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Mayor Jim Kenney 2 - Vietnamese Community 0
Time to Move On! The Hope for Raising The Yellow Flag on April 30 at the Philadelphia City Hall is Dead with Kenney.
In politics, it’s an unwise practice to fight against the wish of your constituents. However, in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney can play devil’s advocate for the Red flag in his last year as mayor. It’s mind-boggling that even after the City Council unanimously passed Bill 220244, Mayor Jim Kenney was still able to find a flaw in the wording of the bill and exercise his executive order to ban the raising of the Vietnamese Community of Philadelphia’s heritage and freedom Yellow Flag at the City Hall flagpoles on April 30, 2023. His action tells us he is in the driver’s seat for driving his interest – not for the good of his City’s constituents.
So I say, “Time to Move On” and stay away from the City Hall. “The hell with Mayor Jim Kenney.” Even his City Council’s unanimous vote of 14-0 has no bearing on his decision, and so neither do the Vietnamese constituents of this City. Again, I will say, “Politicians are sold to the highest bid!”, so we should abandon the hope that we might be able to persuade the new mayor regarding our Yellow Flag. It’s a wild-goose chase. It’s not worth it since we already had the “Kỳ Đài” at Penn’s Landing that our Yellow Flag can always fly alongside the American Flag with honor. Best of all, we do not have to lobby any politician whatsoever. So why do we have to kiss ass for trying to have just one day in the sun at the City Hall? Let his action speak for itself and be a lesson for all Vietnamese voters. It’s a wake-up call for us which party to vote for in the future Citywide elections.
We must recognize the unspoken truth that The Vietnamese Community of Philadelphia has never had the recognition it deserves and will never have. Our Vietnamese Community needs leaders with the ability and unwavering resolution to articulate when to deal with City Hall. During the last two City Council hearings, only one leader talked the talk and walked the walk while the other two were “No Show.” Their absences have demonstrated, time after time, that they were most determined and persistent in fighting communist singer ĐVH, but they cringed when fighting the City Hall.
Mr. Jim Kenney has been the Mayor of Philadelphia since January 2016, and the US State Department under President Bill Clinton has recognized the current government of Vietnam since July 1995. During his seven years as Mayor of Philadelphia, he had never had any issue with the Yellow Flag flying at the City Hall flagpoles on April 30. Naturally, the Vietnamese Community was shocked when Mayor Kenney had a change of heart. Little did he know that the Yellow Flag symbolizes the heritage identity and freedom of over 16,000 Vietnamese American voters in Philadelphia. The Vietnamese are exemplary constituents who have helped revitalize the economic depression in many sections of Philadelphia. In the past seven years, the significant economic impact we have seen along the corridor of Washington Avenue and the North Philly areas on Adams and Whitaker Avenues under Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration is undeniable. Then why did he do this to the Vietnamese Community, banning them from raising their heritage and freedom flag at the City Hall before he left politics for good? It was unconscionable! Mayor Jim Kenney has shown his true color. He picks the weakest opponent for an easy knock-out goodbye but turns a blind eye to the rampant gun violence and crimes under his administration. His horrible deeds will be his legacy. Mayor after mayor, the City of Brotherly Love is becoming the City of Lovely Haven for Criminals.
Thanks to the inclement weather on Friday, April 28, 2023, the City canceled the planned gathering of Vietnamese at the City Hall. Otherwise, it would be a mockery for the Vietnamese Community of Philadelphia to have to show up at the City Hall flagpoles and not be allowed to raise their heritage and freedom flag. It’s a blessing that we avoided the most humiliating insult to our Community if we didn’t have the blessing of Mother Nature for having rain three days in a row.
City Hall flagpoles are not an honored place for our Yellow Flag – “Kỳ Đài” at Penn’s Landing is.
Ta về ta tắm ao ta, dù trong, dù đục ao nhà vẫn hơn.
Bao nhiêu năm tha phương
Rồi cũng phải hồi hương
Tuân theo luật vô thường
Như “cá hồi” về nguồn
Chỉ để lại mớ xương.
Jim Huynh
Mayor Jim Kenney & Vietnamese Community of Philadelphia at The Crossroads (Bill No. 220244)
Virtual Written Testimonies Prior to The Public Testimony on March 2, 2023
Speech Statement of Mr. Quang Mac, Chairman of VACUSA.
The annual commemoration of Vietnamese people, the mourning day or Black April of April 30 marks into Vietnamese refugee community around the world as Chinese people commemorates the massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989 into Chinese community in Hong Kong and outside China’s mainland and, annually, Jewish people commemorates the Holocaust.
The Vietnamese people have never forgotten the Black April 30, 1975 .after the Viet Cộng terror attempted the last invasion to break the Paris Peace Accords signed on January 27,1973. It causes a millions Vietnamese people to flee to find freedom and escaped the inhumane regime. Despite the Vietnamese people lost the land but they bring the yellow flag with three red stripes and national spirit in the luggage of the Vietnamese people.
