NCVA eREPORTER
- December 30, 2005
The National
Congress of Vietnamese Americans' NCVA eReporter is a regular email
newsletter containing information on
grant/funding
opportunities, events/forums/conferences, available
internships
and news items pertinent to the Vietnamese American and Asian
Pacific American communities.
In this NCVA eReporter:
EVENTS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
NEWS
******************
EVENTS
AALEAD 7TH
ANNUAL DINNER
Date: Friday, February 10, 2006
Time: 6:30-9:00 pm
Place: New Fortune Restaurant
16515 S. Frederick Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD
Tickets: $60 per ticket for a group of 10
$75 per individual ticket
Door Prizes
Delicious Chinese Banquet
Performances by AALEAD Youth
Information: Anne Sorensen, 202.884.1461,
asorensen@aalead.org
(http://www.aalead.org)
******************
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
HERB BLOCK FOUNDATION ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR PATHWAYS
OUT OF POVERTY PROGRAM
Deadline: February 14, 2006 (Letter of Inquiry)
The Herb Block Foundation invites nonprofit organizations
serving the Greater Washington, D.C., region to apply for its
Pathways Out of Poverty program.
The Pathways Out of Poverty program focuses on helping needy
young people and adults gain a quality education. For projects
serving youth, the foundation seeks proposals that focus on
improving student achievement and healthy development of young
people of middle school age and above. Projects may include
in-school and community-based educational programs, after-school
activities, and mentoring programs. Programs designed to
increase high school graduation rates are encouraged. For
projects serving adults, the foundation seeks proposals to
provide literacy education, GED preparation, and vocational
training and job placement.
Applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations located in
and/or providing services in the greater Washington, D.C.,
region, which the foundation defines as the District of
Columbia; the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, and the city of
Alexandria in Virginia; and Montgomery and Prince George's
counties in Maryland.
Grants for one year in the range of $10,000 to $25,000 will be
considered.
(http://www.herbblockfoundation.org/HerbBlockFoundation/content.aspx?page=4778624&_redir=638)
******************
BP
EDUCATIONAL GRANT PROGRAM FOR TEXAS TEACHERS
Deadline: March 24, 2006
Teachers in the Texas counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend,
Galveston, and Harris are eligible to participate in a $1
million grant program offered by global energy provider BP. The
A+ for Energy program will be offered to all accredited teachers
in grades pre-K through 12.
A+ for Energy grants are presented directly to teachers who
submit creative classroom, after-school, extracurricular, or
summer activities focused on energy education and/or energy
conservation, in increments of $5,000 or $10,000.
BP encourages teachers to think outside of the box when creating
their proposals. First piloted in California, A+ for Energy
grants have allowed students to turn food scraps into ethanol,
create solar-powered cars, hold energy festivals, cook hot dogs
with solar power, and build solar-powered hot water systems.
BP partners with the National Energy Education Development
Project to support energy education in Texas schools by
supplying course content and curriculum that is aligned with
state standards for the core subject areas of science, math, and
social studies for all grades. As part of its A+ for Energy
program, BP will award grant recipients a scholarship to attend
a three-day training conference hosted by the NEED Project to be
held in Texas in July 2006. The all-inclusive scholarship will
cover travel, meals and lodging expenses as well as a NEED
Science of Energy Kit valued at $500.
Pre K-12 teachers currently teaching in the five participating
counties in Texas public or private schools are eligible to
submit an application.
(http://www.aplusforenergy.com/)
(http://www.bp.com/)
(http://www.need.org/)
******************
ARTISTS ARTS TEACHER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
AREA
TEACHERS
Deadline: February 10, 2006
The Fund for Artists Arts Teacher Fellowship program is a
regional initiative to support the artistic revitalization of
outstanding arts teachers in San Francisco Bay Area middle and
high schools.
Through FFAATF, fellows design individualized courses of study
that foster their own creative work and the opportunity to
interact with other professional artists in their fields.
FAATF will award eight fellowships of up to $5,000 each, with a
complementary grant of $1,500 to the fellow's school to support
post-fellowship activities. Fellowship awards may be used to
defray the costs of tuition or fees, room and board, travel,
purchase of materials, and/or equipment for personal art-making,
childcare, and other relevant expenses. In addition, all
fellows -- accompanied by school leaders -- will be invited to
convene in Fall 2006 to share experiences and discuss relevant
concerns in the arts education field.
Eligible applicants must be permanently assigned full- or
part-time arts faculty working in public middle or high schools
in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, or
northern Santa Clara (Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los
Altos Hills) county; teachers of the visual and media arts,
theater, music, dance, or creative writing; and continuing as
arts teachers in 2006-07.
(http://www.sff.org/grantmaking/program_arts.html)
******************
POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR EXCELLENCE IN
WORKPLACE VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
Deadline: January 25, 2006
A program of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center
National Network (http://www.pointsoflight.org/),
the Awards for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs are
designed to honor a business' overall employee/retiree volunteer
effort, including the actual community-service projects and the
program policies and corporate vision that support those
volunteer activities. Points of Light invites nominations of
businesses that have exceptional workplace volunteer programs.
Self-nomination is permissible.
The 2006 awards will be presented at the National Conference on
Volunteering and Service in Seattle, Washington, June 18-20,
2006.
The following award categories are available for the Awards for
Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs:
General -- award for companies with an employee volunteer
program of more than three years; Fast Start -- a special award
for a company with an employee volunteer program of three years'
duration or less; and Past Recipients -- award for past award
recipients that received the award more than five years ago
(2001 or earlier).
Any small, medium, large, or international business that has an
established and company-supported employee/retiree volunteer
program directed toward addressing a community's serious social
problems is eligible.
(http://www.pointsoflight.org/awards/workplace/)
******************
GW’s GRADUATE SCHOOL OF POLITICAL MANAGEMENT ANNOUNCES NATIONAL
COMPETITION FOR INNOVATIVE YOUNG VOTER STRATEGIES
Grantee Contact:
Heather Smith, 202.994.5052 Pew Contact:
Cindy Jobbins, 215.575.4812
Washington, D.C. -- December 19, 2005 -- Capitalizing on the
record increase in young voter turnout during the 2004 and 2005
elections, The George Washington University Graduate School of
Political Management (GSPM), has announced a national
nonpartisan competition, Innovations in Youth Voting, designed
to identify and support innovative strategies for registering
young voters ages 18 to 29 in the 2006 election cycle. The $3
million project is funded through a grant from The Pew
Charitable Trusts.
“This grant gives us the opportunity to build on the historic
young voter turnout in the last presidential election by
encouraging the development of effective, replicable strategies
for increasing young voter participation while significantly
boosting youth registration and turnout in the upcoming mid-term
elections,” said Heather Smith, director of the GSPM’s Young
Voters Strategies project.
Applications for the competition must be received by 5:00 p.m.
on January 13th, 2006. Winners will be selected by a bipartisan
selection committee made up of members of GSPM’s advisory
committee and staff, and announced by
March 1, 2006.
Eight to 10 winners will receive grants ranging from $50,000 to
$250,000, in addition to strategic support and polling data from
the GSPM. For more information about the competition and how to
participate, visit
www.youngvoterstrategies.org.
This increase in young voter participation represents a break in
the declining youth turnout rate, a trend that has continued
over the last thirty years. With a newly engaged population of
young people, the GSPM seeks to increase the momentum of young
voter registration and sees an opportunity to reenergize civic
life in America.
