Start a Love Trend

After 4 months of washing my clothes by hand, I cracked and went to the laundromat today. When I first arrived, the shelter was housing about 34 residents. Now there are 46, if not close to 50. I really enjoy hand-washing, but there's limited space to dry.

I also have less time to hand-wash. Cha Cuong (Father Cuong) is visiting the states for two months. This man does so much for the shelter. I am in awe of how much time and thought he puts into the messages we send to the survivors. We love him and miss him dearly and wish him safe travels. The shelter has 10 classes a week, morning and afternoon sessions. Cha Cuong teaches about 3/4 of the classes. I'm helping to cover some of his slots plus the ones I teach already. In total I teach Computers, Art (not to be confused with arts and crafts), Dance (hip hop and salsa), facilitate 2 support groups, and teach two English classes, a beginner and more advanced. I'm learning a lot about lesson planning, how to communicate effectively, what topics survivors of human trafficking find boring, and how to make boring things more exciting.

Tomorrow there's a big protest. Should be 1000 people gathered at the Council of Labor Affairs to protest the domestic workers not being included in laws that mandate a day of rest every week. Currently, domestic workers and caregivers are expected to work 7 days a week, which is why we call it SLAVERY. They are treated like machines and regardless if they get sick, they are forced to keep working.

I appreciate humor more than ever at the VMWBO. I tutor two young men English. Each has lost a hand, and finding a job in Vietnam will be much easier if they can speak basic English. I try to make the lessons relevant so they're easier to remember. For a week I had taught Minh, "I have a girlfriend. Her name is Hang. She is beautiful. She likes the color yellow." During Hope's English class, which I do interpretation for, Hope pointed to a young girl and asked, "Who is this?" Everyone replied, "She is Hang." Then another voice shouted quite clearly, "She is my girlfriend. She is beautiful!" Without a doubt it was Minh, bolder and badder than ever. I was quite proud, and the other 45 students had a good long laugh.

Conclusion: I love my life. I love teaching. I love sharing my life and the time and space it's in with the survivors. I even love doing laundry. Perspective is a beautiful thing. To everyone else at the shelter, that girl is Hang. To Minh, she is his sunshine. And we all could use a little more of that.

*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
*Photo: Cha Cuong and myself at his birthday party! Party on down, Cha!

What You Say and How You Say It

One of my biggest challenges in Taiwan has been discovering how to work effectively with service providers in the NGO world. Strong personalities are drawn to this type of work, so at times I find myself at odds with those who have the same goals as I do -- protecting and fighting for human rights.

Many social workers, case workers, administrative staff and the people who manage the aforementioned people fight so hard for clients that sometimes I think it leads to them fighting with the people who are on the same side of the fence with them. It becomes one big fight for power and control that results in service providers who are tired and unhappy.

Lately, I've been caught up in this vicious cycle; I'm not a fan. It makes this type of work that is already hard even harder. I have to remind myself why I came to the VMWBO in the first place. I have to remember that communication friction, while it slows people down, reminds me how human we are -- how flexible or rigid we can become depending on our environment. Being human is a good thing. I firmly believe life would be meaningless without these trip-ups, these social hiccups.

Knowing how to speak a language, Mandarin, Vietnamese, English, is not even half of the communication battle. Just because you speak another language well, doesn't always result in a understanding between people. Effective communication is hard! Somedays, when there is a discrepancy on how to get an objective accomplished, I struggle to manage the strong personalities in this line of work, including my own. Service providers need their problems listened to and compassion extended to them as much as the residents of VMWBO. We are bridge-builders, are we not?

While my skills are not being used the way I'd like and I have to get breathing room more often than normal, I remember I'm in Taiwan. I consider this a lesson learned. And there's always 'running it off 'on my nightly exercise head-clearing trots.

Depression: A Common Mental Health Issue Among Survivors of Human Trafficking

Link to the video I made for the Human Trafficking Awareness Event in San Diego. It's the first time I used my mac, so it's not the most riveting footage, especially because I can't show the shelter and people here due to safety issues. Little secret, but because I felt uncomfortable talking to myself on the computer I talked to a stuffed animal as my inanimate interviewer. :)

The topic of the vid is a summary of mental health concerns for survivors of human trafficking.

Hey Everyone,

This is Anthony (Vinh) Nguyen, VietACT's 2007 Intern and current Coordinator for our International Internship Program. Thank you for reading our VietACT Intern Blog and supporting Calix in her efforts in combating human trafficking at the VMWBO in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

I just wanted to extend an invitation to those in the San Diego area about an upcoming anti-human trafficking event taking place this Saturday. The event is entitled "Human Trafficking Awareness Night", a "Call to Action" type event, collaboratively hosted by the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance of San Diego (http://www.vayasd.org/), the Vietnamese Student Association of UCSD (http://vsasd.org/), and the Vietnamese Student Association of SDSU (http://www.vsa-sdsu.org/).

The event will be held on the campus of UCSD (Multi-Purpose Room) on Saturday November 21, 2009 (door opens at 6:00 PM with the event starting at 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM). The first hour will feature speakers from VietACT (http://www.vietact.org/) and BSCC (www.bsccoalition.org/) along with performances by Viet Mai (Spoken Words) and Trinity (monologue). The second hour will feature various "Action Stations" where audiences can make greeting cards to the victims/survivors of human trafficking, take a photo for VietACT's "Not For Sale" Campaign, write a letter to Congress to support legislation against human trafficking, and MUCH more.