The Vietnamese refugees people overseas condemn :
– the Red flag with the yellow star of Viet Cộng. It’s not the original flag of Vietnamese people . Indeed, the Red flag represents the Communist as the pirate the Black flag with a white skull and two cross-bones in the days of yore.
From 1975, Viet Cộng has tried to remove the yellow flag with three red stripes by multiple malicious methods, but Viet Cong’s undercover activists and the henchmen failed because the yellow flag hanging into the heart of every Vietnamese people. The red flag digging up the mental health of Viet Cong victims in America. In conclusion, we can says that the Red flag of the Viet Nam Communist country to simplify for the cruelty, starvation and violence.
In the City of Philadelphia, the Vietnamese American community to work closely with the enforcement to keep safe and peace for all people who are enjoying to work hard to feed their family and pay taxes for the government. We don’t know why the yellow flag has been recognized by most of the State, City, County around the country but some individuals who have connected the Vietnam Communist party to destroy our good relationship with law enforcement as well as with the local, state and federal government to serve for different unit such as US General Lương Xuân Việt, scientist Dương Nguyệt Ánh who is a Vietnamese female to invent the bom for the US Army. In the present time, the Vietnamese people served in many fields of the US Army, Marine Corps, Air Forces , Ranger, Navy Seal etc.
Thank you all for your listening my testimony to day and I hope all of you will support a bill of resolution of Councilman At- Large David Oh.
God bless to all of you. God bless to America.
Testimony for Bill 220244 by Vicky Ung
President of the Vietnamese American Community in Philadelphia
February 3, 2023
I would like to thank the City of Philadelphia for allowing our community to display the South Vietnam Flag over the past several years. This simple but symbolic gesture should be continued. The South Vietnam Flag is the identity of the Vietnamese American Community. Recognizing it can acknowledge the contributions and experiences of nearly 16,000 Vietnamese American taxpayers. This is the same flag that flies high at Vietnamese American events, throughout the Vietnamese Business District, on 6th and Washington Avenue, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where it’s paired with the U.S. flag, and everywhere else in the city.
Besides paying taxes and being dutiful citizens, Vietnamese Americans have served in the US Army to defend our country. 20-year-old Quoc Anh Phung, from Philadelphia, is serving in the Navy, as seen in the picture below. Andy Tran, tied to Philadelphia, just took the oath and will serve in the Air Force in May 2023. Our Vietnamese American board member Vinh Ho served in the US Army during the 1990s. Sadly, Tung Nguyen, Du Tran, Binh Tran, and Dan Nguyen lost their lives in Iraq for America. The City should honor these finest Vietnamese American Servicemen and their origins by displaying the South Vietnam Flag.
58,000 servicemen died, and 1600 are still missing in action in Vietnam. Let’s raise the Yellow Flag at City Hall to pay homage to the bravery and service of Vietnam veterans and raise awareness for those still missing. Hopefully, someone someday will find and report a trace of a missing serviceman. We must not forget about them.
During the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese Philadelphians fought along with US servicemen. When the war ended, those who fought with or worked for the US were imprisoned and suffered years in communist re-education camps, where they nearly starved to death. They were stripped of their assets, citizenship, and entire way of life. The yellow flag symbolizes where we came from and our fight for a free society.
I am a survivor of the Vietnam war. For these survivors, the communist regime’s official red flag with a yellow star in the middle elicits anger and a profound sense of loss. I have heard too many stories of the communist regime’s abuses, which the Vietnamese government has never apologized for or formally acknowledged.
I urge you to pass Bill 220244 to allow the display of the South Vietnam Flag. We must recognize the historical and cultural significance of the Vietnamese Community and honor the sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and Vietnamese American Servicemen. We are grateful to Councilman David Oh for introducing Bill No. 220244.
Vicky Ung
To: City Council Members
From: John Scott McAllister February 3, 2023
I am writing this to strongly urge you to support Councilman At-Large David Oh’s Bill No. 220244.
I am a lifelong Philadelphian who is proud of our City and wants to see it thrive. I am also a US Marine Corps Captain and a Vietnam Veteran. I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which honors the 648 Philadelphia Servicemen who were killed in Vietnam.
At the Memorial we fly the American Flag and the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag (yellow with 3 red stripes) side-by-side every day to represent the shared service and sacrifice of the U.S. and ARVN Armed Forces. We ask that you do the same at your April 30 event. Flying the Heritage and Freedom Flag commemorates an historical event which the Vietnamese Community honors.
On April 30, we mourn the terrible losses sustained by the Vietnamese people during the war and the horrific treatment they received from the oppressive Communist regime after the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. We also commemorate the successful Journeys to Freedom made by the Philadelphia Vietnamese American Community. The following 20 min. video tells that story: PVVM.org/education.
