In this NCVA eReporter:

NATIONAL CONGRESS OF VIETNAMESE AMERICANS

Events

Funding Opportunities

Jobs/Internships

Tips/Resources

News

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EVENTS

SOUTHEAST ASIA RESOURCE ACTION CENTER (SEARAC)

Phone: 202/667-4690               

Fax: 202/667-6449

Contacts: Sophy Pich (sophy@searac.org) & Naomi Steinberg (naomi@searac.org)

Southeast Asian American Values, Empowerment, Resources, and Betterment

Project (VERB) Regional Trainings

The Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and its partners in the VERB project will hold regional trainings in  in the following locations this year: Washington, DC; San Jose, CA; Greensboro, NC; and, Madison, WI. The training workshops will provide technical assistance and training to mutual assistance associations (MAAs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs).

VERB provides subgrants of $20,000, technical assistance and training, mentorship, etc. to partner FBOs and MAAs in North Carolina, Northern California, metropolitan Washington, DC, and Wisconsin.

Project Goals:

* Improve leadership, operational, and service capacity within grassroots partner FBOs/MAAs.

* Increase the ability fo FBOs/MAAs to access resources, and the ability of funders to understand FBOs/MAAs.

* Improve ability of FBOs/MAAs to stimulate and structure civic engagement among community members.

* Increase and improve collaborative efforts among all partner organizations, and others.

For more information on VERB visit: http://www.searac.org/verb.html.

Granting and partnership selections have already been made for 2004, but more partners may be welcomed next year for the last year of the project.

The public is welcome to the training workshops that are described bellow!

(Some sessions are reserved for current VERB partners.)  Please contact Naomi Steinberg, Project Manager for Administration and/or Sophy Pich, VERB Project Associate, for details on the trainings and to confirm attendance. Space is extremely limited!

VERB PROJECT TRAINING DATES, LOCATIONS, & TOPICS:       

1) Washington, DC

SEARAC

1628 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009

February 28, 2004 (1:00 to 5:15)

*Topics: Board of Director Roles and Responsibilities (1:00-3:00) and

Making Your Organization Fundable: The Role of Program Evaluation (3:15-5:15)

February 29, 2004 (10:30-12:30)         

*Topic: Financial Literacy: What Does it Mean for Southeast Asian American Communities?

2) Northern California

Southeast Asian Community Center 

1415 Koll Circle, San Jose, CA 95112

March 5, 2004 (1:00-4:00)                

*Topic: Fundraising

March 6, 2004 (9:30 to 3:30 p.m.)

*Topics: Financial Literacy: What Does it Mean for Southeast Asian American Communities? (9:30-12:00) and Strategic Communications (1:00-3:30)

3) North Carolina

United Montagnard Christian Church

1204 Picard Street, Greensboro, NC 27405

March 19, 2004 (1:00-4:45)                

*Topics: Setting Organizational Goals (1:00-2:30) and Making Your

Organization Fundable: The Role of Program Evaluation (2:45-4:45)

March 20, 2004 (10:00-3:30)               

*Topics: Nonprofits and Taxes: What You Need to Know (10:00-12:00) and

Financial Literacy: What Does it Mean for Southeast Asian American

Communities? (1:30-3:30)

4) Wisconsin

Freedom, Inc.

601 Bay View, Madison, WI 53715

April 23, 2004 (1:00-5:00)

*Topics: Civic Engagement (1:00-2:00) and Fundraising (2:00-5:00)       

April 24, 2004 (9:30-2:30)                

*Topics: Nonprofit Administration and Accountability (9:30-11:45) and Financial Literacy: What Does it Mean for Southeast Asian American Communities? (12:45-2:30)

** SEARAC'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY

FOUNDED IN 1979, SEARAC IS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WORKING TO ADVANCE THE INTEREST OF CAMBODIAN, LAOTIAN, AND VIETNAMESE AMERICANS THROUGH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT * THIS YEAR MARKS SEARAC'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY! 

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Japan-America Society of Washington, DC presents

ASIA NETWORKING NIGHT

Asia Networking Night provides you with the opportunity to network with people in Asia-related organizations.  It will enable you to expand your business contacts, get information about other Asian activities in the DC area, and make friends.  How to use this event is up to you.  Be sure to bring plenty of business cards!

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2004

Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Place: Wyndham Washington Hotel

Vista Ballroom (Lower Level)

1400 M Street, NW

(McPherson Square Metro)

Attire: Business

Admission: $15 at the door,

Includes hors d’oeuvres and door prize. There will be a cash bar.

RSVP: Japan-America Society

tel: 202-833-2210

fax: 202-833-2456

jaswdc@us-japan.org

Co-sponsoring organizations: Asia Society - Washington Center, Japan-America Student Conference, Japan Commerce Association, Japan Information & Culture Center, Japanese American Citizen League, Korean American Coalition, Korean Economic Institute of America, Mansfield Foundation, Manjiro Society, National Congress of Vietnamese Americans, Washington Network Group, World Affairs Council, and more.