“The increase in the youth vote during the last elections
demonstrates the value of the demographic to both parties,” said
GSPM Board Member Ed Goeas, President and CEO of the Republican
polling firm The Tarrance Group. “We have every expectation that
young Americans will play a significant role in the upcoming
Congressional elections.”
Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners and a GSPM board member
believes that the Innovations in Youth Voting competition will
not only help build on the momentum of the 2004 election but
also encourage the development of practical strategies to boost
young voter engagement.
“The ’04 turnout validated a range of commonsense tactics for
encouraging young people to vote,” said Lake. “By sponsoring
this competition, we hope to further develop a range of proven
methods for registering young voters.”
ALL ENTRANTS MUST BE 501(C)(3) PUBLIC CHARITIES
AND
THE GRANT FUNDS MAY NOT BE USED TO HELP OR HINDER ANY CANDIDATE
OR PARTY.
The Graduate School of Political Management prepares students
for participation in democratic politics, providing them with
the critical thinking, knowledge, and skills necessary to
succeed in professional careers in applied politics. GSPM also
seeks to advance professionalism in politics by assisting the
careers of its alumni, by generating knowledge in the field, by
lauding appropriate professional conduct so as to promote ethics
and professional standards, and by advancing awareness of
democratic values and traditions of fair play.
For more information, visit the Web site of GW’s Graduate School
of Political Management. (http://www.gwu.edu/~gspm/)
(http://www.pewtrusts.org/ideas/ideas_item.cfm?content_item_id=3155&content_type_id=7&issue_name=Youth%20voting&issue=7&page=7&WT.mc_id=12/26/2005)
(http://www.youngvoterstrategies.org/)
******************
HITACHI FOUNDATION OPENS YOUTH COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
NOMINATION PROCESS
The Hitachi Foundation presents the Yoshiyama Award for
Exemplary Service to the Community each year to ten high school
seniors from around the United States on the basis of their
community-service activities.
The award is accompanied by a gift of $5,000, dispensed over two
years. Recipients may use the award at their discretion. (The
award is not a scholarship.)
Yoshiyama Award selection is based upon service and the
opportunity for longer-term social change rather than on
academic achievement or extracurricular activities. Grade-point
averages, SAT scores, and school club memberships are not
considered in the selection process.
To be eligible for the award, candidates must be graduating high
school seniors in the U.S. or U.S. territories (nominees need
not be college bound); individuals whose activities impacted a
socially, economically, or culturally isolated area; nominated
by someone familiar with their service (clergy, school official,
teacher, service agency representative, etc.); individuals whose
activities created longer-term, sustainable social change;
individuals whose service has surpassed what is ordinarily
expected of a socially responsible citizen; individuals who have
demonstrated self-motivation, leadership, creativity,
dedication, and commitment in pursuing their service; and
individuals who have made a conscious effort to involve and
inspire others to participate in community action.
Students must be nominated for the award. Self-nominations and
nominations from family members are automatically disqualified.
(http://www.hitachifoundation.org/yoshiyama/index.html)
******************
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
December 12, 2005
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andy Lei (202) 258-5023
INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2006 SUMMER FELLOWSHIPS FOR
ASIAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS TO INTERN IN WASHINGTON, DC
For the seventh year, the International Leadership Foundation (ILF)
will award up to 30 internships to help Asian American college
students who will be future arts, business, community, legal,
medical or professional leaders better understand the workings
of American government. Each ILF Fellow spends eight weeks
during the summer working for a federal government agency in
Washington, DC.
"The vision of the International Leadership Foundation to
recognize the importance of offering leadership opportunities to
young Asian Americans is truly laudatory," said Labor Secretary
Elaine Chao at the ILF's Annual Awards Dinner in Washington,
D.C. Any undergraduate student in good standing at a junior
college, college, or university is eligible to apply.
Applicants must be United States citizens or legal residents.
Interested students can get the application form and more
information from the ILF's website at
www.ILEADER.org, or call
(202)
258-5023. Applications must be received by
February 3, 2006.
Each ILF Fellow receives a $1,500 scholarship, funded by the ILF
and its sponsors. The ILF works with government agencies to
place each Fellow in his or her area of interest. Students must
pay for their own travel, housing and living expenses during
their internships.
"The ILF is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that
promotes the civic involvement, and effectiveness, of Asian
Pacific Americans," explained ILF Chairman Dr. Paul Hsu. "We
teach future leaders how to use government to help the
community." ILF Fellows attend weekly seminars and other events
to learn about government, in addition to their internships.
The ILF also recognizes public service by Asian American
community leaders each year at its annual Awards Dinner. Avon
CEO Andrea Jung and Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta
are the ILF's two most recent Lifetime Achievement Award
recipients.
(http://www.ileader.org)
******************
NATIONAL URBAN FELLOWS PROGRAM SEEKS APPLICANTS
Deadline: February 24, 2006
Combining graduate academic education and a mentorship
experience with a major urban organization, the National Urban
Fellows program prepares men and women with diverse backgrounds
to be leaders in government, nonprofit, and private-sector
businesses to sustain and enhance urban communities.
The fellows program is a rigorous, full-time, fourteen-month
graduate program comprised of two semesters of academic course
work, a nine-month mentorship, and a three-day
professional/leadership development conference, leading to a
Master of Public Administration degree from Bernard M. Baruch
College, School of Public Affairs.
During the mentorship, fellows complete course work via distance
learning. An MPA degree is awarded to fellows upon successful
completion of all academic and program requirements.
Fellows receive full tuition, a $25,000 stipend, book and
moving allowance, and reimbursement for program-related travel.
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements: be a
U.S. citizen; have a bachelor's degree; possess demonstrated
leadership abilities; meet the admission requirements of Bernard
M. Baruch College; have three to five years of work experience
at the managerial or administrative level; be willing to
relocate, as required by the mentorship; possess
self-discipline, interpersonal and problem-solving skills,
integrity, and a good work ethic.
(http://www.nuf.org/)
******************
STAFF
ATTORNEY – IMMIGRANT WOMEN PROGRAM
Priority given to applications received by
January 31, 2006.
Legal Momentum (the new name of
NOW
Legal Defense and Education Fund) is seeking a Staff Attorney to
work in the Immigrant Women Program in Washington, D.C.
Background: Legal Momentum advances the rights of women
and girls by using the power of the law and creating innovative
public policy. The Immigrant Women Program (IWP) of Legal
Momentum strives to protect and expand the rights and options of
immigrant women and their children. Our goal is to address from
a women’s rights perspective the larger complex of social and
legal challenges faced by women who immigrate to the United
States. IWP aims to enable immigrant women to improve their
lives and future prospects in their new country. The program’s
current focus is on three core areas: violence against women,
immigrant rights, and economic justice.
Job Description and Responsibilities: The Staff Attorney
will work as part of the IWP legal team on immigrant women’s
rights law (including family, immigration, benefits,
trafficking) and advocacy. The Staff Attorney serves as a
nationwide resource for technical assistance, helping advocates,
legal services attorneys, family lawyers, community organizers
and others who are working with immigrant victims on a range of
issues that arise in serving immigrant victims.
Responsibilities include: providing technical assistance and
training to attorneys, advocates, and justice system personnel;
drafting, monitoring, and implementing legislation; legal
research and writing in the context of drafting training
materials and manuals; planning and implementing conferences;
public speaking; public policy research and analysis; working
collaboratively with partner organizations; representing Legal
Momentum in coalition activities; working on amicus briefs; and
supervising interns.