In raising the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag at the Flag Raising Ceremony, you demonstrate that the Philadelphia City Council understands and appreciates the courage, heroism and endurance shown by the Philadelphia Vietnamese American Community in the face of tyranny and danger.
Besides their courage and thirst for freedom, allow me to share two other key things I’ve learned from my Vietnamese American friends. I’ve learned that the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag is a passionate symbol for Freedom lost and Freedom regained. And, I’ve learned about their heartfelt appreciation for Vietnam Veterans. One person expressed it this way, “We thank you for leaving your loved ones to come to our country and help ours.”
Since arriving in Philadelphia the Vietnamese American Community has asked for little but contributed much. The same generation of Vietnamese who came here with nothing, now thrives. They are our dentists, doctors and pharmacists, lawyers and business men and women. Education and hard work were stressed by these families. Consequently, their children have become the next generation of Vietnamese Americans to enter these professions. And, this virtuous cycle of contributing to the social and economic development of Philadelphia continues through the third generation.
The notion of flying the State Department recognized flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (red with yellow star) to commemorate April 30 is outrageous and hurtful. It is a painful insult to Vietnamese Americans. And, it dishonors the memory of the US and ARVN Veterans who served and died in Vietnam. I encourage you to do the right and honorable thing and fly the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag at future Flag Raising Ceremonies.
Thanks to the leadership of Councilman Oh and your own moral compass, I am confident that you will do the right thing.
To: City Council Members February 3, 2023
From: Anh N. Ly, DMD
Phone: (Removed for privacy)
Email: (Removed for privacy)
My name is Dr. Anh Ly, a practicing dentist and business owner in Philadelphia for 27 years. I am a proud Vietnamese American Citizen and a proud Philadelphia resident for 36 years.
Philadelphia is a wonderful metropolitan City with a diverse population which consists of many different ethnic groups including the Vietnamese Americans. As a community, we contribute significantly to the social and economic development of the City of Philadelphia. Now, Councilman Mark Squilla is very familiar with Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. How it is very commercially developed today and known as “Little Saigon” in Philly.
The Vietnamese Americans never forget the reason why we fled the communist regime. We couldn’t endure the oppression and the retaliation under the authoritarian government. We went through many hardships to gain our new found freedom. We truly appreciate and value the liberty and democracy America has offered its citizens. As a duty of American citizens and as a token of thanks, we vow to work hard to pay back to the American people who welcomed us with open arms and to pay back to this beautiful City which has been homes for so many fortunate immigrants. While embracing the new culture in America, we never forget our roots. We carry in our hearts the yellow flag with three red stripes which known as the heritage and freedom flags to the Vietnamese Americans who live abroad. It is important to the Vietnamese community to be able to honor the Yellow flag with three red stripes which represents the Vietnamese Overseas, particularly the Vietnamese Americans who live in Philadelphia and the Tri-state areas.
I sincerely urge the City Council Members to consider our wish to be able to, once again, fly our heritage flag at City Hall on April 30th every year, to commemorate our ancestors and to celebrate our cultural heritage. And last but not least, I would like to thank Councilman David Oh for sponsoring this bill.
Thank you all for the opportunity to express my testimony today.
Sincerely,
Anh N. Ly, DMD.
Thank you and Good Morning Mister Chairman, Council members, and Councilman Oh.
My name is Joseph Tran, current student and Student Body and Government President of PCOM (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) which includes 900 medical students and about 5000 graduate students of multiple health Allied Programs.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be speaking before you today representing both the Vietnamese American Community of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. The Vietnamese American community are people of immigrants and children of immigrants, including myself (many of whom are refugees) who have like many other groups throughout our nation’s history have come to call the United States our home in search of the same values all Americans hold dear which is Democracy, Freedom, and Opportunity.
Today, there are over 2 million Vietnamese Americans across the US, with almost 45,000 and 14,000 who call PA and Philly their home respectively. I am a 1st generation Vietnamese American who is proud to call Philly my home. Having been raised and living here my entire life, I am both grateful for the opportunity that both America and the city of brotherly love has given to both my family and myself. A place that gave my father (who is the President of the Vietnamese American Community of PA) the opportunity to pursue medicine again and for me to follow in his footsteps being a student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine where I currently serve as the Student Government President representing all of our fine medical and graduate students.
I come before you today in to support Councilman David Oh’s Bill 220244 and to ask for your support to implement a formal solution to recognize the Vietnamese American Heritage Flag as the official Flag of the Vietnamese American people and for the City Council to officially authorizing the support and raising of this ceremony flag on city flag poles. The Vietnamese Heritage Flag is more than a symbol of a people in diaspora. It is the embodiment of the values and struggles in the fight and name for freedom, equality, and democracy that over 60,000 American troops have sacrificed and spilled their blood for during the Vietnam War. A value that is shared by us as Americans and as free Vietnamese people. As a country and city that prides itself with diversity and the love of democracy. I humbly ask that this city council simply recognize this fact for our people as one of many groups that make up our great city and country.