Bring a roll of Yarn or any Knitting tools you have for the cause. Calix will be using the yarn/knitting tools to start a new "Knitting Workshop" so that the people at the shelter can make something warm to wear for the winter season ahead. Your donation is deeply appreciated. Hoping to see everyone at the event. Thanks! And keep reading the blog everyone! Thanks Calix for your inspiring updates!

Saturday November 21: VAYA/UCSD-VSA/VSA-SDSU presents "Human Trafficking Awareness Night" @ Multi-Purpose Room / UCSD (UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla, CA 92093). (6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, Doors Open @ 6:00 PM). Facebook Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=167965752877&index=1.

Scrambled Eggs

Dear Readers,

I have been in the Philippine Islands (PI) the last week, feeding my soul and taking a break from the intensity in Taiwan. It is important to practice and model the ideas of balance, self-care, and humane work practices that we promote to folks living at the VMWBO shelter. These are basic human rights every person deserves. Survivors of human trafficking are used to working to the point of exhaustion and receiving short 5-10 minute eating breaks, where they suck down the tiny meals they are given. Digestive issues and kidney stones are common phyisical complications. Therefore, as a shelter resident/worker, I still honor my rest time. Survivors observe me working very hard, but also witness me applying boundaries and limits to my work habits. I take intentional breaks, excercise, and make time to relax and just 'be' with folks. Good work performance is married to a happy, wholesome lifestyle. It is a human right to be happy and content.

My co-worker, Hope, and I have been jarred by over 15 cases of possible HTing in the PI while walking along the sandy white beaches. White men who look to be in their 40s courting very youthful looking girls. In my disgust I have spoken both incredulously and loudly while passing them such phrases as "are you serious?!?" and "what's that old man doing with a 17 yr old?" I didn't want to get banned from the beach, but I could not be silent. Those men should feel shame for exploiting Filipinas struggling to survive poverty. These men serve a critical role in the perpetuation of modern-day slavery; they provide a demand for which a supply is then created.

I spotted this man in the water with a Filipina who looked to be about 15 or 16.

Noticing me photographing him, he hid his face like a coward.

***************

H1N1 has been in the detention centers for 2 weeks. We can't go in due to exposure and safety regulations. Hope and I were disappointed, because the 1-2 hours the 130 men and women spend with us each week is the only time they get to leave their cells for recreation. This is the only time they get to be treated with humanity and dignity all week. We have prepared another hip hop dance routine to teach them, but it will have to wait. There will be joy in the DCs again soon.

***************

I have been offering one-on-one counseling and support services for sexual abuse cases survivors experiencing depression, PTSD, dysthymia, and substance abuse. Additionally, I facilitate two support groups, which every resident at the shelter is invited to attend. They are separated by gender to provide culturally-appropriate safe spaces for people to discuss topics they are currently facing. Support is gained by practicing self-care techniques such as deep breathing and meditation. Also, playing games like emotional charades helps them develop 'emotional vocabularies' to express themselves when processing their stories of traumas.

It is thrilling to be witness to the communities of support that the women and men are learning to create for themselves. Discussions in support groups opens their worlds up to other ways of living. It assists them in accessing internal revenues of resources, meanwhile giving me the opportunity to praise and honor them for their perseverance. Most of them have never received positive reinforcement, an unfortunate stereotype of VNese culture. The women especially make negative remarks about their bodies, their intellect and their worth. Of course, my goal is not to impose a Western way of thinking on them. I use ideas that I believe to be effective for people who are experiencing turmoil combined with sensitive understanding of VNese cultural norms. Combining these two crucial elements, I am able to offer healing however big or small in their lives. Thus, ideas of mental health and emotional healing/coping are able to transcend Vietnamese and Taiwanese cultures. This work is extremely trying at times in a context where the survivors all have to manage living together.

In future posts, I will be sharing my thoughts on confidentiality standards, power dynamics, gender-specific mental health concerns, physio-emotional problems, and transnational complications within the context of the VMWBO. Although mental health/healing has had to be teased out, creativity and flexibility are helping to shape it's unique presence at the shelter. We are consistently learning, peeling back the layers of an onion. I remain hopeful.

Refreshed and Inspired,
Calix

Forever Young

Last week, a boy age 21 showed up to the shelter. He struck me immediately. He is thin and wiry but on the taller side. He has a stunted mustache that gives him character. His eyes light up with curiosity when you talk to him. Any stranger could tell that this kid brings happiness to others with his energetic smile because on a face that young, those smile creases mean he's been eating up life.

Waiting for my Vietnamese lesson with Cha, I came over to him to welcome him. I admit, I was curious about him, because I've been conditioned to identify the new folks as the fearful looking ones who look at me like I'm another life form because I open my mouth and English flows out. We had a brisk but meaningful 10 minute conversation as I welcomed him to the shelter. There was something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but I took an instant liking to him.

A couple hours later in the darkness enveloping our shelter, I walked out to the asphalt area to take in some evening air to think about my long, tiring, fulfilling day. After a few minutes, a cell phone light went off a few feet next to me and I realized I hadn't seen Hung, the young man, chilling out next to me. He smiled his infectious smile and handed me a can of Mr. Coffee and a pack of cigarettes from 7-eleven. In the darkness, as he handed me these items, I realized two thing. One, his hand was injured, missing 4 fingers. The large swollen area on his palm was from a skin graft. The doctor was luckily able to use skin from Hung's thigh to cover the area where a faulty machine had obliterated his hand. I hadn't noticed the injury earlier, because his shining personality had made it hard to notice anything else. The other epiphany which had stumped me earlier was that Hung reminded me of my own 21 year old brother, his demeanor, his smile, his zest for life...but mostly, his big heart. For the first time in Taiwan, I truly, deeply missed home -- the home that isn't a place, rather, the home that's made special by the people who fill your heart with laughter and fuzzy memories. I missed my family.and felt the distance of the oceans between us.