Asia Networking Night, Thursday, March 4, 2004

Name: _____________________________________

Organization: _______________________

Address: ____________________________

City: _______________________________

State: __________ Zip: ______________

Home Phone: _________________________

Work Phone: _________________________

Fax: ________________________________

Email: ______________________________

Please RSVP by March 2, via fax, email or mail.

Fax: 202-833-2456, Email: jaswdc@us-japan.org,

Mail: 1020 19th Street, NW, LL #40, Washington, DC 20036

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

HUNGER, LITERACY, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN WELFARE SUPPORTED
UPS Foundation

(http://community.ups.com/community/philanthropy/main.html)

The UPS Foundation supports nonprofit organizations whose programs directly affect the quality of life in communities where UPS employees live and work. Major initiatives include support for programs targeting adult literacy and the distribution of prepared and perishable food. Support is also provided to national programs in the following areas: education, including academic research, family learning opportunities, school involvement projects, and programs to raise the level of academic instruction; and human welfare, including families and children in crisis, the economically/culturally disadvantaged, the physically/mentally challenged, community development, illiteracy, hunger, poverty, and homelessness. Applications are accepted year-round. Visit the above website for more information.

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EDISON SUPPORTS EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Edison International Corporate Contributions Program

(http://www.edison.com/community/default.asp)

The Edison International Corporate Giving Program primarily supports nonprofit organizations in company communities around the world that strive to maintain or improve the quality of life in the community and address specific community needs. For a map of company locations, go to http://www.edison.com/corporate/global_map.asp. Selected major national and international organizations are also supported. The company's primary areas of support are education and environment. Educational support focuses on areas including public and private K-12 and higher education, enrichment programs, programs fostering learning through technology and computers, and scholarships. Environmental support focuses on efforts to develop cleaner sources of energy, protect endangered species, beautify the earth, and educate citizens on conservation and preservation, as well as efforts that strive to address specific community needs affecting the social environment. Nonprofit organizations in company communities are eligible to apply. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Visit the above website for more information.

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FOCUS ON EDUCATION, CHILDREN, MEDICAL ISSUES, AND THE ARTS
Charles Lafitte Foundation

(http://www.charleslafitte.org/)

The mission of the Charles Lafitte Foundation is to provide for and support inventive and effective ways of helping people help themselves and others around them to lead healthy, satisfying, and enriched lives. Four distinct charitable programs are offered focusing on education, children's advocacy, medical issues and research, and the arts. Applications are accepted throughout the year from nonprofit organizations across the country. Visit the above website for more information.

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COLORADO TRUST OFFERS FUNDING FOR IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION EFFORTS                                

Posted: February 24, 2004
Deadline: April 16, 2004

(http://www.coloradotrust.org/)

Under its Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative, the Colorado Trust is accepting Letters of Intent from community organizations that want to address immigrant integration in Colorado.

The immigrant integration grant program is a 4-1/2 year, $2.7 million effort that will provide four Colorado communities with the opportunity to develop and implement comprehensive immigrant integration plans.

Selected via a competitive proposal process, the communities will be awarded $5,000 planning grants to develop comprehensive immigrant integration action plans. Following a four- to six-month planning process, the four communities will then be invited to submit proposals to the trust for grants of up to $75,000 per year for four years to implement portions of their plans. An evaluation also will be conducted to help determine the effectiveness of this effort.

To review the complete Request for Letters of Intent and for program background information, see the Colorado Trust Web site.

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APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR NONPROFIT SECTOR RESEARCH FUND’S HEARST SCHOLARSHIP FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

Deadline: March 15, 2004

(http://www.nonprofitresearch.org/)

The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund, a grantmaking program of the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., annually offers the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship to help introduce minority college students to issues in philanthropy.

The scholarship, which is based on academic excellence and need, is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are members of minority groups. The Hearst Scholar serves as a summer intern with the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund. During his/her internship, the Hearst Scholar undertakes general research and program support for the fund's grantmaking and outreach efforts.

A scholarship grant of between $2,500 and $5,000 will be awarded, depending on the recipient's educational level, financial need, and commitment of time.

See the NSRF Web site for complete program information and application instructions.

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USA FUNDS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

(http://www.usafunds.org/)

Education-loan guarantor USA Funds is accepting applications for two scholarship programs to assist college students who demonstrate financial need.

USA Funds will award up to $2.85 million in renewable USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships to qualified students nationwide. To mark its 25th year of service as the designated guarantor of federal education loans for the state of Hawaii, USA Funds also will award up to $300,000 in USA Funds Hawaii Silver Anniversary Scholarships to help residents of Hawaii pursue their postsecondary studies.

Both programs offer $1,500 scholarships to qualified full-time undergraduate and graduate students and $750 scholarships to qualified half-time undergraduates.

Applicants for the scholarships must be enrolled or plan to enroll in coursework at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational/technical school beginning with the fall 2004 term through February 1, 2005.

For complete eligibility information and to download an application form, visit USA Funds' Web site.