Thank you again very much for your time and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Joseph Tran
President of Student Body and Government of PCOM
My name is Jim Huynh, a Vietnamese American and a resident of this City for over 39 years. I retire after nearly 26 years of service with the School District of Philadelphia. Recently, the City of Philadelphia, under the administration of Mayor Jim Kenney, has a change of heart not to allow the flag of the former Republic of South Vietnam to be raised on April 30, effectively 2023.
They reason that the City only raises the country flags that the U.S. State Department recognizes. As a member of Vietnamese American community, I wish to appeal the administration’s decision based on these facts:
1. The administration’s decision does not change the fact that the former Republic of South Vietnam’s flag symbolizes the freedom the U.S. had committed to defending after the Geneva Conference of 1954. The former Republic of South Vietnam’s flag has a yellow background with three red stripes. This flag has been the cultural identity of all Vietnamese American communities in the U.S. and worldwide since April 30, 1975.
2. It does not change that the U.S. had over two million servicemen rotated in and out of the Republic of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It resulted in over fifty-eight thousand U.S. casualties and hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers and disabled Vietnam Veterans.
3. Let’s not forget 648 Philadelphia sons lost their lives in Vietnam while helping to defend the ARVN flag as opposed to the red flag of the communist North Vietnamese that made Hanoi’s Hilton and the Battle of Khe Sanh infamous.
4. Let’s not forget that Edison High School lost 64 of its sons in the Vietnam War – the highest toll in all Philadelphia High Schools.
5. Let’s not forget that there are still over 1,200 POW-MIA whose remains have not been returned and hundreds of thousands of disabled Vietnam veterans still bearing their wounds.
6. Let’s remember March 29 has been our National Vietnam Veterans Day since 2017.
7. Let’s not forget Philadelphia is home to over 16,000 Vietnamese Americans – the most populous on the East Coast, who have contributed substantially to the City’s economic development in the early ’90, especially in the South neighborhood concentrated on Washington Avenue corridor, and North Philly’s Adams Ave and Roosevelt & Whitaker Ave.
8. Let’s not forget that Vietnamese Americans overwhelmingly voted Democrat in every city election and despised being marginalized for over 40 years in the City they call their hometown.
Therefore, for harmony and tranquility in our community, I urge The City of Philadelphia to do the right thing by allowing the former flag of the Republic of South Vietnam to fly again on April 30 at the City Hall.
Jim Huynh
Email: (Removed for privacy)
February 7, 2023
I received two verbatim statements directly from Mac Hong Quang and Vicky Ung. The other statements are from emails I received from individuals other than the authors. If there is any objection from any author, their right to privacy will be honored. Jim Huynh
These two bilingual videos of 8 minutes each will offer the most significant events about the history of Vietnam. The author will offer his unbiased perspective from a combat veteran in the Vietnam conflict who no longer holds any grudges or judgment after the war ended on April 30, 1975. He is at peace and offering his insights to Vietnamese people on why a large part of the population of the overseas Vietnamese in diaspora, and people in Vietnam are still haunted by the devastation of the war and the fateful day of April 30, 1975 -
The Fall of Saigon.
Audiences will find his verses gripping with thought-provoking sentiments that have impacted so many lives up to this day.
Love heals; hate kills.
TRUYỆN MẸ VIỆT NAM
1 Tôi có trăm đứa con giống Rồng Tiên.
Sau bốn ngàn năm máu lữa triền miên,
Tôi còn sót lại 96 triệu đứa.
Vài triệu đứa ra đi chịu thất hứa.
2. Nhớ thời xưa khi tôi còn con gái,
Thằng chệt Tàu xâm chiếm cưởng hôn tôi.
Hai con tôi Trắc, Nhị nổi thiên lôi,
Quyết sống chết cởi voi rừng đánh chệt. (40 AD)
3. Thân con gái làm sao mà chống được;
Lũ Hán Tàu, toàn mặc ngựa đầu trâu.
Hơn ba năm cầm cự cũng khá lâu,
Tàu đông quá, con tôi đành tuẫn tiết. (43 AD)
4. Ngô Quyền là đứa con trai tâm huyết,
Dù ngàn năm nó vẫn quyết trả thù.
Sông Bạch Đằng sẽ chôn chệt thật sâu, (938 AD)
Dưới tay nó tụi chệt Tàu sẽ sợ.
5. Lũ Hán Tàu với ngàn năm đô hộ, (111 BC – 938 AD)
Ép Mẹ đây lấy thằng chệt làm chồng.
Sau chệt Tàu lại đến mấy thằng Tây, (1857-1954)
Chúng thay nhau dày vò thân xác Mẹ.
