Featured API Community Leader
Vinh Nguyen
Educator, Mentor and Advocate for New Iowans
From his office at the Center for New
Americans located in downtown Des Moines, Vinh Nguyen guardedly shares
details of the circuitous voyage that led him and countless other Vietnamese
asylum-seekers to Iowa during the mid-1970's to mid-1980's. To many in the refugee advocacy community,
Vinh is a champion for all refugees, immigrants and a tireless force lifting
people out of circumstances beyond their control – guiding them to educational
attainment and self-sufficiency. For over three decades, Vinh has quietly
advanced the causes of these “under dogs,” with no fanfare. He is most
satisfied when he sees a student or a family he has helped and mentored find
footing in their lives.
Vinh is a 30-year plus employee of Des Moines Public Schools, in which
the Center for New Americans is housed. A labor of love, the Center’s mission
is “to serve and help acclimate newly arrived language minority families into a
new environment and school setting.” For Vinh, there is no separation from what
he does at his “day job” and the advocacy work he does on behalf of immigrants,
refugees and all minorities struggling to learn English. He understands all too
clearly how new-comers to the US experience desperation and confusion in
learning to function in and navigate a Western society and system.
Among the
programs offered at the Center, Vinh is spear-heading a new class formatted to
assist eligible refugees and immigrants in understanding the naturalization process.
He designed and developed a tailored curriculum for English Language Learners
seeking citizenship, inclusive of the duties, rights and responsibilities that
come with US citizenship.
Vinh was one among the over one-million Vietnamese
Boat People who fled persecution by the oppressive communist regime that
overtook Vietnam. The odds were slim that Vinh would survive the journey to
America. Raised in Vietnam during the
1960’s, Vinh lived during a tumultuous time of Vietnamese-American relations.
After communist North Vietnam seized power, then-teenage Vinh was indoctrinated
in communist philosophies rooted in Marxist and Lenin ideals. Vinh draws a
parallel between Vietnam and the current state of communist North Korea, where
there is a scarcity of food, political oppression of its people, and no freedom
of speech or thought.
Fearing their son would grow up “brainwashed,” Vinh’s parents made the
difficult decision to arrange for a smuggler to get him and his siblings out of
the country. Anticipating the worst, the family had squirreled away gold and
money to pay steep fees demanded by unreliable smugglers. The plan was to get as many family members as possible, one at a time, safely outside Vietnam’s
borders. Four members succeeded in reaching freedom.
At 20 years of age, it was Vinh’s turn to flee his hometown of Saigon
(now Ho Chi Minh City). He was reluctant to leave his family behind – his
entire world as he knew it. The hired smuggler came for him at 5:00 AM in the
morning, and from that point on, Vinh was at the mercy of his guide – no
questions asked. Buses and taxis took them to the southern port city of Rach
Gia – the launching point to enter the Gulf of Thailand. Vinh did not know what
to expect; he guessed a ferry or a tanker awaited him. Reality sunk in as he
was led onboard an open fishing boat – a vessel measuring only 30 feet long, 10
feet wide. Layers of people crowded in below and above deck. He and 134 other
passengers spent a tormenting week out at sea: 133 survived, 2 succumbed.
Shortly after the initial launch, they were chased by coastal military forces,
but averted them. What awaited them in the Gulf of Thailand was far more dangerous.
Predators in the form of Thai fishermen and other pirates preyed upon the
vulnerable boat people. Vinh’s boat was stopped repeatedly by marauders in the
gulf, where their vessel was rammed, attacked. Men were tortured. Women were
captured, violated and returned each of the four times. Vinh remembers the
screams and raw fear to this day. They had nothing to defend themselves with,
and provisions were running out.
With hopelessness setting in, an oil rig appeared in the horizon one
morning. The boat’s captain knew of no alternative other than ramming the rig
with the boat, risking the lives on board, to force the Americans operating it
to help them. They had come too far to be forced to leave; they maintained
their position and began negotiating with them - in no common language. Fate
finally dealt Vinh a good hand. He and the others boarded a massive oil tanker
that took them to Songkhla Refugee Camp in
Thailand supported by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees. The camp
designed for 2,000 was over capacity with over 10,000 living inside the fenced
location in whatever space was available. He did not stay here long as it was
in the process of being closed, and all residents were relocated to another
camp near Bangkok. Over the next few months, two more relocations followed:
Singapore and Galang Refugee Camp in
Indonesia. Vinh finally arrived in Des Moines in 1982, with more challenges to
overcome.