Qualifications: The Staff Attorney must have experience
working on immigrant victims’ legal rights issues, knowledge of
immigrant women’s rights, violence against women (domestic
violence, sexual assault, trafficking) and other women’s rights
legal issues, an ability to write and speak persuasively, an
ability to do creative legal research and advocacy; commitment
to feminism, commitment to collaborative cross cultural work and
the ability to work well with people in diverse settings.
Legislative advocacy, direct legal services, actual experience
working with immigrant women, experience planning and
implementing conferences, trainings and other projects, and
proficiency in a second language preferred. Work experience
representing immigrant victims and knowledge about the range of
legal options for immigrant victims under family, public
benefits and immigration laws preferred. Applicants who are
immigrants, people of color or from diverse communities are
encouraged to apply. Admission to the DC Bar, or willingness to
become a member of the DC Bar, required.
Compensation: This is a full time position with excellent
health and vacation benefits. Salary is commensurate with
experience and competitive with other national public interest
advocacy organizations.
To Apply: Interested applicants should send a cover
letter explaining your interest in and qualifications for
position; resume, including names of three references with phone
numbers; and one legal writing sample to the address below:
Immigrant Women Policy Attorney Position
Immigrant Women Program
Legal Momentum
1522 K Street, Suite 550
Washington, D.C. 20005
jlin@legalmomentum.org
Legal Momentum is an equal opportunity/affirmative action
employer.
******************
NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2005
CONTACT: Doua Thor, Executive Director, 202-667- 4690
SENATE INTRODUCES
BILL
SUPPORTING ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER STUDENTS IN HIGHER
EDUCATION
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) and
U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (HI) introduced a U.S. Senate
legislation known as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)
Serving Institutions Act. If enacted this legislation would
establish a federal designation for institutions of higher
education serving AAPIs. H.R. 2616 serves as the companion bill
in the U.S. House of Representative, which was introduced by
Congressman David Wu (OR) back in May 2005.
The legislation provides the U.S. Department of Education with
the authority to issue grants of assistance to higher education
institutions that have at least 10% AAPI and whereas a
significant percentage of students in the institution are
low-income. Under current law, the U.S. Department of Education
is authorized to issue grants and assistance to Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions,
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Alaska Native
and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions. Currently, higher
education institutions that serve a large population of AAPIs
are the only entities that do not have a federal designation.
This bill seeks equity by providing increased higher education
opportunities for low-income and underserved AAPI students.
"Contrary to the model minority myth, AAPIs, especially
Southeast Asian students continue to face barriers in accessing
higher education. When we disaggregate the data, according to
the U.S. Census, it is evident that only 11% of Cambodians, 9%
of Laotians, and 20% of Vietnamese, over the age of 25 attained
a bachelor's degree or higher as compared to 28% of the total
population," said Doua Thor, Executive Director of SEARAC.
"This legislation is the beginning of acknowledging that
educational disparities exist in the AAPI community, and there
is a need to take action."
Significantly, this legislation provides an incentive for higher
education institutions to partner with AAPI community based
organizations, and would result in strengthening the
infrastructure for federal agencies to address the AAPI
community needs and disaggregating data on AAPIs.
###
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD STATEMENT OF BARBARA BOXER*
MRS. BOXER. Mr. President, each year Congress
appropriates millions of dollars to institutions of higher
learning that serve minority students. Currently, funds go to
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving
Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. These
funds--which exceeded $890 million in fiscal year 2005--help
institutions provide more higher education opportunities for
low-income minority students.
For schools that serve a large number of low-income Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders, however, federal assistance is
not available. A need is not being served.
Over 42 percent of Cambodian Americans, almost 35 percent of
Laotian Americans and 25 percent of Vietnamese Americans live in
poverty. And, the graduation rates among these populations are
low. Only 13.8 percent of Vietnamese Americans, 5.8 percent of
Laotian Americans, 6.1 percent of Cambodian Americans, and 5.1
percent of Hmong have college degrees.
So, today, Mr. President, I am introducing the Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders Higher Education Enhancement Act. I am
pleased to be joined in this effort by Senator Akaka.
Mr. President, this legislation creates a new Federal grant
program for institutions where Asian and Pacific Islander
students make up at least 10 percent of the undergraduate
student body. Priority will be given based on the number of
low-income students.
The grants--authorized at $30 million in the first year, and
such sums as necessary for the next four years--could be used
for a variety of purposes, including outreach to secondary and
elementary school students, curriculum development, tutoring,
counseling, and student support services.
Mr. President, we need to make college accessible for low-income
Asian American students as we do for with other minority
students. This bill is an important step toward this goal.
(http://www.searac.org)
******************
December 22, 2005
SMITH’S TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT TO BECOME LAW
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 /Christian Wire Service/ -- In a bipartisan
vote, the Senate overwhelmingly passed Rep. Chris Smith's (R-NJ)
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of
2005 (HR 972), legislation that strengthens the nation's current
trafficking law (also authored by Smith in 2000) and authorizes
new funds for investigation and prosecution of domestic
trafficking within the United States. Smith has had four major
bills pass through Congress in its final weeks, putting him at
the top of the most active and successful legislators in the
United States.
The TVPRA reinforces that the United States will continue to
lead the global battle against modern-day human slavery.
According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
the bill will provide $361 million over the next two years to
combat trafficking. President Bush will sign the legislation;
making it the third Smith authored human trafficking law.
"With this new law, the United States assumed a leadership role
in combating the modern day slavery known as human trafficking,"
said Smith who was the author of that landmark trafficking law
(Public Law 106-386). "Make no mistake, this legislation is
about protecting women, since the majority of the victims of
this abhorrent crime are young girls and women."
"The 2005 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and
provides law enforcement with the necessary tools to continue
the liberation the unfortunate women and children who are forced
into this horror."
Each year, an estimated 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked
across international borders. It is estimated that millions more
are trafficked internally within the borders of countries. In
the past four years, twice as many people in the United States
have been prosecuted and convicted for trafficking then in the
prior 4-year period. Worldwide, more than 3,000 traffickers were
convicted last year - an increase from the previous year. These
numbers reflect an increasing number of countries acquiring the
laws necessary to combat trafficking and having the political
will to implement those laws.
Smith's bill reauthorizes and expands appropriations for
anti-trafficking programs in the United States and abroad and
offers solutions to specific scenarios where additional
initiatives are needed to combat trafficking problem, such as in
peacekeeping missions. For the first time, programs geared
toward reducing the demand for commercial sex in the United
States and preventing human trafficking of US citizens within
our own borders are authorized, and new funding will be provided
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to combat both domestic
and international trafficking.
Smith worked with Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep.
Deborah Pryce (R-OH) to craft an amendment creating a $25
million grant program for local law enforcement to investigate
and prosecute human trafficking (and related offenses) and
includes initiatives to attack the demand for prostitution,
which fuels sex trafficking.
The TVPRA, in its entirety, enables prosecution in the United
States of trafficking offenses committed by federal employees
and contractors and amends the United States Code to strengthen
the use of money laundering, racketeering and civil and criminal
forfeiture statutes against traffickers. In addition, the
Department of Justice is directed to conduct a biennial analysis
of trafficking and commercial sex acts statistics inside the
United States.
"With a crime as abhorrent as human trafficking, it is essential
that the United States takes the lead and that includes within
our own borders," said Smith, whose original law was recently
the focus of a Lifetime miniseries starring Mira Sorvino
entitled 'Human Trafficking.' "We must work to target the
criminals - slaveholders - who force these young children and
women into unimaginable horrors."