6. Sau Thế Chiến II, tưởng đâu thoát nạn,
Rồi thằng Tây lại trơ trẻn trở về. (1946-1954)
Đuổi nó đi nhưng nó vẫn khinh chê,
Mẹ nổi giận quyết sống còn với nó.
7. Điện Biên Phủ quyết dạy thằng chó chết,
Mẹ bao vây pháo kích chúng liên miên.
Thằng Pháp thua nên tên Mỹ nhảy vô; (May 7, 1954)
Năm ’54 xé Mẹ thành hai mảnh. (July 20, 1954)
8. Đứa ngoài Bắc thì thiếu ăn thiếu mặc,
Nhưng tối về Bác dặn nhớ rình nhau.
Đứa trong Nam biết đùm bọc lẫn nhau,
Nên cuối tuần thì xi nê đá bóng.
9. Nhưng đời Mẹ gặp toàn điều bất hạnh,
Hòa bình đâu chỉ tạm được vài năm.
Lệnh Bác Hồ, đồng chí gởi vô Nam,
“Phải cố chiếm Miền Nam cho bằng được.”
10. Năm ’75 thân Mẹ được khâu lại. (April 30, 1975)
Giải phóng sao có đứa khóc đứa cười?
Đứa ngoài Bắc vô Nam để kiếm chác,
Đứa trong Nam thoát xác chạy ra khơi.
11. Mẹ hỏi con, “Bao đứa chết ngoài khơi? (Boat People 1978-1990)
Bao đứa mất trong rừng sâu nước độc?
Bao nhiêu đứa bị hải tặc cưỡng hiếp?
Bao nhiêu đứa phải cho cá ăn thây?”
12. Mẹ đớn đao chỉ vì con đau đớn,
Vượt biển khơi để được sống tự do.
Không bao lâu nay con lại âu lo,
Tụi chó chết giờ qua đây đánh phá.
13. Đàm Vĩnh Hưng chỉ là thằng tiểu tốt,
Dốt nát đầu phải đi hát kiếm ăn.
Đảng lăng xê dùng hắn để quốc doanh,
Qua Mỹ hát chỉ để ru ngủ trẻ.
14. Việt kiều trẻ dảy đầy đứa ngu dại,
Đầy Cali và đầy cả Phila.
Hắn qua đây sẽ bị hét với la,
Việt quốc gia thiếu gì người giữ lữa.
15. Ca nô Đàm chỉ là tên hát mướn,
Không ma mời thì nó hát cho ai?
Chống bầu show là một đá giết hai,
Chiến thuật ấy không bao giờ sai lạc.
Vết Thương Xưa Chưa Lành
16. Ca nô Đàm sao lâu rồi không thấy,
Vắng Bolsa và vắng cả Phila.
Mở chai beer cùng con mực nướng ra,
Nhưng bổng nghe Trí Quang vừa viên tịch. (Nov. 8, 2019)
17. Dân cư mạng đã bắt đầu rục rịch,
Đủ mọi điều thiên hạ viết ra vô.
Người Ki Tô đa số còn mến Ngô,
Ghét Trí Quang là Việt gian đầu trọc.
18. Đứa hoài Ngô thì nói ngang nói dọc,
Chưởi Trí Quang và thâm độc đủ điều.
Đến nổi ngài Quảng Đức phải tự thiêu, (June 11, 1963)
Đứa Ki Tô thì nói là thiêu sống.
19. Đứa Phật giáo thì A Di Đà Phật,
Để quả tim là sự thật thiêng linh.
Ngài tự thiêu không cần phải thanh minh,
Kẻ không thấy thì thưa cha lạy Chúa.
20. Mẹ thấy con mang hai ngài lên mạng,
Đem Chúa Trời và Đức Phật choảng nhau.
Hơn thua nhau vì muốn biết vàng thau,
Như đá bóng xem ai thua ai thắng?
21. Vừa đá xong thì Đắc Lộ la mắng,
“Không có tui chữ quốc ngữ ra mô!”
“Nhờ có tui ngươi mới biết Ki Tô.”
Tui vào trước mở đường thực dân Pháp. (1619-1630 & 1640-1646)
22. Nhờ Đắc Lộ con được thêm trình độ?
“O – U – I” là bài học đầu lòng.
Chẳng bao lâu không còn biết cha ông,
Hết Mô Phật con nghiên mình lạy Chúa.
23. Thực dân Pháp muốn con thành trâu ngựa,
Nên cố tình đô hộ Mẹ thật lâu.
Gần trăm năm nhẫn nhịn chẳng đến đâu, (1857-1954)
Nên Mẹ bảo Việt Minh đá đít chúng.
24. Nhưng tụi Pháp chúng vốn loài dã thú,
Mặc dù thua chúng vẫn muốn dây dưa.