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JOBS/INTERNSHIPS

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

* Employer: Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

* Location: Washington, DC

* Position: Administrative Manager

* Posting Date: February 23, 2004

* Hiring Date: ASAP

* Salary: Starting at $35,000 or higher, depending on experience

* Benefits: Health and dental benefits, two weeks vacation, two weeks sick-leave, and federal holidays

Organizational Description:

Founded in 1979, SEARAC is a national nonprofit organization working to advance the interests of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans through leadership development, capacity building, and community empowerment.  SEARAC offers an intellectually challenging, friendly, and fast-paced work environment.  For more information visit http://www.searac.org/.

Job Responsibilities:

* Support the administrative needs of the executive director and other staff (e.g., answering phones, making travel plans, setting board meeting dates, etc.)

* Research and negotiate arrangements with vendors and consultants (e.g., suppliers, computer consultants, hotels, etc.)

* Keep office tidy

* Carry out aspects of financial management (e.g., receiving bills, mailing checks, tending petty cash, replenishing postage machine, etc.)

* Keep database of national contacts updated

* Periodically review the organization's health plan coverage and make recommendations to the executive director

* Other responsibilities indicated by the executive director

Minimum Qualifications:

* 3 years progressively responsible experience with administrative positions

* Fluency with Word and other standard office software packages

* Excellent spoken and written English-language skills

* 1 year employment experience in the nonprofit sector

* Strong math skills

* Bachelor's degree or equivalent

* Proven ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications:

* In-depth knowledge of Southeast Asian American cultures and languages (e.g., Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Mien, Vietnamese, etc.)

* 5 years progressively responsible experience with administrative positions

* 2 years employment experience in the nonprofit sector

Application Process:

* E-mail and/or fax cover letter and resume to searac@searac.org or 202/667-6449

* No phone calls please

* SEARAC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER *

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TIPS/RESOURCES 

EFFECTS OF STATE FISCAL CRISES ON NONPROFIT HEALTH AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS

Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government Publication: "A Divided Community: The Effects of State Fiscal Crises on Nonprofits Providing Health and Social Assistance"

(http://www.rockinst.org/publications/federalism/Final_Paper_111.pdf)

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, a public policy research arm of the State University of New York, has produced the publication "A Divided Community: The Effects of State Fiscal Crises on Nonprofits Providing Health and Social Assistance." The publication, by Thomas L. Gais and associates, examines the current state revenue crisis, demand for social services, the distribution of social assistance nonprofits, and both long-run and short-run changes in state expenditures to estimate the effects of state fiscal crises on the nonprofit sector associated with human service programs. Visit the above website to read the report.

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NEWS

February 13, 2004

SIGN MEANT TO ADD TO SANTA ANA, NOT DIVIDE

By ANH DO
Register columnist

I'm standing near the spot where the new Little Saigon sign will go up - and no, it's not in Westminster or Garden Grove - but Santa Ana. Right near First and Euclid streets, a spot I've driven by hundreds of times on my way to work.

And I'm not surprised people picked this place to plant a promotion.

"All we're trying to do is boost the area," says backer Ken Nguyen, who rolled up his sleeves for last week's groundbreaking. "Tourists going to Disneyland see Little Saigon on the map, and they want to know how to get there. We need customers. We're also happy that we're able to build a community."

But not everyone supports him.

In the city that I call my home, I'm strolling along when I see three women coming my way. Ana Maria Salazar, her mother, Lety, and her cousin Rachel have heard the argument. They are clear on where they stand.

"No es bueno," the 60-year-old says. "It is not good." She feels that Santa Ana is heavily Hispanic and should stay that way. Stores selling "mariscos, pan, zapatos" shouldn't mix with those offering iced coffee, dumplings and copper miniatures of the Buddha. Seafood, bread and shoes are simply different.

"Each shop has its own culture, and that's beautiful," says Salazar. "But each can have its own displays in its own setting. I don't see a lot of Vietnamese buying and eating tamales, and I don't remember seeing Mexicanos drinking, what do you call that, the milk made from soybeans?"

Well, it's called sua dau nanh.

And she's right. We live so near each other, yet so far.

We are separated by walls that even a welcome sign can't knock down.

If Salazar were speaking to Nguyen, she'd be saying: It's wonderful that you have your sign. But hey, plop it in your own front yard. 

It's the same refrain I hear as I head east, talking up strangers at the gas station and the pocket-size library at Newhope Street.

"Little Saigon - where is that?" asks Brian Miller, a commuter from Long Beach. "I know I've read about it in the paper, but I haven't been there."

"If there is a sign saying 'Little Saigon Business District,' then there should be one announcing 'Latino Business District' on the other side of the street, a few yards from it," suggests Steve Soto, truck driver.

In past months, Vietnamese merchants who succeeded in getting similar signs up in Garden Grove and Westminster tried to include their neighbors. They sought help from the city and sat through council meeting after council meeting, listening to verbal attacks.