I asked Hung why he was giving me those items and he replied that one, I looked tired, and two, I could probably use a cigarette, a whole pack. In my mind I kept hearing, "But I just met you and you shouldn't be spending money on me." Instead, I insisted he should use the items for himself. He was adamant, "Don't worry about it. Money is money. One day you have it, the next day you don't. I see how much you help people here and I want to do something nice for you."

It was decided. It would have been crushing for him had I not accepted his gesture. I opened the Mr. Coffee and took in a generous gift from a boy I had known for only two hours, but I insisted that we smoke the pack together over the next week. He might have seen me tearing up, and I'm ok with that. We're all - here and overseas - suffering in some way. Feeling is part of the human condition, right? For some it's emotional. For this boy it's also physical, yet, in the midst of the chaos of my day this young man stepped into my life to remind me that the fountain of goodness, the well of caring in humans is inextinguishable. For that evening we were a couple of folks sharing our stories that brought us to Taiwan, missing our families, by the faint light of two cigarettes.

*Hung is a fictional name to protect confidentiality.
*Permission was given by man in photo for me to post it.
*Neither this writer nor VietACT endorse the use of cigarettes.

Made by Hand with Love

Dear Readers,

I apologize sincerely that it has been 21 days since my last post. The month started off with a program that staff and myself labored heavily on for Tet Trung Thu (Full Moon Autumn Festival, a Vietnamese holiday focused on children). There are many Vietnamese brides -- VNese women who marry TWese men usually to escape poverty or make money through the marriage and send the money to their needy families back in VN. In short, these women have sold themselves into some form of slavery or bondage in hopes for a better life. The prep involved two weeks of intensive planning, labor to make the many intricate star lanterns, and adhesive, lots and lots of adhesive. I just remember having sticky fingers, chasing down glue in the office, taping this, sticking something to that for days. I cannot emphasize enough that over 50 lanterns were made by hand with nothing more than poles of bamboo fresh out the ground, butcher knives, wire, and cellophane. One has to ask, with such clever, creative, industrious people, how severe living conditions must be in Vietnam that they are unable to survive and instead become entrenched in a system of compelled work overseas?

Over all, it was a hugely successful program and the first of its kind at the shelter. The TWese government, recognizing all the amazing work we do at the VWMBO, helped fund the program. It was a pleasure to help on a project that hopefully is helping the VNese brides retain some of their culture for their children and assist in community building among VNese in TW.

After working 8 days straight, I took a well deserved mini-break with my co-worker in Thailand, which is another reason you haven't heard from me for a bit. The very day we got back, we prepped for the next day's work in the detention center. Split between my activities in the DC and the VMWBO office, I haven't had time to sit and process, to write. I talked it over with myself and made a plan for carving out time to chronicle what has been going down over here. Much has happened. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll be in touch soon.

A mini preview: Thai adventures, teaching hip hop routines in the detention center, case of 5 women receiving big media attention at the shelter, typhoons, 12 new beds at the shelter, therapeutic discoveries, and unexpected goodbyes.

Eye Contact

A very kind man with a deformed hand at the shelter showed me a 5 minute video from inside the very factory where his hand was mangled in a metal working machine. The real live version in comparison with dramatization videos on human trafficking is, unfortunately, bleaker and more sobering. These women and men in this factory work in near dark conditions, save the dull glow of a light bulb at the station they are at as they make computer parts for shipments sent to the U.S., Hong Kong, the U.K. This man makes parts for inside air conditioners and other household appliances. The parts in this factory are mass produced on old machines, many of which are malfunctioning or broken, but the work must be done. And done around the clock to make a profit. This man was working 16 hours a day and due to exhaustion, failed remove his hand quickly enough to avoid it being processed by the machine. After the video, I looked at pictures of his hand. It looked as if a bomb has exploded inside of his hand. The doctors were able to graft skin from his thigh onto the missing section to join pieces of his remaining hand. His photo documentary of the entire process was startling. I forced myself to look at the graphic images because as I struggle to understand the ugliness of human nature, I need to stand face to face with it. This poem emerged from my two intact hands as I type...pensive, lost in thought.

Warfare
One day, there will be compassion in spaces
filled with the hollow sound of machines
grinding
to a steady rhythm of weary soldiers.

Weaponless soldiers armed only with an undeniable sense of duty.

One day, there will be laughter rolling through tall grasses,
off the back of water buffalo,
when families long separated are reunited.
Chopsticks clinking gently against rice bowls, of people together again.

No richer, maybe even sicker, but together again.

That day is not today.

Today my heart thuds heavily, but steadily...fiercely.
Today I am haunted by lost limbs, listless stares, weak smiles.
Today I have to chase Joy
Hound it like a wild dog
Bite into it to capture my prey, this Joy.
Fake it into being.
Today I simply have to believe.
Make Believe.

because On Some Days, belief seems like
a silly fairytale within a work of nonfiction.
On Some Days, Joy is a fleeting, wounded soldier in a field of wavering shadows.