Mang vô Nam với gần triệu tín đồ, (1954-1955)
Cùng Bảo Đại, con chiên, gia đình Diệm.
25. Một năm sau Diệm Ngô liền kiếm chuyện,
Truất phế Vua và đuổi Pháp về Tây. (1955)
Tự cho mình Tống Thống ngự trên mây, (1955-1963)
Mặc miền Bắc để cho Hồ cai trị.
26. Nhưng đời Mẹ gặp toàn điều bất hạnh,
Hòa bình đâu chỉ tạm được vài năm.
Lệnh Bác Hồ, đồng chí gởi vô Nam,
“Phải cố chiếm Miền Nam cho bằng được.”
27. Năm ’75 thân Mẹ được khâu lại. (April 30, 1975)
Giải phóng sao có đứa khóc đứa cười?
Đứa ngoài Bắc vô Nam để kiếm chác;
Đứa trong Nam thoát xát chạy ra khơi.
28. Mẹ hỏi con, “Bao đứa chết ngoài khơi?
Bao đứa mất trong rừng sâu nước độc?
Bao nhiêu đứa bị hải tặc cưỡng hiếp?
Bao nhiêu đứa phải cho cá ăn thây?”
Các Con Phải Tự Cứu Mình
29. Mẹ buồn chỉ biết bó tay,
Các con còn “sủa” như bầy chó hoang.
Chỉ vì tín ngưỡng của con,
Vẫn còn sùng bái giáo hoàng Roma.
30. Ghét thương xét lại lòng ta,
Dù rằng khác họ tuy xa mà gần.
Đồng hương nên thật ân cần,
Amen, Mô Phật, mộ phần Việt Nam.
31. Hay là số phận an bài,
Lý, Trần, Lê, Nguyễn, có ngày thành Xi.
Nếu không thức tỉnh tức thì,
Việt Nam xóa sổ còn gì con ơi.
32. Ngày xưa chống cộng bằng bom,
Ngày nay chống cộng bằng mồm bằng loa.
Khi nào hắn đến Phila,
Mau đem biểu ngữ chưởi cha thằng hề.
33. Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu,
Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng. (Kiều)
Độc lập hơn bốn mươi năm,
Sao ông nhà nước còn nằm với Hoa?
34. Giặc Tàu đã chiếm tới lề,
Sao ông còn ngũ mải mê chốn nào.
Việt Nam tỉnh lại cho mau,
Nâng cao dân trí cùng nhau giữ nhà.
35. Trước kia dại dột vô minh,
Chỉ vì không biết Lenin trá hình.
Nhưng nay đã biết thật tình,
Dứt ngay chế độ bất bình với dân.
36. Dân Việt là dân hào hùng,
Bao nhiêu thử thách ta cùng đứng lên.
Đuổi Tây, chống Mỹ, đánh Tàu,
Nhưng đừng dại dột đánh nhau suốt đời.
37. Triệu người dân Việt như tôi,
Mong sao dân chủ để tôi được về.
Mất cha mất mẹ đã lâu,
Nếu quê hương mất làm trâu suốt đời.
Mẹ Việt Nam
April 30, 2020
Ngẫm thay muôn sự tại trời
Đã mang lấy nghiệp vào thân
Cũng đừng trách lẫn trời gần trời xa
Thiện căn ở tại lòng ta
Chữ tâm kia mới bằng ba chữ tài
Lời quê chắp nhặt dông dài
Mua vui cũng được một vài trống canh.
(Kiều – Nguyễn Du)
Sao Vẫn Còn Ngu
Đồng chí sao vẫn còn ngu,
Bốn mươi năm vẫn cầm cu tụi Tàu.
Khôn nhà dại chợ khác nào,
Dân nghèo thì đánh, còn Tàu thì khao.
Nghìn năm không đủ hay sao?
Hoàng Sa quần đảo biết bao anh hùng.
Hy sinh chiến đấu đến cùng,
Thà liều tử mạng, anh hùng noi gương.
Đồng chí nhìn thử trong gương,
Xem mình có giống dân thường hay không?
Dân nghèo moi kiếm từng đồng,
Các ông đồng chí, ngồi không đếm tiền.
Chỉ giỏi ăn hiếp dân hiền,
Tham nhũng hối lộ, đồng tiền của dân.
Đồng chí như thế là đần,
Khôn nhà dại chợ nên cần nghe đây.
Ta khuyên đồng chí thế này,
Để dân yêu nước được ngày tự do.
Cho dân phản đối thật to,
Tàu cộng mới nễ, sợ lo dân mình.
Không như đồng chí nín thinh,
Bởi vậy Tàu cộng động tình tiến xa.
Trường Sa là đất của ta,
Nếu không quyết giữ, chắc là mất luôn.