Smith's bill also addressed the American and foreign victims of
human trafficking and includes provisions to help reintegrate
them to a normal life. It authorizes a grants program for
non-governmental organization victim service providers,
establishes programs for residential rehabilitation facilities
and promotes access to information about federally funded
services for victims.
"The 2005 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
strengthens and expands our efforts and allows law enforcement
to continue to liberate the women and children who are forced
and coerced into slavery," said Smith, who has fought for human
and victims rights since coming to Congress. "With this new law,
the victims of this terrible crime know they are not forgotten."
HR 972 - Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act:
Prevention of International Trafficking In Persons
* Requires US assistance programs for post-conflict and
humanitarian emergencies to include anti-trafficking measures.
* Provides US courts jurisdiction over federal government
employees and contractors for trafficking offenses committed
abroad.
* Expands the ability to prosecute traffickers for violations of
money laundering, racketeering, and civil and criminal
forfeiture statutes.
* Requires that the State Department include in the annual
Trafficking in Persons Report information on the steps taken by
international organizations (UN, OSCE, NATO) to prevent
involvement of personnel with trafficking.
* Requires US assistance programs for post-conflict and
humanitarian emergencies to include anti-trafficking measures.
Prevention of Domestic Trafficking In Persons
* Requires the Attorney General to study and report to Congress
on the prevalence of severe forms of trafficking and sex
trafficking in the United States and the approach to combating
these crimes by law enforcement.
* Terminates all government grants, contracts and cooperative
agreements with contractors that engage is trafficking in person
or procure a commercial sex act during period in which with in
the grant is in effect.
* Establishes a grants program through the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to assist American citizens and nationals who
are victims of human trafficking and directs
HHS
to establish a program to create residential treatment
facilities for juveniles subjected to trafficking.
* Establishes a grants program for states and local law
enforcement totaling $50 million in 2006 and 2007 to investigate
and prosecute acts of trafficking in persons and criminals that
purchase a commercial sex act within the United States.
For additional information about Representative Chris Smith and
his efforts on behalf of global human rights, please visit
http://www.house.gov/chrissmith/
Press release by:
http://www.ChristianWireService.com/
*Ed: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily
those of American Daily.
(http://www.americandaily.com/article/10859)
******************
December 22, 2005
A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUED RECOVERY
AND
REBUILDING IN THE GULF COAST
*Today's Presidential Action:*
*Today, President Bush Signed The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act
Of 2005 And Discussed Efforts To Further Encourage Business
Development And Job Creation In The Gulf Coast Region.* To
spur investment and economic development, the President signed
legislation creating a Gulf Opportunity Zone, with tax relief to
be provided to businesses and entrepreneurs in Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Alabama. This bipartisan legislation is an
important step to help residents of the Gulf Coast rebuild their
lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - and another step
forward to fulfill the Nation's commitment to recovery and
rebuilding in the region.
*The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act Of 2005 Will Boost The Small
Business Sector And Revive* The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
In Louisiana, Mississippi, And Alabama. Provisions of the
GO-Zones Law will:
* Double small business expensing from $100,000 to $200,000
dollars for investments in new equipment;
* Provide a 50% bonus depreciation for businesses that invest in
new equipment and new structures;
* Allow additional issuance of tax-exempt private activity
bonds;
* Expand the amount of available low-income housing tax credits;
and
* Double Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits for
students attending colleges and graduate schools in the Gulf
Opportunity Zone.
*The President Urged The Development Of A Skilled Trades
Workforce To Rebuild The Gulf Coast.* The President today
convened a meeting with community college leaders, union
representatives, business owners, State and local officials, and
other civic leaders at the White House to encourage the training
and employment of Gulf Coast residents who lost their jobs in
the wake of the hurricanes. By coming together to help workers
acquire the skills they need, we can improve the lives of
citizens in the region, provide an incentive for evacuees to
return home, and speed the economic recovery of the region.
*The President Urged The Senate To Complete Action On Pending
Legislation To Provide Gulf Coast Residents With Further
Resources To Rebuild Their Lives And Safeguard Their Communities
From Future Disasters.* The Deficit Reduction bill will
provide $2 billion to help states pay for critical medical care
for low- and middle-income evacuees. The Defense Appropriations
bill would provide important Federal funding to rebuild the
levees in New Orleans; to educate the children of evacuees and
those who have returned home to damaged schools; and to restore
roads, bridges, and Federal facilities in the region. Both
pieces of legislation are important for the long-term future of
the Gulf Coast and the people who call it home, and Congress
should complete action on them as quickly as possible.
*A Commitment To Continued Recovery*
*Providing Assistance, Housing, And Help For Gulf Coast
Residents And The Reconstruction And Recovery Of The Region Are
Top Priorities For The Administration.* The Department of
Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
working in partnership with State and local officials, continues
to facilitate the Federal government's role in all aspects of
recovery in the region. President Bush is committed to helping
the citizens of the Gulf Coast rebuild their lives and
livelihoods - and progress is being made.
*Restoring Levees:* Federal Support Coordinator Donald
Powell last week announced new actions proposed by the
Administration to protect New Orleans from the large-scale,
catastrophic impacts of another storm of the magnitude of
Hurricane Katrina. In order for the Crescent City to rebuild,
and for citizens and businesses to feel confident in their
return, the city needs a modern-day, reliable flood and storm
protection system.
* President Bush and his Administration are working to rebuild
New Orleans' existing levee system and have proposed additional
safety and security measures to make the levees better and
stronger than ever before. Additional levee protections -
including armoring, concrete reinforcement, and replacing
interior canals with pump stations - will address the main
causes of the catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Katrina.
Funding to rebuild the levees in New Orleans is included in the
pending Defense Appropriations bill.
*Direct Assistance:* In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita, FEMA has provided more than $5.9 billion directly to
1.4 million households for financial and housing assistance
through the Individuals and Households Assistance Program (IHP).
This amount is the most ever provided by FEMA to victims of any
single natural disaster ($4.2 billion for Katrina alone) and is
more than double the combined total of IHP dollars for the
Northridge Earthquake in 1994 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The (800) 621-FEMA teleregistration and help line has been
operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since Hurricane Katrina
struck, a service never before provided for this length of time.
* As of December 20, there were 119 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)
open in the Gulf Coast. DRCs are one-stop resource centers that
provide information about different types of state and Federal
disaster assistance, including loans from the U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) for homeowners, renters, and
business owners.
*Housing:* FEMA has provided rental assistance to more
than 650,000 households to date and remains committed to
providing families with the tools they need to become
self-sufficient again.
* FEMA continues to reach out to the less than six percent of
evacuees who have not yet found longer-term housing. For these
evacuees, who are residing in approximately 38,000 hotel rooms
in 47 states and the District of Columbia, FEMA will continue
payment for hotel rooms through January 7, 2006, or longer.
* The agency has set up a referral assistance center and
dedicated over 1,300 FEMA employees to reach out - using fliers,
making phone calls, and knocking on doors of hotel rooms - to
find out what evacuees' needs are and whether they're eligible
for FEMA assistance.
* HUD has provided nearly 13,000 families who were not eligible
for FEMA rental assistance with rental vouchers administered by
the public housing authorities in the cities where the families
are living.
* Under HUD's "Mortgage Assistance Initiative," the Department
will make mortgage payments for up to a year for disaster
victims with FHA-insured mortgages who want to start living in
their homes again. This unprecedented mortgage relief enables
FHA borrowers in the impacted areas to retain homeownership as
they concentrate on repairing their homes and finding jobs.
* More than 148,000 damaged roofs have been temporarily covered
by FEMA's "Blue Roof" program, operated by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, so that families can remain in their homes as they
rebuild.