*Photo by Steve McCurry

Bản đồ Việt Nam
Maps of Vietnam

Click to view Slideshow with Captions

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Awash in a Sea of OceansClick below to view Survivors' Watery Masterpieces

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Creators of an Alternate Universe

Watching survivors create works of art that are solely theirs is a joy beyond words. The most unlikely individuals have emerged as genius artists. During art class about 10 of the 40 people here quietly get into the zone and before I know it I'm staring at an intricate dragon, a tree with delicate carvings and detail, a colorful animated monkey, a blooming flower breathing life and color onto a blank paper, a vibrant map of Vietnam. It's unbelievable to me that folks walk around with these images in their heads, this ability in their hands. How is it that they have been deemed by employers here as only good for hard manual labor or servitude? No, these folks are Creativity Warriors...graphic designers, artists, architects, computer engineers, geographers, writers, cartographers, creators.

Fate, destiny make such seemingly random choices for how our lives pan out.

I hope my excitement, enthusiasm, and pure joy is felt by my students through my yelps of surprise, ooing, aahing, and facial gestures mixed with the 3 descriptive Vietnamese phrases I know: extremely beautiful, very good, this is excellent and interesting.

Painting done by a man who is blind in one eye due to an accident that lacerated him clear across his hairline and wounded one of his legs severely. He says that because the bones in his calf didn't heal properly, when it rains outside he feels intense pain in that leg.

ART GALLERY UPDATE

Photos of shelter folks' art have been stacking up.
I promise myself that I will have them up at least by the end of the month.
Where does the time go?

* Survivor's painting of a pond with fish and lotus.

We Make a Way

What I love most about TW is the time I spend with the survivors at the shelter. Everyday I have many unique, beautiful, and inspiring moments with them. For most, I don't know the particulars of their stories. They are the keepers and owners of their stories, and if and when they want to share them with me they can. Decision-making and exercising choice are learned behaviors. What do we do? We spend time together. It's simple, yet infinitely meaningful. We cook together; do nails; they teach me about various plants and herbs; I show them how to dance to Lil Wayne. I find it unbelievably random how the various experiences I've had in the past 25 years collide with their worlds in the most meant-to-be ways.

For example, I was fortunate enough to have piano lessons in my childhood. I haven't played in years, but one of the survivors pulled me aside the other night. She is learning how to play. As I flipped through the sheet music, I was in disbelief that the Beatles song Oh Bla Di Oh Bla Da caught my eye. It was simple enough that I taught her how to play it. A few weeks ago, I had downloaded this very song to my computer. We listened to it so she could know how it should sound. Here she was with very little English, and me, with little Vietnamese, both belting out "Desmond has a barrow in the market place, Sally is a singer in the band!" Words cannot describe the joy within that moment of my life. Life is so random.

Last night, I went with two male survivors to A-Mart, a mini-mall/grocery store of sorts. One man lost his entire right leg in a factory that processed pig meat, the other lost the lower part of his leg in a factory producing steel and metalworks. Durian, the most magical tasting, pungent smelling fruit on the planet, is their favorite, so the three of us chilled outside the store eating one. It was work to devour this thing. It had so many packets of fruit inside it. I might actually be part durian now. The man without a leg has been in TW 7 years now. He has a wife and daughter in TW too, who visit him on the weekends at the shelter. He bought a bag of limes to give her this weekend when she visits. All these years, so much struggle and they still have romance. This man is a good man.

One of the female survivors approached me recently and said (in Vietnamese): "I want to help you with your Vietnamese. I remember what it was like to come to TW and know no Chinese. My employer yelled at us and none of us workers knew what he was saying. It was a frightening and confusing time. Later, I found I could ask other workers who knew Chinese to teach me a few things and little by little I finally know a lot of Chinese. Now I want to help you because I know how hard it is to be in that situation. Don't worry. We will help each other. Just come find me whenever you don't understand something." If this woman only knew how she changed my life in those 3 minutes. Where there appears to be no way, we find a way. We make a way.

It's no secret that my Vietnamese language fluency is limited. It's usually the first thing I say to any Vietnamese person I meet at home and abroad. For the first couple weeks I struggled and I continue to struggle, but with a little creativity and a desire to connect anything is possible. That's what language is, a tool to communicate and connect. There are plenty of people who speak the same language and fail to understand one another. Life here is teaching me how to communicate with people beyond any spoken language. I am full of gratitude.

*Photo: Sunset at beach in Danshuei, TW

Stinky Tofu

Every morning I walk from the women's shelter facility to work. On the beginning of my walk the buildings are tall pretty apartment buildings and convenience stores. In a bit, I take the back way into a long alley of gravel where semi-fenced off to my right, there are tall wild grasses. The beginnings of the smell of something rotting starts at that point. For about 5 minutes I travel this way, until I reach the mounds of trash, the remains of a demolition project that just never got cleaned up. Rusty chains, yellow asbestos looking stuff, shattered wood, and of course, people's discarded bottle over here...food remains over there, all lie waiting to be discovered by a trash truck.

At this juncture, the trash meets a putrid, waste-laden sewage creek from which the stench of rotting plant and animal matter cling to the humid air, filling one's lungs to the point of pure disgust. The photo does the smell no justice. A rocky cement paved ledge about 1-1.5 feet wide lies next to the creek. I remember the first time a survivor showed me how to get to work. A large bag over my shoulder I had thought, "This is a joke right?" Thankfully, this part of the walk, the offensive creek and cement ledge is only all of 1 min or so and every so many feet the path decreases to half the size and I cling to the posts jutting out to prevent falling in the creek with the tiny fish eating pond sludge.