Viet Philly
Mùa Xuân 2015
Kỷ Niệm “40 Năm Tha Hương”
THE TALE OF MOTHER VIETNAM
1. I had 100 children born from the legend “Rồng Tiên.”
After 4,000 years of upheaval with frequent blood and fire,
I survived with 96 million children of mine.
Millions of them have left me with guilt they couldn’t hide.
2. When I was a young girl two millennia ago,
The brutal Chinese conqueror forced me to become his mate.
My two girls, “Trắc and Nhị,” blew up with thunderous rage,
Charging their elephants to butcher those barbaric faces. (40 AD)
3. How much more strength could my two girls need,
To fight off the Han Chinese advancing like savage beasts.
The heroic sisters’ revolt held them off for three years,
Hopelessly outnumbered, my girls ended their lives without fear. (43 AD)
4. Ngô Quyền, my dearest son whom I put to the task,
To rise for vengeance even after a thousand years had passed.
Vowing to turn “Bạch Đằng River” into a Chinese burial place. (938 AD)
Knowing his resolve, the Chinese couldn’t hide their shivering faces.
5. I endured a thousand years under China’s rule. (111 BC – 938 AD)
They passed me around as their favored mate.
After Chinese hands, then came Frenchmen. (1857-1954)
Taking their turn, they soiled my body, hand after hand.
6. After World War II, I thought my ordeal was over,
But the shameless Frenchmen returned to claim me forever. (1946-1954)
“Go away French!” But they looked at me with disdain,
Enraged, do-or-die! I drew up my battle plan.
7. Điện Biên Phủ! Here I come to teach those bastards.
I surrounded and bombarded them with artillery fire.
France surrendered, then the U.S. intervened. (May 7, 1954)
On July 20, 1954, they cut my body in half at the parallel 17th.
8. My Northern children endured scanty rations of food and clothing.
By nightfall, “Uncle Hồ” reminded them to keep watching.
The Southern children learned to help and protect each other,
Awaiting weekends for movies and soccer games in the offer.
9. But Mom’s life was still laden with misfortunes.
Peace was short-lived, in just a few years, then out of tune.
“Go South!” Uncle Hồ ordered his weary troops,
“Take over the South by any means in the Red Book.”
10. On April 30, 1975, my body was sewed back into one piece.
“Liberation!” But why did one half sob and the other half laugh?
The Northern children charged into the South to claim their precious loot.
The Southern ones scrambled to the sea without one last look.
11. Mom asked, “How many died in the vast sea? (Boat People 1978-1990)
How many perished in the unsympathetic jungles?
How many girls and women were savagely raped?
And how many bodies became treats for the fish?
12. I agonize because my children are tormented.
They were braving the rough sea for a life of breathing free.
Their peaceful lives are now in jeopardy,
Those bastards are here to trouble us.
13. Đàm Vĩnh Hưng is the most hated name.
The brainless barber first sings for food and now for fame.
The communist party thanks him for its financial gains,
When he sings lullabies for his feckless fans.
14. For crying out loud, so many “Việt Kiều” foolish youths.
They’ve been flooding California and now Philadelphia.
When he comes, he will face shouts and jeers,
And the “Anti-communist flame” many Vietnamese hold dear.
15. The VC hummer is a singer for hire.
If there weren’t promoters, we wouldn’t waste our time.
Deterring them is like using a stone to kill two birds,
This tactic always works if we stop show-promoters first.
The Old Wound Reinfected
16. It’s great that the VC hummer hasn’t made any sound.
His whereabouts are nowhere to be found.
So, I grabbed a beer and a roasted squid – a time to relax,
Suddenly came the news, “Tri Quang” had breathed his last. (Nov. 8, 2019)
17. Vietnamese netizens had already begun their commotion,
Allegations and long-simmering hatred finally broke loose.
Zealous Diệm’s supporters couldn’t hide their glee,
Accusing Tri Quang, a communist-disguised Buddhist monk, was he?
18. Those who were no longer able to hold their boiling temper,
Beginning to spew malice at Trí Quang’s death to release their anger.
Some reviling Quảng Đức’s decades-old self-immolation protest
And alleging that he was barbecued alive by punk Buddhist monks.
19. Buddhists continued their chanting, “A Di Đà Phật.”
They believed in the miraculous heart relic that Quảng Đức left behind.
The self-immolation monk had fulfilled his sacrifice. (June 11, 1963)
While Catholics bowed their heads, “Yes, Father and Dear God.”
20. Mother saw that you take your Gods to the internet,
Using Jesus and Buddha to settle your scores.
You wanted to prove your God is gold and the other’s brass.
The same way you placed bets in a soccer match.
21. Alexandre de Rhodes scolded us in a flash:
“Without me, you Vietnamese wouldn’t have written language.
Because of me, you’ve followed Jesus and Christianity.
I’d paved the way for Vietnam to become France’s colony.
22. Thanks, but no thanks, Alexandre de Rhodes!
“Oui, Monsieur,” O – U – I was our first lesson.
