My fellow VietACTion-takers,
We are now four days until showtime, and I know people are getting an overload on emails, but I'd like everyone to take a pause and just look back at the last year.
VietACT has gone virtually from a 5-people show to one of the fastest-growing, most prominent and most active anti-human trafficking organizations in the Vietnamese community. In fact, we are growing at a faster rate than we can handle it, but it's amazing how we literally took the world over night. We were featured in a LOT of Vietnamese media, have organized literally a dozen Relay Against Trafficking campaigns across the nation (I can't even keep track of them anymore). Demand for more events on an international basis have coming in left and right. We've gone on radio, presented at various events, send interns to Taiwan, are preparing for two simultaneous walkathons including one of biggest/most active youth walkathons in Little Saigon history in conjunction with an Atlanta event. BBC Radio, Nha Magazine, Asia Video are interviewing us, heck even Tuoi Tre Magazine in Vietnam picks up on our story, and this week, we have four VietACT staff members represent VietACT at the upcoming human trafficking conference in DC.... and the biggest and most exciting news Tammy haven't even told you guys yet (sorry, T4, couldn't resist). :)
Regardless of what is going to happen this Saturday, I am already amazed by what we have already done. To me, we have already achieved success with the campaign we've been doing, but this Saturday we have an opportunity to again top ourselves. I am in deepest respect for the many people behind uNAVSA, VietACT, UVSA and the tons of volunteers that had jumped on this bandwagon. Guys, this is an exciting time, and with the funds we are (and already have been) raising, VietACT will definitely go into a more stable growth this year, will be able to support more NGOs in South East Asia, hire permanent staff and finally bring that Not For Sale billboard up in Little Saigon that I envision to see by end of this year if not sooner.
Be proud of yourself what you guys have already achieved, and let's rock and roll as we are sprinting over the next four days to end the Relay Against Trafficking campaign with the biggest bang the Vietnamese youth community has ever put together. Allow me to forward two real emails that I hope will also remind us (over and over again) why we decide to do the things we do.
In solidarity,
San Jose, CA,
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 8:12 PM
To: Minh T. Nguyen
In Saigon, District XX, [...] there are a couple of "hotels" just 3 blocks down the street from his house. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that these two places traffic young girls to foreigners, allowing these perverts to completely inspect (and I do mean... completely) these girls as though they are nothing more than merchandises.
In the past, some locals have reported these activities to the authorities, but nothing has ever been done. This probably isn't all that surprising, since as you can probably imagine, money can blind many eyes.
XXX
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 12:00 AM
To: Minh T. Nguyen
Hi Minh,
[....]
I have to tell you, as I was sitting at Tan Son Nhat airport in Saigon, awaiting my flight (I flew Asiana Air, a Korean airline), I saw 4-5 groups of young, naive-looking girls being herded by Korean men and women. I had a thought of just grabbing them and running them out of the airport, away from those Koreans! I finally ended up initiating a conversation with one of the girls, who told me that she was going to Korea to meet her "husband" and that she was nervous because she didn't know what was going to happen. I just wanted to cry! [...]
[...]
-XXX