"It's taken a lot of dialogue and compromise to identify the right location and the right imagery to get to the point where we are today," said Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio. "It's a symbol of including everybody. We should include the Vietnamese community in the Santa Ana community fabric. We should be open to everyone."

Solorio, following the hearings, watched as Nguyen and fellow immigrants made changes. From the design, they deleted Vietnamese words. The city logo. And the "welcome."

They raised the $30,000 needed through the stages of the project. Santa Ana may be 76 percent Hispanic, compared with 6 percent Vietnamese, but it is where Chua Truc Lam, the first Buddhist temple outside of Vietnam, was built, along with the first "pho" noodle restaurant in Orange County.

Other opponents counter that one concession leads to another. Pretty soon, we'd be open to a barrage of ethnic monuments, they say.

And yet while we argue about the sign, we have bigger issues to consider.

Vietnamese and Latinos need to get together. Both communities need to try harder to work together.

In the end, I hope the sign can be a bridge rather than a fence.

This column on Asian cultures and communities appears every other Friday in Local. Please contact Anh Do at anhdo_2000@yahoo.com.

(http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=80744)

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February 16, 2004

S.F.'s 'LITTLE SAIGON'
Stretch of Larkin Street named for Vietnamese Americans

Cicero A. Estrella, Chronicle Staff Writer

With its active Vietnamese American community and its many Vietnamese American-owned businesses, the Tenderloin in San Francisco has often been referred to as "Little Saigon." For part of the neighborhood, the name is now official.

The city recently recognized the two-block corridor of Larkin Street between Eddy and O'Farrell streets as Little Saigon, a designation on par with Chinatown and Japantown. City officials, Vietnamese American community leaders and neighborhood merchants are banking that the name will boost the area's reputation as a Vietnamese cultural and commercial center and will draw visitors, especially tourists.

"Everyone knows if you want something Vietnamese, you come to the Tenderloin," said Kim Nguyen, project manager of the Little Saigon Project Task Force, a coalition of community organizations and institutions that lobbied for the name.

"People from outside the community know the businesses are here," Nguyen said. "We have tailors, dentists, travel agents, jewelers, restaurants, acupuncturists, doctor's offices. It was already Little Saigon, just not officially. Giving it the name enhances the image."

Vietnamese cultural celebrations have also been held in the Tenderloin for years. The Tet Festival, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration, drew about 20,000 people to the neighborhood in mid-January.

"We are proud to have a home in San Francisco," said Phu Nguyen, task force member and commissioner of San Francisco's Immigrant Rights Commission. "Not even San Jose, with its large Vietnamese population, has a Little Saigon."

San Jose is home to about 90,000 Vietnamese Americans, the largest Vietnamese population of any city outside Vietnam. By comparison, San Francisco's Vietnamese American population is relatively small at about 13,000, including about 2,000 in the Tenderloin, according to the 2000 census. But the community has made its mark on the neighborhood.

There are about 250 Vietnamese American-owned businesses in the Tenderloin, said task force chair Minh Huynh, along with community groups for youths, veterans and the elderly.

Eighty percent of the businesses on the two blocks of Larkin are owned by Vietnamese Americans. Some are staples, such as Tammy Pham's Kim Cuong Jewelry store, which opened 18 years ago. Others, such as David Tran's 6-month-old Camera Heaven Inc., are just getting established.

"We're really just lending legitimacy to what the neighborhood has already become," said Supervisor Chris Daly, who represents the area and sponsored the Little Saigon resolution. The board passed it unanimously Sept. 23.

"Certainly, the neighborhood has changed over the last 30 years," Daly said. "A lot of families from Southeast Asia have made it their home. There are more kids in the neighborhood; there's now an elementary school (Tenderloin Community School on Turk Street). Small businesses have opened up. It's not so much the name we give it, but what's been going on."

The Little Saigon Project received $20,000 from the Mayor's Neighborhood Beautification Fund and raised an additional $5,000 for the first phase of its project, which consists mainly of informing the public of the new designation.

Green-and-yellow banners emblazoned with "Sai Gon Nho" and its English translation, "Little Saigon," have gone up on Larkin Street. (The name refers to the capital of the former South Vietnam, renamed Ho Chi Minh City at the end of the Vietnam War.) The banner, designed by architect Ben Thanh, features a painting of a French Colonial open market built in Saigon in the early 1900s.

Two 8-foot pylons, soon to be erected at Larkin and Eddy, will serve as a gateway.

Directional signs will be posted along freeways and busy streets. Larkin Street has received new trash receptacles complete with a Little Saigon logo, and its lampposts have received a fresh coat of green paint.

Hieu Quan has owned Thong Video on Larkin, which specializes in Chinese movies dubbed in Vietnamese, for four years. He estimates that as many as half his renters live in the Tenderloin.

"It's a good idea to call it Little Saigon," he said. "It should help business pick up."

Enthusiasm for the project is not isolated to Larkin Street. Tu Kim, who operates KMT Cafe on Hyde Street, hopes foot traffic will spill over onto her street. She says relatives from Vietnam want to visit San Francisco specifically to see Little Saigon.

