NEW YORK, MARCH 18TH: On Saturday March 12th, there was an unusual event at TA Vietnamese restaurant in San Jose, California. It was the first ever Vietnamese-Tibetan event, a special dinner and concert organised by Mrs. Bickieu Pham, a member of the Vietnamese community, with the support of the Office of Tibet NY. The event, called Friendship In Exile, was intended to promote friendship and cooperation between the two communities and to help raise funds among Vietnamese supporters for the Tibetan Association of Northern California’s new community center as well as Tibetan community of New York and New Jersey. Around 300 people, mostly Vietnamese guests as well as a few Tibetans from the TANC executive board and community, attended the dinner.
The well-known Vietnamese performers were singer and actress Ms. Thanh Lan, who is extremely popular in her native Vietnam, and singer Anh Tuan. They were joined by Chaksampa, a popular band formed by veterans of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts who specialize in traditional Tibetan music, especially Nangma-Toeshay. A Vietnamese youth group from the community as well as a Tibetan group from TANC’s weekend Tibetan school performed traditional Vietnamese and Tibetan dance numbers for the audience. Clips of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a video about the Tibetan community were shown during the event.
The organisers had also invited monks from Gyuto Monastery to bless the event with their presence, and to chant the offering prayer for the evening dinner. Representative Mr Lobsang Nyandak, who thanked the organisers as well as the guests for their invaluable support in his after-dinner address, stressed that the Vietnamese and the Tibetans share a common political background of persecution by the Communists, and should cultivate friendship and solidarity among their people.
Like the Tibetans who fled to exile in India, the Vietnamese came to the United States as refugees following the end of the Vietnam War. One of the four initial refugee centers was in California, and in Oakland today, where the Tibetan community is primarily based, Little Saigon district is entirely Vietnamese.
Mrs Bickieu Pham, the primary organiser and a devotee of His Holiness, said, “Vietnamese and Tibetans have much to share and learn from each other. The Vietnamese community and the Tibetan community are going through the same challenges of maintaining their culture and language. I was happy to do what I can to help.” Mr Kaydor Aukatsang, President of TANC, said, “This event was the first community cultural event that brought together Tibetans and Vietnamese Americans who share growing cultural ties. We look forward to a good relationship with the Vietnamese community in future.”
The event raised $20,963, of which half will be donated to the Tibetan Community of Northern California and half will be donated to the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey.
