Be Dau conference causes controversy

Screams of "Communists get out of San Francisco!" by anti-Communist protesters in front of McKenna Theatre last Wednesday failed to deter people from attending an event being held inside for the Be Dau conference on "Viet Nam and America 1995."

The conference, which opened Oct. 11, covered issues surrounding Vietnam's historical perspective, Vietnamese-American culture and concerns of American war veterans.

Most of the 85 protesters outside the theater were members of the Committee of Vietnamese-Americans to Protect the Nationalist Cause of Northern California.

According to group organizer Douc Nguyen, the committee believes that the conference dilutes the truth about freedoms in Vietnam under the existing communist government.

"We are protesting because many of the people here didn't live in Vietnam since 1975, when communism took over," Nguyen said. "We have experience living in a country under a dictator."

The event going on during the protest was a play by Ink & Blood, an organization hoping to expose Americans to Vietnamese culture and open more dialogue between the two countries, said Viet Nguyen, a founding member.

"A lot of people here don't know the history of Vietnam, but that of the war, and the view is usually skewed," he said.

The conference, which lasted three days, was funded by the office of SF State President Robert A. Corrigan, the San Francisco Foundation, the College of Humanities and the Franciscan Shops.

Chuong Chung, an associate professor of Asian American studies who hosted a film on Thursday, believes the conference will reduce stereotypical images of Vietnam.

"I want people to know more about Vietnam as a country, not as war, destruction or a land of refugees," he said. "I want to see more understanding between the Vietnamese and the United States."

Maceo May, director of housing for Swords To Plowshares, a veteran's organization in San Francisco, held a session about the issues American minorities dealt with after the war.

"We'll look at how minority communities relate to the Vietnamese community," May said. "It's important for us to coalesce -- when issues affect blacks, they affect all minorities in America."

May wants to address how the war has influenced many minorities in this country.

"We generally have not involved the community in any history. When I speak at high schools and colleges I ask, 'what do you know about Vietnam?' It's mostly minorities, the black and Latino kids who know something, because their relatives -- a father, cousin or uncle -- fought in the war," he added.

Director of Public Affairs Ligeia Polidora said the exchange of ideas is one of SF State's goals.

"The conference is really trying to bring several groups together, including American veterans and Vietnamese Americans, to begin a dialogue -- and hosting dialogue is what the university does," she said.

Several people involved in the protest believe one of the reasons the conference is being held at SF State is because young Vietnamese Americans are susceptible to believe any message about Vietnam.

"They try to lure young Vietnamese in the United States because they believe they don't remember anything about the war," Douc Nguyen said.

Nguyen believes there is no freedom left in Vietnam -- so whatever views and opinions Vietnamese bring to the campus, it is still controlled by the government.

Chung believes otherwise.

"I can understand their [the protesters] feelings, they've gone through so much with leaving their country," Chung said. "But, I don't think young Vietnamese Americans are stupid -- many of them have returned to Vietnam."

Kim La, an Asian American studies major at SF State, said that both sides should move on.

"I want change -- if we don't open up, there can't be any change," she said. La also agrees with protesters, based on her own experience.

"When I wanted to go to a Vietnamese university, they traced my whole family history, back to my grandparents, but it's not like that here," said La. "In Vietnam right now, there is a little more freedom, but there is still a problem."

Santa Clara University student Tuan Nguyen says that most young Vietnamese Americans living here don't have to deal with culture and history in Vietnam right now.

"It's a sad thing, but after Vietnamese have been here 15 to 20 years, they don't speak Vietnamese -- the family life is different," he said.

He also believes that with elders trying to put the past behind them, mainstream views of the war are young adults' only source of information.

"A lot of what they've learned is from the United States and Oliver Stone's movie," he added.

Lieu Ma, who came to protest the conference, said Vietnamese American ignorance is what communists want.

"It's like planting a tree -- and the fruit is ready, then they pick the fruit," she said.

Chung says hopefully the two groups can come together.

"I can understand their feelings -- they've gone through so much and unless you've been through it, it's hard to understand," he said. "I hope someday in the future we can sit down and have a dialogue."

[ Golden Gater Online October 17, 1995 ]

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