NCVA has grown to become the major deliberative forum of the
Vietnamese American community, a federation of organizations and concerned
individuals across the 50 states. It is estimated that over the years, some 200
Vietnamese American organizations have been at one point or another affiliated
with NCVA. There are others who chose to stay outside of the organizational
structure of NCVA, but who still cooperate with it on issues of common concern.
Cooperation and Coalition Building
In April 1989, upon the initiative of NCVA, four major Vietnamese associations,
concerned with the fate of political prisoners, sat down to form the
“Coordinating Committee for the Reception of Vietnamese Political Prisoners”. It
was the work of this group which brought about the special legislation aimed at
attending to the needs of political prisoners from Vietnam once they are out of
communist re-education camps and brought to the U.S.
NCVA was among the very first organizations to advocate the creation of the
Radio Free Asia (RFA) together with Freedom Federation, American Council for the
Defense of Freedom, the Vietnam Restoration Party and the Indochinese Committee
for RFA. As a result, RFA was signed into law (1994), funded in 1996 and started
broadcasting in September 1996. The Vietnamese Program was inaugurated February
5,1997.
On the complex issue of Vietnamese asylum seekers in Southeast Asia, NCVA has
until 1998 consistently advocated for refugee rights and spoken forcefully
against forced repatriation through:
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testimonies at hearings on the Hill, in the U.S. Congress (most recently
March 29, 2000 at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus).
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coordination with numerous organizations over the years including
Inter-Action, U.S. Committee for Refugees, Boat People SOS, LAVAS, Interfaith
Committee for Refugee Concerns, Committee for the Relief of Vietnamese
Refugees, to organize demonstrations, write letters and petitions, make
representations with the State Department, the White House, the U.N. Higher
Commission for Refugees, and the Great Britain (when Hong Kong tried forced
repatriation of asylum seekers.) |
Concrete Realizations
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Participation in the 1990 and 2000 Census with representation on the
National Advisory Board, outreach work, training of volunteers, translation,
film making (to be shown as spots on television). As a result, in August
1990, the U.S. Census Bureau presented a crystal cup to NCVA at its annual
convention as a token of appreciation. |
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Profile of the Vietnamese American Community by contracting some
statisticians at the University of Chicago to measure the progress of the
Vietnamese American community since 1975. The project, headed by Ms. Ngoan Le
of Chicago, is so valuable that its findings have been used regularly by the
media. |
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Participation in the U.S. Political Process in cooperation with the League
of Vietnamese Voters in voter registration drives. Since then, a few
Vietnamese Americans have become elected officials at local levels and have
been appointed to positions in state and federal government as a result of
their political involvement. |
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Education: NCVA shares with the National Association for the Education and
Advancement of Cambodia, Lao and Vietnamese Americans (NAFEA) many concerns in
the field of education, which explains why some leaders are active in both
organizations. NCVA is convinced of the wisdom of both ESL and bilingual
education as a transitional programs for mainstreaming children whose first
language is Vietnamese. NCVA also advocates strong parental involvement,
especially in way to strengthen the child’s self-image and pride in his/her
cultural heritage. |
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Fighting Discrimination: Working with members of Congress to fight
discriminatory admission policies found at some schools aimed at Asian
American students. This may have been one of the factors that led to the
dismantling of quota admissions at the University of California. NCVA has
spoken strongly against racial discrimination directed at Asian and Vietnamese
Americans, in some cases resulting in tragic deaths. In 1989, NCVA joined
ACLU, OCA, and JACL to make presentations on the Hill on behalf of the Bay
Area Vietnamese Fishermen Association in their protest against the
racially-inspired application of the Jones Act, that was passed in 1789 but
never invoked before. |
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Drive for Economic Self-sufficiency: Firmly believing that a community can
be strong only on the basis of economic self-sufficiency, NCVA rejects from the
start any long term dependency on public assistance. NCVA has underwritten
several conferences on economic development for the Vietnamese American
community bringing together business and community leaders to exchange
information, experiences and new products. NCVA is contemplating a national
directory to foster more cooperation and awareness among Vietnamese American
businesses. |
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The H. O. Program’s main credit goes to the Families of Vietnamese Political
Prisoners Association which has been working diligently with the U.S.
Department of State and Congress in order to demand the release of former
detainees of re-education camps. NCVA cooperated in this endeavor starting in
April 1987. Ever since, the H.O. beneficiaries have taken the initiative of
organizing themselves into the General Association of Vietnamese Political
Prisoners with chapters all over the United States. |
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The Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference 1999:
NCVA joins
several well-established organizations to sponsor this conference, the first
of its kind, to prepare Vietnamese American youths, for becoming eventual
leaders in the community, with technology know-how, leadership skills and
characters, along with history and cultural heritage. |
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To raise awareness of current situations in Vietnam, NCVA in 1995 and again
in March 2000, hosted the Free Vietnamese Coalition Conference where
political, religious and community organizations gather and exchange ideas and
share common plan of actions to foster democracy, transparency in Vietnam. 98
representatives from 52 organizations decided to amplify the dissidents’ voice,
to help the youth, through high-tech communication, make choice for their
future, bringing Vietnam up to par with the rest of the world in the new
millennium. |
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Highlights
Lunar New Year 2004
Dr. Nguyen Van Hanh & Nguyen-mau Trinh
Lunar New Year 2004
Chairman Gerald Connolly, Fairfax County & Martina Hone, American
Legacy Foundation
International Day 2003
NCVA Members
Voter Registration 2003
New Voting Machine Demonstration
VAYLC 2003
Conference Registration
VAYLC 2003 Gala
Delegate Chap Petersen (VA) & dinner guests
Health Forum - St. Paul, MN
Members of the Vietnamese American
Community in St. Paul - Minneapolis, MN
White House APA Month Celebration
Some members of the Vietnamese American
community
16th Annual
Convention
Plenary Session - Deliberating Resolutions
Rock & Vote Concert 2002
Traditional culture meets high tech
voting machines
Community Meeting with Ambassador
NCVA Members with U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Raymond Burghardt |