* More than 48,000 travel trailers and manufactured housing
units are temporary homes for Hurricane Katrina victims, nearly
triple the number of units used following all of last year's
Florida hurricanes and far outnumbering any housing mission in
FEMA's history.
*Education:* The Department of Education is working with
states and schools in the region and elsewhere to ensure a
minimum of disruption for the hundreds of thousands of students
affected by Hurricane Katrina.
* The pending Defense Appropriations bill would provide $1.6
billion in education relief for school districts and private
schools educating displaced students; reopening damaged school
systems in Louisiana and Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama; and
providing aid to colleges and universities in Louisiana and
Mississippi.
* The Department has held roundtable meetings with education and
mental health experts to help children and families recover.
* Hurricane Help for Schools, the online clearinghouse that
enables Americans to match their donations to meet schools' most
pressing needs, has made 540 matches to date. Supplies donated
through the site have reached 146 schools in Louisiana, 47
schools in Mississippi, and 20 schools in Alabama.
*Economic Recovery:* The Administration is taking action
to encourage business development and job creation in the
region.
* To date, FEMA has approved more than $400 million in Community
Disaster Loans to municipalities in Louisiana and Mississippi,
the first phase of a loan program that will help keep essential
services online in the hardest-hit communities. This includes a
$120 million loan to the City of New Orleans.
* FEMA has obligated more than $211 million in disaster
unemployment assistance for eligible hurricane victims.
* To date, the SBA has approved over $1.6 billion in disaster
loans to over 23,500 homeowners, renters, and businesses in the
affected region. SBA has also announced the Gulf Opportunity
Pilot Loan (GO Loan) Program, which is providing faster
turnaround on loans for small businesses in the Gulf Coast.
* The Department of Labor has approved more than $300 million in
special training and employment resources to Gulf Coast states
impacted by the hurricanes. These resources include $206 million
for National Emergency Grants to assist dislocated workers, $63
million in community-based job training grants awarded to 35
community colleges in eight states, and $12 million in
high-growth job training grants to support training in such
critical industries as construction, energy, and health care.
*Debris Removal:* Nearly 56 million cubic yards of debris have
been removed in Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. If
the debris from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was measured in 1
yard cubes and stacked in a column, it would wrap around the
Earth more than once.
* FEMA reimbursed the states at 100 percent for this expense for
a month or longer in Alabama and Texas.
* For Mississippi, FEMA will continue to reimburse debris
removal at 100 percent through
March 15, 2006.
* For Louisiana, FEMA will continue to reimburse debris removal
at 100 percent through June 30, 2006.
*Flood Insurance:* More than $11.7 billion has been paid
out to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders. In
comparison, NFIP had paid out just $607 million in the 100 days
following Hurricane Ivan, then the second-largest flood
insurance event ever.
*Providing The Resources Needed To Rebuild*
*The President Is Committed To Providing The Gulf Coast With
The Resources Needed For A Full Recovery.* Since Hurricane
Katrina struck, more than $70 billion has been made available
for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery efforts through the FEMA
Disaster Relief Fund, low-interest loans to local governments,
flood insurance, and funding relief from cost-share
requirements. Additional funds would be made available by
legislation currently pending in the Senate, including the
Administration's proposal to reallocate already appropriated
funds to continue recovery and rebuilding in the region.
* *The President Hopes To Sign An Additional Recovery Package
Into Law.* The Administration welcomes the recent bipartisan
action in the Congress on the President's plan for recovery in
the Gulf Coast, including the creation of the Gulf Opportunity
Zone. The President urged Congress to finish work on recovery
legislation based on his principles so that he can sign it into
law - and we can continue to move forward in rebuilding the Gulf
Coast.
*Focus On The Gulf Coast *
*The President Selected Donald Powell To Be The Coordinator
Of Federal Support For The Gulf Coast's Recovery And Rebuilding
And Established The Gulf Coast Recovery And Rebuilding Council.*
Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman
Donald Powell is the Administration's primary point of contact
with State and local governments, the private sector, and
community leaders on long-term recovery and rebuilding plans.
* *Powell Is Coordinating Federal Involvement In Support Of
State And Local Officials In The Next Phase Of Recovery On
Issues Ranging From Economic Development To Infrastructure
Rebuilding.* He is responsible for developing specific goals
and coordinating policies and programs for mid-term and
long-term Federal recovery and rebuilding efforts. He reports to
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff and makes
recommendations to the President through Secretary Chertoff.
* *The Gulf Coast Recovery And Rebuilding Council Is Working
On Policies To Support The Rebuilding Of The Gulf Coast.*
The Council serves as a forum for the Coordinator and develops
and reviews Administration policies in support of the rebuilding
of the Gulf Coast.
*The Administration Has A Strong Presence In The Region.*
Since Hurricane Katrina struck, more than 60 Administration
officials have made over 130 trips to communities in Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Alabama that have been devastated by the storm,
as well as states across the country that have welcomed evacuees
from the Gulf Coast. More than 16,000 Federal personnel are
currently deployed to help State and local officials with the
recovery efforts related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
*The President Has Called On All Americans To Help Those
Affected By The Hurricanes.* The President asked USA Freedom
Corps to serve as a nationwide information clearinghouse,
allowing individuals, businesses, schools, faith-based
organizations, and other groups to connect with volunteer
service opportunities in the Gulf Coast. To date, American
companies and individuals have together donated nearly $2.9
billion for relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts. Former
Presidents Bush and Clinton have led a private fundraising
effort that has already received pledges of more than $100
million to aid the Gulf Coast's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
Americans who want to contribute or volunteer in Gulf Coast can
find more information at
http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/.
*Learning The Lessons Of Hurricane Katrina*
*The Government Will Learn The Lessons Of Hurricane Katrina.*
On September 15, when the President addressed the Nation from
Jackson Square,
he pledged that, "this government will learn the lessons of
Katrina." He said we would review every action and make
necessary changes so that the government is better prepared for
any challenge of nature, or act of terror, that could threaten
the United States. * The President tasked his Homeland
Security Advisor to lead a comprehensive lessons learned review
and ordered every Cabinet Secretary to participate. The
President wants lessons learned, not finger-pointing. The
President has made perfectly clear that he was not satisfied
with the response to Hurricane Katrina, and he wants to be sure
that we strengthen our response capability to make sure the
government is both more efficient and more effective.
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051221-10.html)
******************
December 29, 2005
AT
SEA,
HIGH PAY CARRIES A HIGH RISK
BY LORNET TURNBULL
The Seattle Times
SEATTLE - Cuong Dang thought he had discovered a shortcut to the
good life.
The Vietnamese immigrant had heard from friends that he could
make money, good money - between $10,000 and $30,000 a season -
working aboard fishing vessels on the Bering Sea.
The processing of pollock on these floating fish factories is
nasty, grueling work, the risk of injury constant in an industry
with a death rate 28 times that of the national
workplace-fatality rate.
Dang, a husband and father from Bremerton, Wash., who had come
to the United States in the years after the Vietnam War, figured
the payout was worth it. He could do the work for a while and
use the money to buy and rent out houses so his wife, Khung Thi
Lam, could stay at home to care for their son.
But Dang's journey onto the high seas that winter of 2001 would
prove riskier than either he or his family imagined. The
37-year-old fillet flipper died aboard the trawler Northern
Eagle less than three weeks out to sea - not from a work-related
injury but from complications related to diabetes.