When I reach the end of this, I have to hop the creek by a gnarly tree. Someone put down two weak slabs of plywood-looking-feeling concrete for a makeshift bridge. I keep wondering when and if this will give one day under my weight, sending me into the creek I fear and loathe. The creek is on the backside of the office, so once I pass the 4 ft crossing I'm on solid land and at my place of work.

Every day I'm reminded how mixed up life is, how precarious things really are. The sludge creek leads to a place of refuge, the VMWBO office, where Tan has lived for over one month because the stress of working 13 hrs a day in a tile factory, 6 days a week, lifting heavy construction materials overwhelmed him. One day he got into a fight with another worker, a physical fight. His employer refused to pay him and then fired him. Tan came to Taiwan for several reasons. Of course one of them was to send money back home, but he also, at age 22, saw TW as a ticket out of the depressing conditions in VN and his dysfunctional family. For him, an older son in the family, it is his responsibility to help the family survive. His parents grow food on a small plot of land in front of their tenement in a rural part of north VN. He suffers a large scar that turned into a keloid on his upper arm because a machine cut out a large chunk of his arm. Two years ago Tan paid $8000 to some man who showed up in his village one day talking about a country with work and money. He didn't even know where Taiwan was. I'm astounded by the number of traffickers, often the same cultural background as those they traffic, selling their own. What does it mean when we sell our own?

Tan doesn't know how he will find work to pay off the rest of his debt. I think hard about the fact that in the U.S. he and his family might have had other choices. I think about all the American college students who are getting an education for their debt, while Tan is being human trafficked for his.

The sludge creek reminds me that outside the walls of the shelter, VNese are treated like 3rd class citizens. It stinks. It stinks stronger than any decomposing matter. But the creek also reminds me of the balance between the dark and the light, because in the midst of the human rights violations committed in TW, there are people like the shelter staff and caring folks in the states who are doing their part to fight for basic decency and justice. I guess it's like Stinky Tofu, a Taiwanese delight. Darkness and light, stinky and delicious, do dances around each other. I can't lie though, that creek smells like shit.



*Names have been changed to protect anonymity.
**Photo: 2 works of art made by women in the detention center. On the left, a more optimistic view. On the right, a depiction of a detainee's self-portrait of her sadness. Buon means sad VNese. The woman on the right mentioned repeatedly how ugly her drawing was. I told her I thought it was very, very special. She has been in the DC for 5 months.

Two Unrelated Items

I am struck by the amount of migrant workers in Taiwan. Perhaps that's a naiive discovery, but a discovery nonetheless. Though the VMWBO office (Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office) serves Vietnamese, I am horribly aware of the Thai, Indonesian and Filipino workers facing similar human trafficking issues. In fact, at the International Human Trafficking Conference I attended, I came away feeling that Indonesians have less resources to address this social problem. I've noticed many Filipino detainees in the detention centers too. I wonder how much of Taiwan's economy is fueled by darker-skinned Asians. I'm probably going to get in trouble with that statement. Oh well, it's the truth. Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders have always ranked lower on the Asian scale of privilege. Just like Latinos in North America, the Asian continent has it's own hierarchy of people groups.

On a lighter note, I lost my Invisalign retainers again. I have a lifetime reputation for losing things. We all must be good at something and my talent is losing stuff. I somehow managed to put them in a napkin on a table in the common room. I discreetly asked one person and in about 30 seconds, about 8 shelter residents were involved in the search. It was pretty embarassing, especially because I already managed to lose my phone's SIM card and a few other items over only 3 weeks. Thus, though there's not many things the shelter folks can say in English, they know the phrase "I lose things a lot." And yes, we dug through the trash and found them. Definitely blog-worthy.

Freedom in Contained Spaces


The detention center project has started after much coordination and negotiation with police officials and the NIA (National Immigration Agency). Yilan has two DCs, one for men and the other for women about a mile away. Our plan is to run a 2 hour recreational program at each facility every Friday. Our actual time allowed varies on whatever the guards dictate for that day. It was rough going on Friday, but with sweat pouring down our faces, Hope, Dave, Mina, Cha Chinh and I proceeded, first with the female detainees, and then later drove to do the same at the center with males. Because detainees, victims of human trafficking, are cooped up all day, many with dire circumstances, the recreational program is meant to give them some time where they get to focus on something relaxing and fun. Time where they are not treated like criminals.

The women's facility was more prison-looking that the men's, a very visible and noticeable difference our team noted. Shrouded in barbed-wire, from the outside, the place looks ominous with the feeling of an extreme-security prison. Guards here don't smile and we had to watch our every move because in the blink of an eye our recreational program could get shut-down. We brought styrofoam hearts and barrel-shaped objects for the women to decorate. Unfortunately, the guards would not let us give the women sequins, beads and other fun decorations we had brought for them to glue onto the objects. The guards fear suicide attempts and warned that any small object can be consumed to commit suicide. In all, there were 41 women.