"I wish they named the whole area Little Saigon instead of just one street, but that's OK," Kim said through an interpreter.

"Little Saigon is a symbol to all the immigrants who had to leave the country," task force member Nguyen Phu Bien said through an interpreter. "In a way, it's a way to stay connected with the old country."

E-mail Cicero A. Estrella at cestrella@sfchronicle.com.

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/16/BAG2751OP81.DTL)

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February 18, 2004

U.S. SHRIMPERS HARMED, TRADE COMMISSION RULES

By Dana Calvo, Special to The Times

The U.S. International Trade Commission said Tuesday that cheap imported shrimp is harming U.S. fishermen and recommended the federal government consider anti-dumping levies.

After reviewing thousands of pages of briefs and hearing testimony from fishermen and processors along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern seaboard, the ITC issued a 6-0 ruling that there was "a reasonable indication" that low-priced competition had harmed the domestic industry.

"This is the strongest ruling we could have possibly had," said Deborah Regan, spokeswoman for the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group that filed a petition in December alleging unfair competition. "They found injury, not just threat of injury. And it was a unanimous vote."

But Matthew Nicely, an attorney representing Thailand and Vietnam in the petition, said the standard for the ITC's preliminary ruling was too low to be considered a victory for domestic shrimpers.

"It's the legal equivalent of passing a laugh test," said Nicely, an attorney with Wilkie Farr & Gallagher. "They've got to make a decision within 45 days of the petition being filed. It's quick and dirty."

Tuesday's ruling by the ITC, an independent agency that evaluates the effect of imports on U.S. companies, moves the matter to the Commerce Department, which can impose anti-dumping duties on an estimated $2.4 billion of annual shrimp imports from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand and Vietnam. That decision is expected by June 8.

Wally Stevens, president of the American Seafood Distributors Assn., a trade group that opposes import duties, said domestic shrimpers would do better to promote their products rather than attack foreign producers. Domestic shrimpers catch shrimp in fast-moving deep waters such as the Gulf of Mexico, while most importers farm their shrimp in shallow ponds.

"The domestic fishermen are not getting the leadership they rightfully deserve from the U.S. government," Stevens said. "Technology allows for shrimp to be produced at a lower cost than going to hunt for shrimp."

In their petition, the alliance claimed policies by the European Union and Japan of turning away or detaining contaminated frozen shrimp made the United States a dumping ground for the allegedly unsafe imports. This deluge of low-priced shellfish has driven U.S. dockside prices down to a 40-year low, according to the Texas Shrimp Assn.

What's more, consumer advocates say they are concerned about the level of antibiotics coming into the country from the six defendant nations. Specifically, they single out the powerful antibiotic chloramphenicol, which is banned in the U.S.

The shrimp alliance contends that the Food and Drug Administration does not have enough inspectors to monitor the millions of pounds of shellfish arriving at U.S. ports each year. Currently, more than 85% of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from overseas.

Chloramphenicol is often prescribed to patients with meningitis after other antibiotics have failed, and can cause leukemia or trigger aplastic anemia. Shrimp farmers in the six defendant countries allegedly use the antibiotic in shallow ponds where shrimp is grown to disinfect the water from fecal matter left over from previous harvests.

(http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-shrimp18feb18,1,4777200.story)

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February 18, 2004

VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN SHRIMP FARMER CAUGHT IN BITTER BATTLE

By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer

(LE LOI, Vietnam) With an accent that's straight out of America's South, Huu Dinh can vividly recall a stint as a shrimp fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico when he first arrived in the United States 30 years ago.

But Dinh - who returned to his native Vietnam in 1997 and invested nearly $50 million to set up shrimp farms here - now finds himself caught between the two countries he calls home.

American shrimpers accuse Vietnam of dumping shrimp in U.S. markets at unfairly low prices. A lawsuit designed to impose duties on Vietnamese shrimp - and help his former colleagues in the United States – now threatens to devastate Dinh's business in Vietnam.

"This is something awful because (I'm an) American guy (with) American dollars and now if any ruling favors the (U.S.) fishermen, it will hurt me," said Dinh, 48.

The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday, saying imports from six countries including Vietnam have harmed the domestic shrimp industry. The ruling keeps alive the American group's hopes that Washington will eventually impose tariffs on shrimp imports.

The U.S.-based Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group of shrimpers and processors that filed the lawsuit, says American fishermen are being pushed out of business because cheap shrimp imports are undercutting their market. The other countries involved are Thailand, China, India, Brazil and Ecuador.

But immigrants from Vietnam play a major role in the American shrimp industry. Vietnamese-Americans make up between 45 percent and 80 percent of the industry in America's southern states, the Southern Shrimp Alliance has said.

"The Vietnamese have been harder hit than any group in this country, and it just breaks your heart," said Eddie Gordon, alliance president.

The countries named in the lawsuit say they're not dumping shrimp onto the U.S. market. They say they're simply more efficient, with cheaper labor and fewer regulations to slow down production.