"When they are out fishing in the middle of nowhere, the only
access to medical care is what's on the ship, which often is not
a lot," said Jennifer Lincoln, of the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Dang's death from such a treatable illness illustrates how
sickness can turn fatal when the only link to medical care is
distant and tenuous - in this case, land-based doctors in
Seattle linked to the vessel by faulty phone connections. The
family alleged that Dang's doctor failed to provide adequate
treatment.
The case has spawned one lawsuit now in mediation and another
that ended in a $750,000 settlement from the Northern Eagle's
owner to Dang's widow.
It offers a glimpse, too, into a workplace increasingly
dominated by immigrants drawn each winter to the unforgiving
waters of the Bering Sea.
Court records show that within a week of the ship's departure,
Dang had become too ill to work. For days after that, Dang, who
spoke only limited English, wandered the deck of the massive
trawler, acting bizarrely and sleeping in doorways.
Sixteen days out to sea from Alaska, the purser, LeAnn Duncan,
who was communicating about Dang's care via telephone to Drs.
Raymond Jarris and Dale Gowen in Seattle, reported that Dang was
sleeping with his eyes open, wasn't responding verbally and that
she couldn't wake him up.
Jarris told her he thought Dang was "psychotic," intentionally
not responding, and suggested the "safe thing to do was to get
him off the vessel and into St. Paul (Island) and turn him over
to Public Safety." A Washington court would later point out that
U.S. Coast Guard medevac services were available to evacuate
Dang.
Instead, Dang died the following day.
Many say the fishing industry has grown safer in recent years,
driven by technology, competition for workers and pressure from
insurers.
While statistics from NIOSH, a division of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, show a steady decline in the
number of fatal shipboard accidents, there's no one tracking
deaths like Dang's that result from noninjury illness.
After his death
Feb. 2, 2001, Dang's widow filed two wrongful-death lawsuits.
The first, in U.S. District Court against the Northern Eagle and
its owner American Seafoods, was settled in 2002. Next, she
filed suit in King County Superior Court against Global Medical
Systems and its Drs. Jarris and Gowen, who served as medical
consultants to the vessel.
The doctors argued that maritime law trumped state malpractice
laws and that they owed no duty of care to Dang because they had
not examined him. Judge Cheryl Carey agreed and last year
dismissed the case against them. But in May, the Court of
Appeals reversed her decision, establishing new legal precedent
when it ruled that the state's medical-malpractice standards
could be applied to maritime cases brought in state court.
The ruling establishes that the doctors owed a duty of care to
Dang, even if they'd never met or examined him.
The doctors had argued that, ultimately, responsibility for
Dang's care rested with his employers. And, along with the
fishing company, they have maintained that Dang contributed to
his death by failing to disclose that he had diabetes and to
take his medication for it.
Dang was diagnosed with the type 2 form of the disease the
autumn before he left on the ship, and he died of complications
from type 1, a more serious form of the disease. Yet on a
pre-employment questionnaire, he had checked "no" to every
medical condition on the list - including the common cold.
Global says its doctors' role is as consultants, to help vessel
personnel care for crew members who become ill or are injured.
"The involvement of Global Medical's physicians in any given
case is often limited by difficult circumstances, including the
difficulties of communicating with vessels at sea, of getting
accurate information from personnel, and the difficulties vessel
personnel may have in getting accurate information from ill or
injured crew members," Erik Anderson, the physicians' attorney,
said in a prepared statement.
Jeff Cowan, Lam's attorney, said Dang, like other immigrants
with limited English skills, was at a disadvantage in filling
out the pre-employment forms. "The application was in English.
The medical questions were in English," he said.
And Dang didn't know what the word diabetes looked like in
English, Cowan said. Yet he had the classic symptoms of the
disease, and a call to his wife or a search of his possessions
might have helped save his life.
"These doctors market themselves and provide this service
precisely because they know these ships don't have medical
professionals of any kind on board," he said. "Then they turn
around and claim they're not liable because these are not their
patients."
Dang came to the United States in 1982, seeking a better life.
He landed a job with Net Systems on Bainbridge Island, which
produced nets for American Seafoods' fishing vessels. He and Lam
met in 1987, and he helped get her a job at Net Systems. They
married two years later, energized by the possibilities in their
new country.
Both tried, with varying and limited success, to learn English.
They saved their money - her earnings of $11 an hour and his of
$12 - and bought a modest house in Bremerton, in a neighborhood
popular among Vietnamese.
Then, in 2000 or so, Dang's Vietnamese friends told him he could
make more money faster by processing fish on a factory trawler
in the Bering Sea.
"I was against it from the start," Lam said through an
interpreter. "But he kept begging me. I finally had to agree
with him. I figured if all the others could do it, he could do
it, too."
Hired by Northern Eagle as a flipper who straightens fillets on
the processing belt, Dang wasn't the first immigrant to see the
possibilities of the Bering Sea, where thousands of workers are
needed each season to process pollock.
For decades, the work force aboard these vessels was mostly
Americans from economically depressed areas of Idaho and Eastern
Washington. But through the 1990s that began to change as more
immigrants hired on - Mexicans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, West
Africans and a smattering of Russians.
"These are not the kids of the rich and powerful," said Steve
Finley, a former staff member of the House Merchant Marine and
Fisheries Committee in Congress.
"A lot of them are immigrants, who are more reluctant to stand
up for their rights."
Often, language is a problem, said Charlie Medlicott,
fishing-vessel safety coordinator for the Coast Guard in
Anchorage. "There are multiple cases of accident investigations
where language has been a factor in how things ended up."
But for those who could overcome the barrier, the prospects
looked promising.
"These workers are coming from Third World countries," Medlicott
continued. "They get work for six months and go home with 20
grand - that's a lot of money. They're getting fed and a place
to sleep and all that."
But Cowan, who has represented many such workers, says they're
often victimized.
"The crews are people who often have to have permanent-resident
status but are told, informally, that if they complain they'd
get fired; if they're injured, they'll get fired; if they quit
for any reason, they'd be sued. In all the ways that ignorant
people can be exploited, they are."
Lam remembers the day in 2001 when her husband left Seattle for
what was to be a four-month stint at sea. It was Jan. 13 - "a
day for bad luck," she said.
"He told me to be careful and to be safe and to watch the kid
and to keep the doors shut," she said.
She never heard his voice again.
The trawler on which Dang found work - and ultimately died - is
the jewel of the American Seafoods fleet.
The 341-foot Norwegian-built vessel is capable of hauling in
some 200 tons in a single tow of its trawl net. It is among
dozens of floating fish processors that populate this northern
extension of the Pacific Ocean between Siberia and Alaska in the
January-through-April hunt for pollock - the small,
white-fleshed fish used for fish sticks, McDonald's fish fillets
and fake crab sold around the globe.
The vessels are not subject to Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulations and are required by federal
law only to have someone onboard with first-aid training and CPR
certification.
"These vessels are out of sight, out of mind," Finley said.
"They are exempt from minimum-wage requirements, from Coast
Guard inspections, OSHA regulations and other safety laws."
But some say the recent push for safer conditions is in the
industry's best interest.
Some vessels go beyond what the government requires, providing
sick bays, onboard emergency-medical technicians or physician
assistants. An increasing number have safety officers, NIOSH's
Lincoln said.
In some cases, "What kind of medical expertise is on board has
more to do with the size of the crew," said Leslie Hughes,
executive director of the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners'
Association.
Increasingly, many like the Northern Eagle contract with
land-based medical groups to provide care to crew members who
fall ill. And all have access to free medevac service from the
Coast Guard, although weather conditions and distance determine
whether a rescue takes place.