I noticed many women drew pictures of themselves depicting their sadness and depression on the objects. Some drew pictures of loved ones back in Vietnam, and a significant amount just stared listlessly at other women drawing. When I tried to help these particular women think of something to draw, they were either too shy or too depressed to engage in conversation that was productive. Many women would comment that their drawings were ugly and even after I told them I thought each drawing was special, my statements weren't well believed. We ended the hour with a relaxation exercise that I led. A majority actually did the deep breathing, but many stared at me with curious eyes as I had them stretch their necks and connect with the feelings in their bodies. They need time to get used to our presence and understand what we're they're to do.

I find myself sitting with the uncomfortable feeling of helplessness for the cultural differences among these women versus women in America. I am sitting with the discomfort of not-knowing how to insert my foreign ideas that these women's lives are worth more than slave labor. This is definitely a life lesson in patience, persistence, and creativity. What does it mean for these women to be caged up when it is they who traveled overseas to make money to send home to their families in Vietnam?

About two hours later we arrived at the male facility and set up painting/drawing areas for them. We asked them to draw something about themselves. About 1/3 of the 38 men did not want to participate and sat idly watching others draw. I moved from cluster to cluster, making small-talk and positive comments about their work. I'm sad to say I was terribly uncomfortable by the suggestive looks I got from the men, many of whom asked for my age and whether I was single. Furthermore, if I wanted a boyfriend. Some made offers. To be fair, these men have had no contact with women in the DCs. Prior to detainment, they labor 11+ hours a day, 6 days a week, in factories making stones, tiles, car parts, etc that are both used in Taiwan and exported to countries like America. Others are fishermen. In the small villages and communities they are from in Vietnam, women are for making babies and raising children. I try to remember these facts when I feel my skin crawl from their flirtatious comments and focus on the work and the sweat pouring down my face in the stuffy auditorium.

About 90% of the men did not take my breathing relaxation exercise seriously. Many just watched me with very observant, peering eyes. It didn't help that the guard offered to interpret my words into Chinese (since many of the men understand a fair amount of Chinese). I discovered his understanding of my English was pretty limited, though I used basic, rudimentary verbage. Dave, the American psychiatrist studying Chinese, also tried to chime in which made the entire thing messy. All in all, our team learned at lot for how to modify the program for next week.

Three thoughts linger. There will always be people who are desperate for a better life. Consequently, there will always be people in the world ready to exploit others to fulfill a need for cheap labor. What can I do to ease the suffering of those who are subject to these situations? I hope that the hours that our team spends with the detainees over the coming months serve as contrasting moments of freedom in a life that has not been fair to them. Because, surely, life is never fair.

There are 4 detention centers in Taiwan. The NIA, National Immigration Agency, detains foreigners at these locations who need proof of paperwork or are suspected of breaking the law. Because of the poor conditions of trafficked people in the DCs (detention center), we've started a recreational program at the Yilan DC.

Our team consists of My-Nga, the program coordinator, Hope, a master's student with social justice background from the U.S., Dave, a psychiatrist from the U.S., Cha Hung, and myself. Last week, we became aware of a Vietnamese case at one of the DCs. A woman had tried to commit suicide by biting a piece of her tongue off. She was non-communicative, so Mina, Dave and I went to the shelter she was at to offer her some assistance.

As we walked into her room, the odor of her infected mouth became obvious. She had been suffering for over a week with her oral wound untreated and used a towel to cover it. The only nutrition she had consumed for a week was milk. She was only able to vaguely mumble that taking medicine hurt. Some of her answers didn't match our questions, a typical occurrence in trauma victims. She was refusing treatment because she thought the medicine was a trick, that people were coming to kill her. After a very tender and tedious conversation, she was able to say that 5 men had tied her down and raped her in the DC. She was shaking and began to sob. My intuition told me that, clearly, something very vile must have happened to this woman.

She had been an undocumented worker in TW for over 5 years. She had no history of prior mental illness and after 1 week at the DC, she had become disoriented, dissociative, and suicidal. A week prior, NIA had tried to repatriate her to Vietnam twice, but each time, she would refuse to board the plane at immigration, since she felt that people in TW were out to kill her. She stated that if she went home to Vietnam, she'd be trafficked against her will to China where things would be worse.

It was unclear what parts of her conversation with us were accurate. There is a chance some of her thoughts were delusions, but even so, she was experiencing them as reality. Dave offered to medically treat her wound, and again she refused treatment. Our team wanted the NIA to hold off on repatriation until she was able to receive adequate medical care in TW, but instead, she was taken to the airport where this time she boarded the plane to Vietnam. My mind was reeling after that case. In this work, there are always limitations to how we are able to help. We are frequently reminded of this fact.

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Newcomers,

I went back and read some of the previous interns blogs and realized that I didn't formally introduce myself. There was the long entry a few posts prior detailing my professional life. I figure it's just as important for you to know my personal side as well, so that you can understand a bit better my stay here in Taiwan (TW).

First and foremost, I care deeply about the basic human rights of others, the rights that allow us to live with peace in our minds, souls and bodies. Though suffering and loneliness are an intrinsic part of being human, I also believe that it is as core a human need to develop relationships with others to address this pain, to build community, to socialize, to partner with others and experience joy. A lifetime whizzes by in a flash. Before we know it, we become the very people we used to look up to. We grow up. We age.

So I ask the question: In the short time that I am here on earth, what meaning do I want to make of this life? At 25 years old I don't have the answers, but a wise friend once told me, it's not about the answers; it's about the question itself. The importance lies in the question. And so I ask you: In the short time that you are here on earth, what meaning do you want to make of this life?