They also argue that America needs the imported shrimp be cause domestic producers account for only about 20 percent of the amount consumed in a country where shrimp is the No. 1 seafood.

"(America) needs to face the fact that some countries will do some things better, and if the Vietnamese do good shrimp, let them do it," Dinh said.

Vietnam is the second biggest shrimp exporter to the United States, sending $467.3 million worth in 2002. Thailand is the largest exporter.

The Vietnamese government now faces its second seafood trade dispute with the United States in two years. Last year, a similar suit filed against Vietnamese catfish farmers resulted in tariffs of up to 64 percent, forcing many Vietnamese out of U.S. markets.

"We consider the catfish lawsuit as nonsense and we also consider it nonsense for this shrimp lawsuit," said Nguyen Huu Chi, the Ministry of Trade official who's overseeing the lawsuit.

The former foes have moved closer economically following the signing of a landmark trade agreement in 2001, which prompted two-way trade of $4.7 billion last year. But since the catfish dispute, Vietnam has accused the United States of protecting its own markets, rather than offering free trade.

And shrimp producers like Dinh will feel the pinch if tariffs are imposed on Vietnamese shrimp.

One of his farms sits in Le Loi village, a flat, barren area in northern Vietnam about 100 miles east of Hanoi. Blue plastic tarps line countless ponds saddled by yellow aeration paddles. A total of 2,200 tons of shrimp a year are harvested at this farm - one of five Dinh owns throughout the country, employing 2,000 people.

As a Vietnamese-American, Dinh considers himself the son of two countries. He says he finds it ironic that his livelihood is now being threatened by some of the same people he once helped.

After he immigrated to the United States in 1974, Dinh said he fished the Gulf of Mexico waters before going to college and later becoming a senior reactor operator at a nuclear power plant. Along the way, he says he helped fellow Vietnamese fishermen learn English, apply for loans for their boats, and he even helped finance some of their ventures.

When Vietnam began welcoming overseas Vietnamese back to do business, Dinh returned while his family remained in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

"I'm a son of two families, but I returned home for my mother because she needs help more," Dinh said. "But I also want to do something special where it can bridge the gap between Vietnam and America."

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February 20, 2004

THE RACE FOR THE 46TH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL SEAT
Advocate for overcoming political apathy

Tan D. Nguyen has always had a mind for business, and now, the entrepreneur wants to infuse Capitol Hill with some fresh ideas.

Alicia Robinson, Daily Pilot

A Vietnamese immigrant who came to California as a child, Tan D. Nguyen said he wants to bring new ideas to Washington, D.C. as a representative of the state.

Nguyen will contend with Jim Brandt and Paul C. Wilkins on March 2 to be the Democratic party's candidate for the 46th Congressional District seat in November.

After arriving in the U.S. in 1981, Nguyen and his family earned a living as migrant farm workers, picking chile peppers, string beans and whatever else was growing around San Jose, where they settled. That work experience as a child helped shape the person he is today, Nguyen said.

He drew on a strong work ethic when he entered the business world as a young adult, taking time off from college to open a Vietnamese restaurant with friends in Minnesota. At the restaurant, he did any and every job, from cooking and cleaning to management, sometimes working 16 hour days.

"I've always had a business mind," he said. "I have that entrepreneurial spirit and I like to be my own boss."

Once Nguyen received his bachelor's degree, he got married and moved to San Marcos, where he turned a personal interest in the stock market into a career as an investment advisor.

Helping people achieve investment goals is one of several ways Nguyen has reached out to others, he said. During college, he co-founded an organization that offered young people alternatives to gangs, and he volunteered for a hospice program while in Minnesota.

As an immigrant himself, he said, he knows opportunities are abundant in America, and he wants to make sure they are available to everyone.

Although he hasn't held elected office before, Nguyen said, that's not a liability.

"I'm young, but I'm energetic and I'm passionate," Nguyen said.

"I hope that my candidacy will inspire other young people to be more aware and to participate in our political process," he said. "There's a lot of apathy out there, and I hope that my candidacy will change that."

TAN D. NGUYEN
AGE: 28
RESIDENCE: San Marcos
EDUCATION: attended UCLA, 1992-95; received a bachelor's degree in individualized studies, with concentrations in business economy, Asian studies and biochemistry, from the University of Minnesota in 1999
FAMILY: married for three years to Hahn Lam
CAREER: restaurant owner/operator, 1995-97; research assistant at biotechnology firm, 2000-01; financial advisor at American Express, 2001-2003; financial advisor at AG Edwards, 2003-04
PARTY: Democratic

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/la-dpt-nguyen20feb20,1,318726.story)

[Note:  California 46^th District is currently held by Representative Dana Rohrabacher.]

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February 21, 2004

Buddhist Monk Teaches Zen Approach to Terrorism
Vietnamese exile makes a 'peace offering to America' in bid to heal trauma from Sept. 11.