In a little while, we forgot our ancestral instructions.
Some stopped “Mô Phật” and began “Amen” to God.
23. The Frenchmen wanted us to become their buffaloes and horses.
They colonized us for their Mother Imperial France.
One hundred years exhausted the patience in my plan.
Mom rallied Việt Minh to rise and kick their butts.
24. But the Frenchmen kept acting like savage beasts,
Continued to patronize Vietnam after their surrender at Điện Biên Phủ.
Finally, they made a pact to head South with a million Viets,
Among them were Emperor Bảo Đại and the Catholic clan of Diệm.
25. After one year, Diệm found faults with the Emperor,
Forcing Bảo Đại to abdicate and showing Frenchmen the door. (1955)
Naming himself president of the Republic of South Vietnam (1955-1963)
While Uncle Hồ ruled the communist North with a ruthless hand.
26. But Mom’s life was still laden with misfortunes.
Peace was short-lived, in just a few years, then out of tune.
“Go South,” Uncle Hồ ordered his weary troops,
“Take over the South by any means in the red book.”
27. On April 30, 1975, my body was sewed back into one piece.
“Liberation!” But why did one half sob and the other half laugh?
Northern children charged into the South to claim their precious loot.
The Southern ones scrambled to the sea without one last look.
28. Mom asked, “How many died in the vast sea?
How many perished in the unsympathetic jungles?
How many girls and women were savagely raped?
And how many bodies became treats for the fish?
You Must Learn to Save Yourself
29. Mom’s sad and does not know what else to do.
You, children, snarl at each other like a pack of wolves.
Because of the rigid Roman Catholic religious doctrine,
You continue to feud with Buddhism — saying it’s bad faith.
30. Both hatred and love come from your heart.
Although you are not related by blood, you are all my children.
Fellow countrymen should treat each other with understanding.
For graveyards in Vietnam, you only see “Amen” and “Mô Phật.”
31. Children! Your fate may have been sealed.
Lý, Trần, Lê, and Nguyễn could soon become Xi.
If you don’t wake up before it’s too late,
Vietnam will begin its new colonial fate.
32. During the Vietnam War, you killed each other with bombs.
Today, you settle old scores with mouths and loudspeakers.
“Down with Vietnam communism!” whenever the VC singer appears.
“Đả Đảo Việt Cộng” loudly so he can hear.
33. Nature had its tussle between the sea and mulberry valleys.
So had our societal scuffle lamented our hearts. (The Tale of Kieu)
Independence has been with us for more than forty years.
Why you’re still in bed with China — are they your peers?
34. The Chinese army has marched toward our doorstep,
And why are you still deep in your fucking sleep?
Vietnam, arise from your damn slumber!
Arm your people with the resolve to defend your borders.
35. It was your ignorance that Mom couldn’t undo.
You didn’t know that Lenin was a master of disguise.
But now you know how bad communism has been.
Wake up and undo the mistreatment of your kin.
36. Vietnamese people are known for their bravery.
They always stand up to face any mighty enemies.
Fighting China, defeating France, sending home Yankees,
But don’t be an asshole to fight each other for the world to see.
37. Millions of Vietnamese people like me,
Longing for homecoming under Vietnam’s democracy.
Losing parents – we all do long time ago,
But by losing our country – we’ll become buffaloes for life.
Mother Vietnam
April 30, 2020
With Heaven Rest All Things
We create our karma–
Let’s stop decrying Heaven’s whims and quirks.
Inside us, there lies the root of all things,
And a good heart outweighs all talents one has.
May these crude words that are carefully culled
Beguile an hour or two of your long night.
(The Tale of Kiều’s excerpt)
Footnotes:
Rồng Tiên: The Sea Dragon and Mountain Fairy legend
Việt Kiều: Overseas Vietnamese
Lửa chống cộng: Anti-communist flame
Bầu show: Show promoters
Đàm Vĩnh Hưng: A Vietnamese communist party member and singer
Bolsa: Bolsa Ave in Little Saigon, Westminster, CA
April 30, 1975: The government of the Republic of South Vietnam collapsed.
Uncle Hồ: Hồ Chí Minh
Ngô Đình Diệm: The first President of the Republic of South Vietnam
Trắc & Nhị: The two-sister heroines of Vietnam.
Ngô Quyền: A Vietnamese general who defeated the Chinese and became Emperor of Vietnam.
Bạch Đằng River: North of today’s Hai Phong, Vietnam
Alexandre de Rhodes: French missionary
Lý, Trần, Lê, Nguyễn: Common Vietnamese last names
Xi: for Xi JingPing – President of China
Bảo Đại: The last Emperor of Vietnam.
Mô Phật: Vietnamese Buddhist greetings
Trí Quang & Quảng Đức: Two Vietnamese Buddhist monks known for their anti-Diem regime.
