“April 30, 1975 - In the early hours of the 30th, the last helicopter to evacuate US officials and some South Vietnamese allies pulled out, and not too longer after, Saigon fell to the Vietcong. So as we remember the US soldiers and the war that the US didn’t win, let’s not forget the Vietnamese refugees, the Hmong who were abandoned despite their assistance to the CIA, the rise of the Khmer Rouge because of the US bombings in Cambodia and its aftermath, etc. The Vietnam War has a huge grip on the American conscience, and what we learn in textbooks that does not do justice to the million of lives who have been impacted by war, both here and abroad.
This picture by Hubert Van Es captures a helicopter on an apartment building rooftop in downtown Saigon where CIA employees were housed. Though the setting has been mistaken to be the US Embassy in South Vietnam, it essentially gives the sense of desperation that was rampant among the South Vietnamese this time 38 years ago.”
Please donate to SASC SI here.
The Southeast Asian Student Coalition’s (SASC) mission is:
“To unite Southeast Asian Communities, particularly those bounded by the historical context of the Viet Nam War, and to address the economic inequalities, social injustices, and political under-representation that they face.”
SI is an all-expense paid, five-day educational program hosted at UC Berkeley that connects high school students and community members nationwide. We bring 36 high school students from all over the country to address Southeast Asian underrepresentation in higher education and low recruitment and retention rates.
20% of US population DO NOT have a high school diploma
20% of Asian Americans DO NOT have a high school diploma
Compare this to
38% of Vietnamese Americans, 50% of Laotian Americans,
54% of Cambodian Americans, 60% of Hmong Americans
DO NOT HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
The US National Average for a Bachelors Degree:28.8%
US National Average for Asian Americans for a Bachelors Degree: 44%
While 7.5% of Hmong Americans and 9.4% of Laotian Americans have a Bachelor’s Degree.
By connecting students to their culture and history, we aim to foster young leaders and empower students to create social change.
CalSERVE wins 3 of 4 partisan executive positions in ASUC election 2013
Guess what everyone, we’re back. Congrats to our very own REACH! co-director Sevly Snguon as he moves on to be our representative as the 2nd Cambodian Senator in all of ASUC history. Also, congrats to Deejay Pepito reppin from PASS for holding it down as she becomes the ASUC President for the 13-14 school year.
Sevly Snguon SASComm Chair for SEAPOP: Southeast Asian Prison Outreach Project, doing mad work.
SASC SI Benefit Concert tonight from 6-9pm at the Multicultural Center! Come for performances, great food, and a silent auction with lovely items! Hit me up for more details! Guaranteed a good time with plenty of community love! ✊❤
Thai Association Of Northern California + Songkran Thai New Year Festival : Support Community
(Source: bobbivie)
[video]
For an all-female group [Khmer Girls in Action] of Cambodian American teens in Long Beach, home to the country’s largest Cambodian community, the target of their adolescent disaffection is their parents’ generational hopelessness.
Many of the girls’ parents arrived in Long Beach in the early 1980s after fleeing the “killing fields” of the Khmer Rouge regime, a genocide that resulted in an estimated 1.7 to 2 million deaths. Survivors of unimaginable horror, many have kept their stories untold, creating a generation of silence that has taken a profound toll on their children.
Nearly half of the respondents reported symptoms of depression, including loneliness, fear, insomnia, cutting and other self-harming acts. Most – especially young males – said they experienced discriminatory treatment at school, with 1 in 3 saying they were frequently stopped or pulled over by police.
Stuff about our body is kind of taboo to talk about with your family,” said 16-year-old Amanda Em. “We’re kind of reserved. It’s awkward to bring up, so everyone ignores it.
“It used to mean being poor and being seen as a dropout or a gangster,” Chhuon said. “But to these young people, being Cambodian means being a survivor, an activist, coming from an incredibly resilient tradition of people.”
Passages from Trauma rooted in genocide, Cambodian youth confront ‘historical forgetting’ via California Watch
Click here to read more →
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The Green Papaya is a community blog and online forum where the Southeast Asian community may share its stories. Its goal is to provide an online space that engages the SEA community, fosters voices within that community, and also raise awareness about that community. If you wish to submit a post, click here.
Legacies of War is very excited to announce “Voices From Laos: Clearing Bombs, Protecting Lives,” a groundbreaking national speakers tour. The tour will create a space for dialogue on how individuals and communities are affected by Vietnam War-era unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos, how the problem is being addressed in the country, and ways in which people in the U.S. can help to clear Laos of bombs, support survivors of accidents, and help to create a safer future for the people of Laos.
Funds raised will go to support Legacies’ long-term goals of a bomb-free Laos and also to support the nationwide Speakers Tour.
Not only will you be supporting the removal of U.S.-dropped bombs and healing the wounds of war, but you will also enjoy traditional Lao food!
Where: Berkeley, the home of Daniel & Hilary Goldstine
1838 San Juan Ave. Berkeley, CA
What: Reception, 30-50 seats reserved JUST FOR STUDENTS
When: April 7th, 6pm-9pm
RSVP: http://voicesfromlaosberkeley.eventbrite.com/
[video]
zuky:
life:
Forty-five years after American troops murdered men, women and children in a village in Vietnam, LIFE.com bears witness to the horror by republishing the story of My Lai as it ran in LIFE 20 months later
(Ronald L. Haeberle — Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
The My Lai Massacre is an iconic 20th century event which reflects the USA’s attitude toward Asia and Asian people. On March 16, 1968, roughly 500 unarmed civilians in the Vietnamese village of Son My — mostly women, children, babies, and the elderly — were massacred by US troops. Many of the women were raped and some were gang-raped before being mutilated and dumped in ditches. Three US soldiers attempted to halt the massacre and were denounced in US Congress as traitors.
In my opinion, part of the contempt we see toward Asians from some US Americans (including from some other people of color who are supposedly anti-racist) is a manifestation of this political history, which also includes: (1) the invasion and colonization of the Philippines, Hawaii, Guam, Samoa; (2) the internment of Japanese Americans; (3) dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; (4) the invasion and partition of Korea and the establishment of a permanent military base; (5) the destruction of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
(via woc-resist)