PIVOT Statement: April 30th
/April 30, 2024
This April 30th, 2024 marks the 49th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Plans are already being made to commemorate the 50th anniversary next year. It is a bittersweet time when we mourn the loss of one country and celebrate the rebuilding of meaningful lives in another. That is the fate of the refugee, to look back with regret and to look forward with hope.–
On the 50th anniversary, what will we look back at and what can we look forward to? The answer lies in what we do during the 49th anniversary because 2024 is an election year. We know that the Vietnamese refugees—our parents and grandparents as well as many of us— who left in 1975 and later were seeking freedom, security, and opportunity. If Donald Trump wins the Presidential election, we risk losing the democracy that many risked their lives to reach. If Donald Trump is victorious, there will be more anti-Asian racism and proliferation of guns threatening the safety of our families. If Donald Trump becomes President again, our children will face a world with limited freedoms and diminished economic and educational opportunities. Will they look at us one day and ask why we did not do everything we could to prevent this from happening?
It is amazing that Vietnamese Americans have become an integral part of life in the U.S. We contribute to all facets of society doing all kinds of work. We have done this in spite of or perhaps because of our humble beginnings as refugees because we have worked hard and not run away from challenges.
The progressive Vietnamese Americans allied with PIVOT will not run away from this challenge and will do everything in our power to prevent a person who is currently facing 88 criminal counts from being the leader of the United States. We will not stand on the sideline and expect others to work to prevent a person who has stated clearly that he wants to be a dictator should he become President again. We will not look back and regret losing another country.
Join us in the fight for the future the original Vietnamese refugees risked their lives for. That is how we can honor and commemorate them.
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