Today, Vinh is an Iowan-American success story - an example of one
immigrant who never stopped overcoming the obstacles and never ceased contributing
his talents, skills and energies to make his new home a better one in which to
live and thrive for others who follow. Among his accomplishments, Vinh
established the Vietnamese American Community
in Iowa nonprofit and works closely with Vietnam veterans in Iowa in
appreciation of their sacrifices.
But those who know him best can tell you about Vinh...
Helene Grossman Fein, PhD, United Way of Central Iowa Director of Community
Impact Services
“I have known Vinh for over 30
years. When he was a Bilingual Tutor for Des Moines Public Schools, I was his
manager. He even tutored my daughter in algebra, and now she has been a DMPS
teacher for over 15 years.
Vinh’s personal story has shaped
his outlook and passion for helping others. He is willing to try new ideas to
make the lives of the refugee students and their families better. Vinh calls me
his American mother, and even though he never sends me a Mother’s Day card, I
am very proud of him, as proud as I am of my own son.”
Nu Huynh, Iowa Asian Alliance Executive Director
“Vinh is one of the most humble
and hardest working individuals you will ever meet. He hasn't stopped working
since that very first day when he arrived in the US to obtain a better life for
himself. Today, he continues to work tirelessly to help represent and better
the Vietnamese community. He has helped pave the way for so many refugees and
immigrants.”
Kim Poam Logan, API leader
and a founding force for the Commission on Asian
& Pacific Islander Affairs
“For as long as I've known him,
Vinh Nguyen has always been deeply-rooted in our collaborative Asian-American
community. He's made many lasting contributions
through his involvement and leadership in nearly every meaningful organization
and event that unites our community--such as the 25th Anniversary Celebration
of the SE Asian Resettlement, the founding of the Iowa Asian Alliance and the
Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs--just to name a few.”
VOTER ID –
Educational Toolkit from Sec. of State
The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office has developed a free
educational toolkit for groups and organizations to
inform voters about recent changes to Iowa election laws.
The toolkit is now available at this link http://www.voterreadytoolkit.com/ . To sign in, simply click “New User” and
sign in using your email address as your username. You will receive an email
asking you to reset your password.
All of the materials contained in the electronic toolkit are
downloadable.
Tools include:
Voter Integrity rack card
Email templates
News release templates
Power point templates
Sample social media messages
FAQ sheets
Infographics
Samples of the Voter ID card and envelope
VOTER ID -
ID Action will be providing training and educational materials to assist voters. Iowans with Disabilities in Action (ID Action) is a nonpartisan, statewide initiative dedicated to generating greater civic and political participation among people with disabilities.
Visit ID Action to learn more about this organization.
API Newsmakers
Manisha Paudel faces 'big task' as Des
Moines' first equity coordinator
Source: Des Moines Register http://dmreg.co/2F3uaMr
Refugee driven to take care of his
people
Source: Ottumwa Courier, http://bit.ly/2FbyxV3
Iowan: Maung Hlaing
Other API Press Clips
Mental Health -
Spring Health's technology looks at the
answers of a client assessment and recommends a treatment using a
machine-learning algorithm.
How three first-generation immigrants
are using machine learning to improve mental health care
Excerpt:
“Patients have really strong preferences around the race, gender, specialty and even geographical location of their provider,” Koh said. “And so for us, as we’re building our networks, one thing that’s incredibly important is diversity. We make sure we have a diversity of races and specialties.”
Source: NBC News, http://nbcnews.to/2F9tMeO
New
Survey -
Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of Asian Americans
Survey conducted by National Public
Radio, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation
Excerpt:
“...at least one in four Asian Americans
said they had been discriminated against when applying for a job (27 percent),
being paid equally or considered for a promotion (25 percent), and when trying
to rent or buy a home (25 percent).”
Source: Philanthropy News Digest
Federal Compact of Free Association (COFA) legislation impacting Micronesians -
Bordallo reintroduces Compact Impact Bill
Source: Pacific Daily News, http://bit.ly/2Dweb8K
Excerpt:
"Federal treaties called compacts of free association allow citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands to live and work in the United States."
US House panel approves Bordallo’s Compact
Impact amendments
Source: The Marianas Variety, http://bit.ly/2DD5NZa
Save the Date: DHR Legislative Day - March 7
Lunar New Year Events in Iowa - Year of the Dog
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