Medlicott said there's more attention to accident prevention.
Unlike in the past, he said, "Medevacs are not an everyday
occurrence; once a month we're hearing of one."
Many employers show videos depicting the rough conditions,
Hughes pointed out, saying it's not in a vessel's best interest
to cover up the work's harsh nature.
"It's hard, physical factory work on a rolling platform out at
sea," she said. "You want to hire people who can adapt to the
workplace. You don't want to see people injured or become ill."
(http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/13507462.htm)
******************
December 29, 2005
WORKERS ANSWERING CALL FOR HURRICANE CLEANUP; DEMAND FOR
WORK HUGE AFTER STORM
By JOSEPH DITS, Special to the Times-Mail
Rebecca Rogers and April Seratt, both in their 20s, know there's
a pretty ocean over their shoulders.
But all they see are the scraps of wood, metal and glass they
pick off of the ground near brick columns of a house that used
to be grand. All they feel are scrapes and bruises.
Their work partner, 23-year-old mechanic Royce Kelly, hops off a
small tractor and explains why they left a town of 125 people,
Chester, Ark., to push hurricane debris to the roadside in
Waveland, Miss.
“Adventure,” he says, admitting that the money is no better
here. “Just to get out of our little hometown for a while, see
what we can do here.”
They work for private homeowners. Many others come from all ends
of the United States, answering the countless signs along
roadsides in coastal Mississippi. One along the main drag in Bay
St. Louis is scrawled in pen on flimsy paper next to an unmarked
trailer: “Help Wanted.”
The demand for work is huge after Hurricane Katrina, especially
in cleanup and repairs.
Some restaurants and stores open for only eight or nine hours a
day because they cannot hire enough people to cover more than
one shift. The local work force has dwindled that much.
On the other hand, more than 15,000 jobs were lost when the
casinos in Biloxi were damaged, but some casinos are reopening
this week.
Camp of hard luck
John Summer fights a cool wind and his collapsing tent in a
grassy lot by a truck stop on Interstate 10. There was a rude
visit last night.
“They showed up with the sheriff and the owner of the land and
said we're supposed to be gone,” he says. “There's no way we can
be out of here in that kind of time.”
Both his marriage and car are broken. He works 12-hour shifts in
the Katrina cleanup, making $10 or $12 an hour, not as much as
he expected.
He and a lot of other workers camp here because hotels are
either full or too expensive. Some hotels are still mending
after the floods.
“I came here to help you out,” says painter José Bonilla,
farther afield at the truck stop, who makes no progress with his
tent and watches his pickup spin its tires in the waterlogged
turf. “I got a home in Georgia, but I came to help.”
Nacho Pérez and Juan Garcia Gonzales aren't worried about
eviction. They say they've been sleeping in their aged blue
minivan, parked with the trucks, for almost four months. As
roofers, the Mexican immigrants claim to pull in about $200 a
day, good cash after working with sugar cane and corn in Florida
over the past year.
The influx of Latino labor has changed the local complexion.
Many come for reasons no different than other laborers. But
there have been stories of false promises. Leslie Barajas, an
American Red Cross volunteer from South Bend, says she met one
boss who took the free Red Cross meals in New Orleans and sold
them to his immigrant workers for $6 a piece.
Familiar grub
“Fresh shrimp” the sign beckons at the back of a pickup truck by
a convenience store in Long Beach, Miss. Minh Truong, one of the
area's Vietnamese immigrants, scoops six- to eight-inch white
shrimp from a cooler.
“They look good,” says customer Melinda Thompson, happy to see
the familiar food return and at just $3 a pound. “Now what I
need to know is where your shop is going to be.”
Truong worked in an oyster factory until Katrina shut it down.
It's back in business but not enough to employ him, he says. So,
a few weeks ago, he started to peddle shrimp for his sister's
seafood shop.
Treading water
Some of the shrimp fishermen with 100-foot boats, which can go
farther out into the Gulf of Mexico, have returned to work.
But the Baker brothers in Biloxi haven't budged their boats,
which are about half that size. Ronald Baker, 62, has an arm
injury. And Donald Baker, 66, who has been shrimping for about
40 years, says, “I just don't feel like going out.”
His house is destroyed, forcing him to live in his boat - a
space smaller than two office cubicles for a captain's wheel,
kitchen and bunk. He's waiting on a FEMA trailer. His deckhand
also lost his house and cannot work.
“All you're doing is turning your money over,” he says on a
drizzling, 43-degree day as loons and pelicans feed in the
harbor.
Fuel costs are up, and none of the ice factories in Biloxi are
currently supplying fishermen like him who buy ice by the ton.
Most of the bigger boats sail to Alabama for their ice, he says.
Besides, the shrimp season is ending now and won't return until
March. And he's grown tired of working at night and shrimp
prices that have fallen because of global competition.
“It ain't as fun as it used to be,” he says.
Out of the darkness
Editor's note: Schurz Communications, parent company of the
Times-Mail, sent a team of journalists from the South Bend
Tribune to southern Mississippi. The journalists found people of
incredible resilience trying to make the best of the holiday
season and determined to rebuild their towns and their lives.
This is the fifth installment of a six-part report.
Coming Friday: Keeping up spirits during the exhaustive job of
cleaning up.
(http://www.tmnews.com/articles/2005/12/29/sections/news/news40.txt)
******************
December 30, 2005
LONG WAIT ALMOST OVER FOR LAST VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
Majority of them, now in Philippines, near resettlement in U.S.
30 years after war's end
By David Haldane
Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
MANILA -- Hanh Luong and her two young sons spend their time
huddled next to a packed suitcase with their cell phone nearby.
For more than two months they have lived in a small, dank room
that a refugee organization leased in one of the poorest
sections of the Philippine capital, awaiting a call they know
will soon come.
Luong, who is Vietnamese, says she doesn't mind the long hours
of boredom sitting on the hard floor her family shares with
seven others, who also use the same hot plate and toilet. At the
end of that coveted phone call, she says, lies fulfillment of a
powerful dream: escape, after 16 years in the Philippines, to a
new life in the United States.
"I'm just happy that my family has a future," says Luong, 48,
who will join a sister in El Monte, Calif. "Whatever job is
offered me, I will take it, even if it's washing dishes or
cleaning the bathroom."
Luong and hundreds of her compatriots in the Philippines
constitute the world's last group of unsettled Vietnamese
refugees. Thirty years after the end of the Vietnam War, the
majority of the refugees are at last proceeding to hopeful
futures in the United States. The less fortunate talk of suicide
and weep over being left behind. Goodbyes are bittersweet.
"I feel lonely when I send some of my friends to the airport,"
Luong says, "because I don't know when I will see them again."
Resettlement in the U.S. became possible only after American and
Philippine officials hammered out an agreement last year. Until
1989, anyone escaping Vietnam was classified a political
refugee. Since then, however, the international community has
screened refugees to determine whether they left for economic
reasons, a finding that often bars them from legal immigration.
Having left their country about the time the policy changed, the
Vietnamese still in the Philippines, many of them the last of
those who escaped their homeland by sea, have been living a
stateless existence. Unwanted by other countries and unable to
own businesses, buy homes or hold most jobs in the Philippines,
the majority have eked out sparse livings as illegal street
vendors.
Many initially lived in a refugee camp on Palawan, a remote
island 360 miles southwest of Manila. In 1996, the camp was
closed, and the Philippine government, under United Nations
supervision, began sending them back to Vietnam.
