Got pride? This question is aimed towards all my belowed fellow Vietnamese brothers and sisters. My name is Minh-Bao Pham. The name can't get any more Vietnamese than that. Right? And the fact of the matter is, I love my name, I carry it with much cultural pride. Why? Because it reflects my culture, my origin, my ethnicity. It's who I am. I am Viet Nam and Viet Nam is I. I was … [Read more...] about Camp Len Duong: A Personal Experience
Trailer: Giap and the Last Iron Board Factory
Tony Nguyen, director of Enforcing the Silence, has a new project, and it's called "Giap and the Last Iron Board Factory." It's about a Vietnamese mother retiring from working in a factory in Indiana after more than 30 years. The trailer drew some emotions out of me. It reminded me of how tough my parents had to be to build a life here in America; how they never complained. … [Read more...] about Trailer: Giap and the Last Iron Board Factory
The Tongue-tied Misfit and the Language of Violence
NAM editor's note: Andrew Lam wrote a slightly different version of this piece in 2009 after Jiverly Wong shot and killed 13 people in a community center in Binghamton, N.Y., where immigrants had gathered to learn English, before killing himself. We felt the piece bears repeating in light of Monday’s shootings in Oakland, Calif., by a Korean immigrant that left seven dead. One … [Read more...] about The Tongue-tied Misfit and the Language of Violence
Experts: Vietnamese Parents Could Stem Youths’ High Depression Rates
Photo courtesy of Project MotiVATe, a Southern California program mentoring Vietnamese teens. LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Christopher Nguyen had recently been treated in the hospital for depression before shooting and killing his older brother while he slept last Nov. 29, according to a Los Angeles police report. Then Nguyen, 26, turned the gun on himself. Although Nguyen’s … [Read more...] about Experts: Vietnamese Parents Could Stem Youths’ High Depression Rates
Social & FUNraiser Marks G.I. Joe’s One Year
This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of my friend Joe Le’s passing. I have written quite a bit on Joe over the last year, so if you aren’t already familiar with his story, those posts can be read here. The one year of his passing also marks the anniversary of G.I. Joe Search & Rescue – The Joe Le Foundation’s inception. To commemorate this, the group will be … [Read more...] about Social & FUNraiser Marks G.I. Joe’s One Year