Save the Date

‘Chimes of Voices’ Celebrates Vietnamese-American History

A new blog has debuted, with the ambitious plan of keeping the culture, history, and dreams of the Vietnamese-American community alive… one story at a time. Created by BPSOS’ Xuan Le, who coordinates the Seniors and Trauma Survivors Empowerment Program (STEP) from the Falls Church office, the blog opens with a lively oral history from Nguyen Van Phuong, who recalls setbacks and triumphs in America. Nguyen, who arrived in the US in 1973, rebuilt his life, prospered, and now volunteers with BPSOS. Don’t forget to bookmark http://chimesofvoices.blogspot.com, which is updated regularly with oral histories from the Vietnamese-American community!

Community Development Dept. Marks Milestones

Over the past 6 years, the BPSOS Community Development Department has helped Vietnamese-American working families in a number of key ways. Among these are the fact that the department has trained over 500 adult refugees and immigrants. Of these, over 240 have completed levels one and two of the English as a Second Language program, and another 75 have completed workplace mentoring programs. Another 60 have completed job placement programs, 33 have been placed in jobs, and 80 have passed the US citizenship exam. Beyond these achievements, the department has helped 1,800 low-income taxpayers claim $3 million in tax credits and tax refunds, while training some 81 volunteer tax assistants to help community members with tax preparation.

For more information see the blog Vietnamese Workers Abroad: A Rights Watch at http://vietnameseworkersabroad.wordpress.com/.

Polar Twin Advance Stalls in Talks

In the latest round of negotiations between management and labor advocates, the company showed up half an hour late. To date, the company has not agreed to deal with the issue of back pay. The firm’s representatives did, however, confirm that they would work with the Vietnamese Embassy to return the passports to the workers to facilitate their repatriation.

So far, the workers report, PTA wants no part in compensating the workers, or in paying their airfares home. The Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA), which BPSOS helped found, has been advocating on behalf of the PTA workers since July 8 of this year, when it launched a campaign to help them reclaim workplace rights and lost wages.

BPSOS Spotlights Keys to Halting Human Trafficking

In a presentation on countering human trafficking made August 2 in Orange County, the speakers identified three key steps to dealing with the problem. According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, executive director of Boat People SOS, the critical next steps are to 1) Establish “missions of mercy” in the countries hosting Vietnamese guest workers in order to have the most concrete, positive effect on their lives; 2) Pursue civil suits against human traffickers, and where possible, criminal cases; and 3) Pressure the Vietnamese government to change its labor export policy, and make scrutinizing the execution of the new policy a priority for the US Congress and Department of State.

This guest editorial is reprinted courtesy of The Times-Picayune, Louisiana’s largest newspaper, where it originally ran on July 29, 2008. Tony Tran is the branch manager of the New Orleans office of Boat People SOS. Minh Nguyen is the executive director of the Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans.

FALLS CHURCH, VA June 3 – Despite the fact that breast cancer is the second most common cancer among Vietnamese-American women, research has shown that they are less likely to have ever had mammograms than women in the general population.

Helping people rebuild their lives after a hurricane is no small thing. Just ask Thanh Mead of the New Orleans office of Boat People SOS (BPSOS).

“It’s been the most stressful job I’ve ever had, but the most rewarding,” said Mead, senior case manager for a BPSOS team working on the Katrina Aid Today (KAT) program, which involved a consortium of 10 social service and voluntary organizations.

LOUISVILLE, KY Aug 1 – Health promoters in Louisville’s Vietnamese-American community are gearing up for an event to shine a warning light on Hepatitis B, which afflicts at least one out of ten Vietnamese Americans. To combat this potentially fatal disease of the liver, the local branch of the national nonprofit Boat People SOS (BPSOS), in partnership with the biopharmaceuticals firm Gilead, is putting together a day of free Hepatitis B screenings along with glucose, cholesterol, dental, and eye exams, family activities, and general awareness-raising this coming Sunday, September 7.

July 16, 2008: BPSOS is in negotiations with FinnFund and Polar Electro, both of which have substantial investments in Polar Twin Advance (PTA). Among the vital workers’ concerns being covered by the negotiators are back pay and repatriation. According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, BPSOS executive director, negotiations are going smoothly and in favor of the workers.

The Vietnamese ambassadors in both the United States and Malaysia have been contacted and asked to help resolve the Polar Twin Advance case quickly and fairly. Ambassador Hoang Trong Lap of the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Malaysia was sent a copy of the PTA case summary yesterday.

FALLS CHURCH, VA July 8, 2008 – The Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA) today launches a campaign to stop the abuse of foreign workers by Polar Twin Advance, a Malaysia-based manufacturer of electromedical equipment with sizeable Finnish investments.

“We’re working through legal, diplomatic, and business channels to ensure that Polar Twin Advance stops its abuses,” said Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, executive director of the US-based nonprofit Boat People SOS, a CAMSA coalition member. “We’re excited to find out that two of the firm’s key investors are Finnish, because the Finns have a strong record on labor and human rights.”

By Jaehee Park for BPSOS

Vietnamese Americans around the country are gearing up to challenge the human rights record of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who will be visiting the US for four days starting June 24.