Fast-forward to the present in Taoyuan, TW, to a shelter full of Vietnamese migrant workers who have been trafficked to work in factories, offer sex to brutal men, sometimes to be the sex plaything of all the men in one family, or be caregivers in people's homes. Many of these workers enter TW with a debt of around $7000. The conditions in VN are so deplorable, so dire that people would sell themselves, their daughters and their sons in the hopes that they can make money overseas as a migrant worker and have a better life. $7000 for a better life, a life that is a fairytale and hardly ever attained.

Do I think that my being in TW is going to stop human trafficking? Honestly, no. Where there is a demand for cheap labor and sex trade, a supply will be offered to meet the need. It's economics 101. But I'm not going to stay idle because I don't have a magic wand to solve this global problem. I'm here in TW because the mistreatment of other people is a local problem. Over here, it's the human rights of Vietnamese getting trampled on, but who is to say whether those rights might be yours or mine at some not-so-distant future.

Yes, I'm a therapist. I have a degree that says I spent a lot of time and money to learn about how people heal and fumble through relationships. Here at the shelter, it's not about my degree or my work experience. It's about me simply being with the folks here. Please understand, education and experience matter to an extent, but the biggest impact I have here is with my presence and the fact that I offer my time and share myself with others who are have been dealt a rough hand in life. I let them know that I choose to be here with them. I want to be here with them. I value developing a relationship with them. These facts allow me to be part of their community to where I can offer some healing through my presence.

They have an chance to experience a positive interaction with another human. That doesn't take a fancy degree or lots of money. It takes intentionality. Intentionality can propel a feeling of empathy and humanity into a place of action however big or small. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I wish you the best in your choice-making as you, much like folks here, struggle to make meaning of your life. I hope you join me in my journey through the next 5 months. May you find this blog informative...tangible...inspiring.

~ Calix

P.S. The people here call me Xuan, a word related to the season of Spring. I will be using both.

Hello to everyone from inside Taiwan,

My apologies that it has been several days since I have been able to write. I have been so busy with things over here. Late evening of Wednesday, August 26, I arrived at the Taoyuan airport in Taiwan. I was greeted by two young folks living at the shelter and Cha Cuong, one of the priests here. Then I was taken to the shelter, my new home, where I settled in and adjusted to the sweltering heat.

The next day, two very friendly shelter people showed me how to get to the office. I was drenched in sweat by the time we arrived and greeted by smiles of the shelter folks hanging out in the hammocks outside the office area. No sooner had I said hello to the staff and given a short tour of the office, Cha Cuong instructed me to accompany a case worker to Sansia detention center about 40 minutes from the office.

Sansia detention center was as ominous on the inside as it was on the outside, a light blue stucco sheathed in trails of blackened mold. The guards were friendly enough, but as soon as we reached the male floor a knot grew in my stomach. (Women are on one floor, men on the other). The air was stiff and stale with an underlying stench of many meals eaten in confined quarters causing a clinging odor in the air. With only a 6 x 4 foot area for visitors to conduct business, the case worker began speaking to the men through the reinforced steel metal bars. That day, there were 60 male victims of human trafficking at Sansia. There were no cells, just a big open room with bare-bones style bunk beds linked together so that it made one massive bunk bed/sitting spot and a clear area for sitting n the floor to play cards or pass the time.

Vietnamese men crowded at the bars to speak with the case worker, as she began handing out forms with basic information in order to open their cases. A Filipina case worker was there too doing the same as us, but it was clear that there were other languages needed to assist these victims. Inside, I felt a mixture of anger, wonder, and compassion for these men. Most of them did not look well with sallow skin and a look of vacancy in their eyes. Many of them asked questions to the case worker about me, because I did not say much and they had not seen me before. Mind you, I had been in Taiwan less than a day at this point so I was doing my best with what little preparation I had. When the men were told I was American, their curiosity increased exponentially, yet there was also an awkward palpable energy. I am still unsure if this feeling was due to gender differences, cultural differences, or just the sobering fact that these men and myself are both Vietnamese...yet they are not afforded the same human rights freedoms I experience daily. We visited the women's floor briefly, but due to how much time we had to spend on the men's floor, we were not able to interact with them for very long.

Again, I say I felt anger, wonder, and compassion. And I was left with more questions than answers. It angered me that people were expected to live like this and labeled as suspected criminals, when most of these people were actually victims of a crime. I was curious to know what happened to these men trapped behind metal bars, and I felt for them as any human would feel at the mistreatment of a fellow human. I wish that the descriptions here were dramatizations of the things I have experienced so far, but unfortunately this is not the case.

After Sansia, I was taken to two different meetings regarding human trafficking and human rights work. Flying by the seat of my pants here. Since then I've taught art classes, taught some English, and practiced Vietnamese. From the bottles of red, yellow, blue and white that were donated, I was able to produce these colors for the survivors doing art here. Pretty cool stuff! Everyone here was amazed by the amount of art supplies donated by people in America.

One of my biggest challenges here is going to be my evolving Vietnamese language skills. Most shelter victims are perplexed that I was not taught by my parents in America. There also is a great deal of Mandarin spoken daily. I am working hard to pick up Vietnamese quickly. Most of the victims here are Nguoi Bac (from northern Vietnam) so learning gets tricky for me at times. I am keeping a positive attitude about it and just doing my best.

