What newsworthy events took place in March? Contributor Julie Nguyen offers a critical recap of March happenings in the general interest of the Vietnamese American. She most likely missed a few things, Vietnamese and not, so if you come across something you think should be shared with the readers, please send them to Julie via this email: ngujle [at] gmail [dot] com.
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for the month of March/Tháng 3, 2011
The biggest earthquake in Japan’s history hits the Sendai region which is doubly swamped by a tsunami killing thousands and displacing more. And a nuclear meltdown looms. Our hearts are in Japan.
Read: news updates.
Heroes at work: Outpouring of Tears and Prayers for Japan’s Heroes: The Fukushima 50.
Devastation in Kesennuma Port: Six minutes of black water rising.
Outrageous: Adoption commodity: Foreigners Looking to Adopt Japanese Earthquake Orphans Need Not Apply.
You: How are you helping? Let us know.
Remembering the Massacre at My Lai
On the morning of March 16, 1968 the angry and frustrated men of Charlie Company under the command of Lt. Willam Calley massacred the people of the village of My Lai. 300 to 500 unarmed villagers were tortured, maimed, raped and murdered. The US government tried to do a cover up (thanks Colin Powell) and it wasn’t until journalist Seymour Hersh spoke up that the atrocity became widely known. Calley served four and a half months in prison. Here’s a survivor’s story.
Yale student Annie Le’s murderer pleads guilty to murder and sexual assault and will only get 44 years behind bars. He expresses his pain and remorse for what he’s done, even though he tried to hide evidence, make alibis, and didn’t plead guilty until the evidence was shored up against him. He’s done his parents proud. Meanwhile, Annie Le is gone forever.
The U.S. (oh sorry, er, NATO) begins bombing Libya, enforcing the UN no-fly zone.
The President on U.S. intervention: Obama cites limits of U.S. role in Libya
News in pictures: Air strikes on Libya.
Editorial: Why are we interfering in Libya, but not, say, Burma, Yemen or DRC?.
UCLA student posts her epic racist rant on Youtube, Asians in the Library. And hiding behind Free Speech when what she was excercising was Hate Speech, this student is getting nothing but a slap on the wrist as she withdraws from UCLA. Sweep it under the rug everybody! Nothing happened here! The pain you felt was imaginary.
The original rant.
If you’re more interested in healing, Beau Sia non-violently deconstructs the racist persona and gets to the root of the problem: why Alexandra felt the need to make the rant. Diacritic Jade Hidle wrote about it too.
History repeating itself: Xenophobia. I’m calling it what it is. Stand up. Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-Calif.) did.
Another perspective: Vietnamese Marijuana Growers Through the Eyes of their Defense Attorney.
At the University of Michigan, Out of Margins: Asian American Movement Building, happened on March 25th-26th.
“This 2-day conference will bring together leadings scholars, community organizers, artists, and students from the Midwest and across the nation to discuss the past, present, and future of Asian American movement activism.”
Out of Margins Home Page.
Connect on Facebook.
Did you go? What did you think?
NYC, West End Theatre: VIETNAM PROJECT II: features two plays that explore Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora: WE ARE (March 18-26, 2011) and MONSTER (March 30-April 17)
View the website.
Connect on Facebook.
Did you see either of these plays in NYC? Tell us what you thought about them via the comments below or the contact us page above.
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Julie Nguyen likes toads a lot but only eats vegetables. Her writing may be full of snark but her ears are wide open. She enjoys drawing and writing, and has been self-educating herself on Vietnamese history, both the documented and the mythological, as well as improving her comprehension of the language so she can pass it on to her three-year-old daughter. She resides in NYC.
