asian Pacific American Federation.

Responding to a recent recommendation of Texas House Representative Betty Brown that Asian Americans should adopt new names “that are easier for Americans to deal with,” Ms. Hoa asked those attending the celebration, “Are we people of Asian background not also Americans?” The use of the phrase “to deal with” seems to equate Asian Americans with “some deck of playing cards or merchandise on store counters,” she said.

Noting that non-Asian ethnic names can be equally challenging to pronounce, Loung Thi Gia Hoa outlined the meaning behind her own name. As is traditional in Vietnam and many other Asian cultures, her first name identifies her family, which goes back many centuries. The name “Thi” is a traditional honorific for Vietnamese women. Her father chose the concluding part of her name to signify an ancient city outside of Hanoi and can be roughly translated to mean “beautiful, peaceful nation.” A name is our identity, our birthright, out heritage, and our history and pride, said Ms. Hoa.

For more information about the Asian Pacific American Federation and partner organizations, please call Loung Thi Gia Hoa Ryan at (216) 965-3656. Additional information about Boat People SOS can be found at www.bpsos.wordpress.com.

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