Before a packed audience of students and community members, an elaborate lion dance performed to synchronized drumming resounded in the EMU Ballroom Saturday — just one of many traditions displayed at the Vietnamese Student Association’s culture night during “Vietnam: Through Our Lens.”
From songs and dances to the story of a postgraduate learning about the history of Vietnam, the annual VSA event exhibited different aspects of Vietnamese background and people. VSA also worked with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit grassroots agency focusing on stopping children trafficking in Vietnam. The night’s proceeds went toward funding the aid project.
“There are children that are trafficked in very poor parts of Vietnam and the cities,” VSA Director Oanh Nguyen said. “And they have to work in factories.”
Blending Vietnam’s modernization and the importance of Blue Dragon, “Through Our Lens” centers on a four-act play. The main character, Viet, travels to Vietnam for a job as a photographer at Blue Dragon. Viet is overwhelmed by his homeland but embarks on a journey to his new workplace, encountering many locals who detour him through the major cities — Hanoi, Hue, Can Tho and Saigon — that reveal the country’s illustrious culture. He discovers the elegance of ao dai — a tightly-fitted silk tunic for women — and the street vendors’ common practice of preparing fresh meals outside.
“We wanted to show the diversity in Vietnam and how it’s been around for thousands of years.” Nguyen said. “So the history, its people, the modernity and how it’s progressed.”
University senior Kristen Lee, co-director for the Asian Pacific American Student Union, attended “Through Our Lens” to learn more about Vietnam. She said the event will be the first introduction to the country for some, and that VSA’s support of Blue Dragon brings awareness to a serious problem.
“It’s important for student groups to do something that has a big impact outside of campus,” Lee said.
University junior David Dinh is a frequent attendee of VSA events and meetings. Aside from gaining knowledge about his native country, he said drawing attention to human trafficking will increase the need of preventing its practices.
“VSA is doing a great job and sorting all the proceeds toward human trafficking,” Dinh said. “It really needs to stop. It’s kind of corrupt over there.”
Currently, Blue Dragon is working in the Phu Vang and Phu Loc districts of Thua Thien-Hue Province in Vietnam. In its attempts to end the poverty cycle, the agency rescues children who have been victims of human trafficking. They help them return home through legal means and support “returned” children by providing an education while improving their quality of life. VSA held a fundraiser selling spring rolls for Blue Dragon fall term, raising approximately $300.
Nguyen hoped “Through Our Lens” will provide a cultural perspective that changes the usual association of Vietnam with the Vietnam War. Considering its variety, she said, each audience member will be enlightened with a different view.
“For parents, children and students, (it provides) knowledge of our heritage and our roots,” Nguyen said. “For those who aren’t Vietnamese, we want to share with them a little bit of our culture and show the good side instead of the bad side.”
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