Some refugees responded by attempting suicide, community workers
say, and others rioted at the airport. Finally, after the
intervention of human-rights groups and the Roman Catholic
Church in the Philippines, the repatriation was halted.
Under the revised resettlement program, the first of the
displaced refugees--229 of them--left for the U.S. in September.
By March, an estimated 1,600 are expected to have made the trip.
On Palawan, stories of anticipation and dejection are common.
After the camp closed in 1996, at least 400 refugees were moved
10 miles away to "Vietville" a site that the Catholic Church
built. Today about 40 remain, living in two-room huts made of
concrete and bamboo.
Tam Do Tran, 42, who is married and has two Philippine-born
children, says they're very happy about their imminent
departure.
"We're too excited to eat," she says. "For 16 years, every night
I've gone to bed dreaming of going to the U.S.A."
Amid the dust of the camp, one corner remains alive: a small
white coral grotto made by refugees in the trunk of a tree.
There's a cross and a statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by
flowers and lighted candles.
For the Vietnamese refugees, many of whom are Catholic, the
place is a shrine.
"Every week they make offerings," said Hue Thi Le, 45, who, with
her husband and six children, now lives a few blocks from Luong
in Manila. "Those who have been approved offer flowers as
thanks. Those who've been denied come to pray that they'll be
accepted."
(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512300250dec30,1,3170940.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed)
******************
December 30, 2005
ETHNIC TWIST TO GRAND
GALAS
PARTIES AIMED AT DIVERSE ASIAN COMMUNITY
By Truong Phuoc Khánh
Mercury News
They're held all across the country in the heart of any
metropolis worth its name, typically launched on weekend nights
and stretching into the pre-dawn hours. Hundreds -- and on
special holiday occasions thousands -- of hip, young Americans
gather to mix it up socially, form friendships and business
connections. Some date and a few find soul mates.
They look like typical urban night club scenes with a decidedly
racial twist: They are nearly all-Asian affairs. And this year,
the biggest bash is still to come: New Year's Eve in Los Angeles
where eight promoters set aside capitalistic competition for ``a
historical moment in the Asian-American nightlife community.''
Expected draw: 3,000 revelers.
Just last year, the country's largest Asian get-together was
hosted by a group in San Francisco: a New Year's Eve gala that
drew nearly 4,000 Asian-Americans all black-tied and glammed up.
Emerging from the increasingly diverse landscape of the Bay Area
and Southern California, these burgeoning, pay-to-play social
gatherings were pioneered a decade ago by a few college
graduates who wanted to maintain connections with their
Asian-American fraternities, sororities and student
associations.
Today, there are dozens of professional promoters who put on
weekly and monthly events, at clubs, lounges, fashion shows and
concerts in cities as diverse as New York, Chicago and San
Diego, charging entrance fees from $5 to $50.
``If you like Asians, this is the place to be,'' said Margaret
Chang, 24, a computer programmer from Sunnyvale, at a recent
get-together at the Whisper lounge in San Francisco. Chang
attended last year's New Year's event where the wait was two
hours.
That would have been San Francisco promoter Steve Chen's party.
Considered pioneers in the field, Chen and his partners produce
about 10 events a month. Their first ``brand name'' was called
Abzolut back in 1993. Each brand is designed around life
passages: the about-to-graduate crowd; the postgraduate crowd;
and the career-oriented crowd.
Census figures from 2004 reveal one of every four 18- to
24-year-olds living in the San Francisco Metropolitan
Statistical Area are Asian-American, roughly 70,000 people.
``When we started there weren't many to pattern ourselves
after,'' said Chen, whose San Francisco Halloween bash drew
2,000 in costumes. ``Ten, 12 years later, there's over 100
groups.''
Fresher to the scene are Ben Tran and Carl Choi in Los Angeles,
with nearly half a dozen brands. They hope their ``invasion'' on
New Year's Eve will be ``remembered as the best Asian party to
ever hit L.A.''
``We wanted to create events to support Asian-American talent in
America,'' said Tran, affiliated with GLAM, which stands for
Glamour, Life, Art and Music. The group's fashion shows, record
release events and gallery openings draw more than 1,500 each
weekend.
Though the affairs cater to Asians, promoters insist all are
welcome.
``Even though our marketing is focused more on the
Asian-American demographic,'' said Chen about his Web sites and
mass e-mail invitations, ``we'd like to have people from all
ethnicities.''
In the early years the parties frequently drew backlashes --
racial epithets shouted from passing cars. Informally segregated
affairs sometimes send conflicting messages.
``As a society, American culture is really uncomfortable with
differences,'' said Jeanne Tsai, an assistant professor of
psychology at Stanford University, ``because historically,
differences have led to disparities and unequal opportunities,
which have led to discrimination.''
So when a group comes together, it inevitably highlights
cultural differences, said Tsai. ``So people are wary and
skeptical.''
Those who enjoy such mono-racial groupings say whites, blacks,
Latinos and Persians all have social events. It's just human
nature to be drawn by powerful ethnic commonalities.
And although the parties tend to attract people of Chinese,
Taiwanese, Korean and Vietnamese descent -- cultures that have
historically clashed over politics and economics -- the
low-light social settings, mixed with music and alcohol, allow
the inter-ethnic mingling to unfold with little discernible
friction.
Sandy Wang, 28, an engineer from Santa Clara, grew up in an
all-white small town environment. He seldom goes to Asian-only
parties but went to one recently to celebrate a friend's
birthday.
``I tell you why these Asian people come to these places,'' said
Wang. ``Asians feel more comfortable with their own people.''
At 42 and married, James Kim wishes the Asian parties had been
around when he was younger. Twelve years old when his family
left Korea, Kim said he struggled with his identity well into
adulthood.
``Am I Korean? Am I Korean-American? It took me a while to
figure it out,'' said Kim, president of the Silicon Valley Asian
Pacific American Democratic Club and vice chairman of Santa
Clara County's Democratic Party.
First- or second-generation Asian-Americans still struggle with
being both of and between two cultures. Then, when you step into
a place where people look like you and share your experiences,
Kim said, ``You feel empowered.''
``Sometimes, it's good for the majority to be the minority,'' he
said, ``and the minority to be the majority.''
As an invited ``minority'' at a December Whisper lounge event,
Urso Vargas, 28, from the Dominican Republic, seemed perfectly
at ease. The engineer with Asian friends sees the gatherings as
both good and bad.
``It feels like a close circle. If you're inside the circle,
it's good. You know everybody,'' said Vargas, who lives in Santa
Clara. ``But if you're outside of the circle -- the same reason
that makes it good makes it bad -- you're isolated.''
But for all the debate held across the racial divides, there
will always be those like Stefanie Wong, who comes unabashedly
looking for an Asian mate, a Cantonese-speaking Chinese, to be
exact.
``Yes, I'm very American,'' said the bilingual Wong, ``but it's
important to me to have someone be able to communicate with my
grandmother.''
A San Francisco teacher, Wong, 25, attends Asian events once or
twice a month.
``I've dated guys that are not Asian,'' she said. ``We just
didn't have a lot of things in common.''
Will Wong be at one of the giant Asian New Year's Eve galas? She
already bought her tickets.
Contact Truong Phuoc Khánh at
tkhanh@mercurynews.com or (408)
920-2729
(http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13514666.htm)
******************
About NCVA
Founded in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese
Americans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community advocacy
organization working to advance the cause of Vietnamese
Americans in a plural but united America – e pluribus unum –
by participating actively and fully as civic minded citizens
engaged in the areas of education, culture and civil
liberties.
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