By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer

Thich Nhat Hanh is a renowned Vietnamese Zen Buddhist teacher who has written numerous books, created 800 meditation groups in two dozen countries, led retreats for U.S. political leaders and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport in January for a three-month retreat, he said, he was pulled aside for an hour. Security guards searched his bags, read through his private letters and asked a fellow monk whether he had ever made bombs, he said.

"The war on terrorism has forced us to look at everyone as a potential terrorist," Nhat Hanh said in a recent interview at his organization's Deer Park Monastery in Escondido. "When the culture goes like that, it goes wrong, because you don't have much chance to discover the good things in people. In fact, we are trying to look for the negative things … and that is very depressing."

To help Americans heal their trauma, anger and fear stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Buddhist monk has decided to spend his annual winter retreat in the United States for the first time in what he calls "a peace offering to America."

With about 250 fellow monks and nuns also visiting Deer Park, Nhat Hanh plans to present a series of public lectures, retreats and other events over the next month. The activities are aimed at sharing what he calls Buddhist mindfulness training — how to cultivate peace and calm in daily life through deep breathing, slowing down and living fully in the present.

Nhat Hanh is scheduled to deliver a lecture at 2 p.m. Sunday at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center on the theme "Creating True Peace: Transforming Violence in Ourselves, Our Families and Society."

The frail, soft-spoken monk, 77, who was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 and lives at his Plum Village monastery in France, will also present two unusual gatherings during his time here. From March 19 to March 21, Nhat Hanh — a poet and writer — will offer a retreat for creative artists on how to work peacefully in the entertainment industry. The retreat stemmed from a request by a Hollywood producer for techniques to deal with the jealousy, anxiety and loneliness in the business.

A second retreat scheduled for March 25-27 will offer mindfulness training for ethnic minorities. In addition, the monastics plan an "alms round" procession next Saturday at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. This follows an ancient practice in which monks and nuns travel by foot to give teachings and receive food and other offerings in exchange.

Details and costs of the events are available at http://www.esangha.org .

"We believe the presence of a community practicing mindfulness and compassion might have a good effect on this land and this people," Nhat Hanh said.

The monk is no stranger to America. In 1966, in the early years of the Vietnam War, he was in Washington presenting a peace proposal when he learned that he would be banned from returning by South Vietnam. The same peace efforts led King to nominate him for the Nobel.

Since then, Nhat Hanh has lived in France, but frequently travels here to teach.

Last year, he gave a talk at the Library of Congress and led a weekend retreat for members of Congress sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) was among those who attended to seek techniques relieving the crushing pressures of political work.

Today, she said, she continues to use the techniques, adding the element of mindfulness to her regular morning walks.

"It had an impact on me that is lasting," said Capps, a Lutheran. "We can learn so much from other traditions."

Nhat Hanh said he had urged political leaders to seek approaches other than violence to the war on terrorism. The topic seemed to weigh heavily on his mind at Deer Park, a 400-acre sanctuary of rolling hills and oak trees that opened four years ago.

In outspoken remarks, Nhat Hanh said the U.S. war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq had backfired, creating more enemies of America; and that evangelical Christian leaders who demonized Islam were contradicting the Gospel's spirit of compassion. He also said U.S. church leaders were not speaking out clearly about the nation's escalating military spending.

Sipping tea, the monk said Buddhist teaching encouraged people to reach out to those perceived as enemies with "deep listening and loving speech." Rather than demonize the terrorists, he said, he would like to understand them. "You must have hated us a lot…. Tell us why. Have we tried to destroy you as a people, as a religion, as a culture?" he said he would ask.

"Maybe they have misunderstood us. In that case we can try to correct their perceptions," he said. "To correct their perceptions is much better than to drop bombs on them."

If that strikes some as naive, Nhat Hanh said he had seen miracles from such approaches between sworn enemies.

For the past several years, he said, he has brought groups of Israelis and Palestinians to Plum Village for retreats. In the beginning, he said, the two groups are usually unable even to look one another in the eye. But, calmed by daily meditation and encouraged to share their stories of suffering without blame, the two groups usually ended up transformed, he said.

On other topics, the monk also called for reconciliation within the Vietnamese American community, which is deeply divided over the recent decision by former South Vietnam Premier Nguyen Cao Ky to return for a visit to his homeland. Ky, who lives in Hacienda Heights, has been denounced as a traitor by many in Southern California's staunchly anti-Communist Vietnamese community.

But Nhat Hanh asserted that even Communist Party leaders in Vietnam no longer believe in the ideology.

Nhat Hanh is still waiting to go home.

Although he launched a high-profile campaign four years ago to persuade the Vietnamese government to allow him to visit and teach, he has not yet received permission.

His books and tapes are still confiscated, he said, even though they are freely sold in China and other Communist nations.

"It's funny Premier Ky can go home but a monk like me cannot go home," he said. "I can wait. I have a lot of patience."

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs21feb21,1,1717744.story)

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February 22, 2004

THE CONFLICTING COLORS OF VIETNAM
For some Vietnamese Americans, the official flag is a symbol of tyranny and should not be recognized

By Oscar Avila
Tribune staff reporter
 
It happens all the time to Tam Duc Nguyen: Well-meaning folks wanting to honor his heritage unwittingly reopen a 29-year-old wound instead.

In an attempt to be inclusive, schools and merchants sometimes unfurl the Vietnamese flag. But to Nguyen, that flag is a symbol of the Communist government that imprisoned him for a decade and is hated by tens of thousands of refugees who fled the regime.

Now Vietnamese residents in Chicago are joining a nationwide effort to persuade cities and states to enact resolutions that recognize an alternate flag as the community's official banner.

The activists, however, are complicating efforts by the U.S. government and private firms to establish closer ties with Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has angrily protested the resolutions, which diplomats say dredge up divisions of the past.

Nguyen says those bitter feelings never went away.

"I came here because I couldn't live with the Communists. When I see that flag in my face, it makes me feel angry. It insults me," said Nguyen, executive director of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois, based in the Edgewater neighborhood.

The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 brought a flood of refugees to the United States. Between 1980 and 2000, the number of Chicago-area residents born in Vietnam more than tripled--from 4,460 to 14,506.

Nguyen once confronted the operator of a neighborhood McDonald's who flew the government flag, a gold star on a red field, in an attempted show of solidarity. Sometimes, parents complain that teachers display a construction-paper version during multicultural events.

Dzung Nguyen, who is not related to Tam Duc Nguyen, survived a 12-day boat trip to Malaysia with his family.

He said even well-meaning mistakes can cause pain.

"To me, the red on that flag is the blood of our combatants," Nguyen said. "I can't look at it without that association."

Frustrated that the message has not been getting through, Vietnamese activists nationwide are promoting an alternate flag, a yellow banner with red stripes flown by the defeated South Vietnamese government.

About 30 state legislatures and city councils, including bodies in Boston and San Jose, Calif., have passed resolutions recognizing the alternate flag as the community's official symbol, according to the California-based Vietnamese-American Public Affairs Committee.

The National Congress of Vietnamese Americans, based in Washington, made the first major push last year by touting a bill in the Virginia General Assembly that would have required all government institutions to fly the Vietnamese "heritage flag."

Although the bills seem symbolic, the Vietnamese government takes them seriously.

Virginia legislators eventually shelved the proposal, citing the Vietnamese government's protests and lobbying by the State Department.

"There is no point in recognizing the flag of a defunct regime. It only stirs the past hatred and trauma," Vietnam Embassy spokesman in Washington Bach Ngoc Chien said in an interview. "Now that people, both in Vietnam and here, want to put aside the past and look forward to a stable and mutually beneficial relationship, this recognition of the old flag goes against that purpose."

The flag resolutions are not the first time that local and state officials have waded into diplomatic disputes.

Chinese government officials blasted several U.S. cities that passed resolutions in support of Falun Gong, a spiritual sect that China considers a cult.

And flags remain a hot-button issue around the world. One of the first acts by liberated Iraqis was to restore a flag from the pre-Saddam Hussein days, one without the Arabic script added by the ruler.

In Chicago, Vietnamese activists said they soon will launch a campaign supporting a resolution by the City Council.

The surge of nationalism seems far removed from the daily life of many Vietnamese immigrants who have helped turn Argyle Street and other North Side roads into thriving commercial strips.

Although some Vietnamese still maintain "liberation councils" that support regime change in their homeland, other residents say they choose to focus on their new life here.

In contrast to Paseo Boricua on Division Street, whose boundaries are marked by massive metal Puerto Rican flags, none of the striped Vietnamese flags was visible during a recent stroll on Argyle Street.

Instead, several of the merchants who peddle steaming bowls of pho, a traditional noodle-based soup, and other products displayed American flags in their windows.

The front of Pho 888 was typical, with fliers printed in Vietnamese next to a U.S. flag with the text, "God Bless America."

Shoppers can buy almost anything at the sprawling Viet Hoa Plaza supermarket: skatefish and halibut in square ice-filled tins, frozen blocks of noodles. But instead of Vietnamese flags, owner Cuong Trinh keeps a bucket of American flags that were popular sellers after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We want to show our support for the U.S. government and the war against terrorism. We feel like this is our home," said Trinh, whose son, Nguyen, is an Army officer stationed in Iraq.

Dzung Nguyen acknowledges that most younger Vietnamese-Americans don't get worked up over the Vietnamese government flag.

"My daughter says it bothers her, but I know she is only trying to please me," he said. "They have other things on their mind."

Hung Nguyen, who is no relation to Tam Duc or Dzung Nguyen, is president of the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans.

He said he is sensitive to the criticism that the flag resolutions divert attention from more pressing concerns.

"But you have to start where you can win, and where people are passionate. Symbolism is what mobilizes people," he said. "If we win these victories, people will say, `Imagine what else we can do on other issues, whether it is health care or Social Security.' This is only a first step."

(http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0402220226feb22,1,1087569.story)

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