I've ridden all three public transportation systems: MRT, Train, and Bus. Taipei is 2 hours away using public transit and the other two Americans here, Dave and Hope, have a place there. I explored Taipei this weekend knowing only how to say "thank you" and "hello" in Mandarin. Adventures galore. I am sad to say that the 5000 yr old egg tastes pretty accurate to me. Anyway, the three of us will be starting the recreational program in the detention centers on Thursday. We bought barrel and heart-shaped Styrofoam for the detainees to decorate. Stay tuned to see how this goes. Though we're not allowed to photograph in the detention centers, I will for sure write about it! I don't know how much of a difference I can make here, but I have many hopes and am optimistic.

THANK YOU

VietACT and I, personally,
would like to thank those who generously donated supplies/funds to the survivors at the shelter. Today is my first art class with them and I am so excited to tell them that the materials they are using were from kind people in the States, who have learned about the injustices happening in this area of the world.

Our sincere thanks goes out to the following people and groups:
QUI TRAN
ANDREW PHAN
DOAN K NGUYEN
HAI CHAN TRAN
TRANNHAI THI NGUYEN
LUC V NGUYEN
HEIDI CHAN
KIM-TRANG DANG
VAYA - Vietnamese American Youth Alliance
UVSA - Union of Vietnamese American Youth Associations
JOHNNY BARNER
LINDSAY COYNE
MONICA CEDENO
TRI NGUYEN
SOFIA GARCIA
NIKKI LAM
PHOENIX VU-BUI
MICCAELA BAIRD-ROSECRANS
THYDAN HUYNH
LYNESSA ESTIVA
JESSE MILLS
GRACE JUN
MATRIX VU-BUI
MICHAEL NGUYEN
JEANETTE NEELEY
PATTY HEFFERNAN
AMY CHANG
THU TONG
JUNE NGUYEN
MAI VI NGUYEN

I transported 100 lbs of supplies on my flight,

and the other 100 lbs will be coming to Taiwan in September thanks to another generous volunteer. I could not be doing this work without your support.

Justice for all,
Calix

My sincere thanks to everyone who helped make the 200+ pounds of art supplies possible! It's incredible what people can accomplish together. A list of these kind folks will be published on the blog in the next coming days. Right now, I'm about to take off for the airport and will land in Taipei, Taiwan at 10pm TW time. I'm somewhere in between nervous, excited, and motivated. See you soon from the Eastern Pacific...

ART SUPPLIES DRIVE

VietACT thanks the following people who have donated thus far:
Qui Tran, Miccaela Baird-Rosecrans, Lynessa Estiva, Jesse Mills, Grace Jun, Phoenix Vu-Bui, Tri Nguyen, Kim-Trang Dang, Amy Chang, Johnny Barner, Lindsay Coyne, Sonia Serna, Sofia Garcia, Monica Cedeno, Michael Nguyen, Andrew Phan, Heidi Chan, Vinh Nguyen, Nikki Lam, UVSA-Union of Vietnamese Student Associations, Thydan Huynh, Jeanette Neeley

Hello VietACT Members, Supporters, and Friends,

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS before I depart with art supplies to Taiwan!!!

The biggest help we need right now are for paint and paintbrushes!

Drop-off location for Donations / Checks / Cash:

VAYA General Body Meeting
THIS Sunday 8/23
@ 11:00am
5348 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92115

Please contact me directly at calixvubui@gmail.com
or (858) 736-4773 with questions/concerns.

We sincerely thank you for your support of
VietACT's work to stop human trafficking!
We couldn't do all that we do without you.
Warmly, Calix :)

• Paint Brushes (100-150)


• Water-based Paint (32 oz bottles H2O-based ONLY)
  
  
• Origami Paper from Michaels (it's perfectly square paper)
  

• Scissors (10 or more...ADULT size not kids size)

“Art makes the invisible visible.”

- Paul Klee

Hello VietACT Supporters and Friends,

When I was asked to think of what class I could teach in the shelter with survivors of human trafficking, ART immediately came to mind. Visual art, music, dance -- stimulate areas our brains and, more importantly, provide a way for the mind, body and spirit to connect. For people who have been traumatized and had their human rights violated, ART can serve as both a healing medium and a way to create positive experiences in a situation where injustices abound. ART can be personal. It can be political. But most of all, it can be powerful.

And what better way to create ART that is powerful than through our own community? Thus, VietACT is going to have an Art Drive for the shelter survivors in Taiwan. It's a way for you all to connect to the cause through actual donations of art supplies. Stay tuned for an official announcement on the Art Drive and other ways to be involved with the movement to stop human trafficking.

With Hope,
Calix

Calix L. Vu-Bui has been selected as VietACT 2009 Intern

Calix completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2005. This year, she received her Master of Science in Counseling degree from San Diego State University. Her interests in refugee, immigrant and exploited peoples stem from her family’s personal experiences in the U.S. as survivors of the Vietnam War.

Calix started out as a therapist at both the SDSU Center for Community Counseling and an inner city school through the Price Entities School Project (PESP). These were transformative experiences where her interest in grassroots, community-based social services grew. Currently, Calix actively engages with underserved/underrepresented communities through the Cultural Access and Resource Enhancement (CARE) program. To increase Asian Pacific Islander (API) mental health access for youth and their families, Calix serves as an outreach specialist and family support partner at CARE. True to her roots as an organizer, she co-founded the Asian, Asian-American, Pacific Islander Network (AAPIN) for Community Research Foundation (CRF), CARE’s overseeing agency, to enhance the services CRF provides to APIs in San Diego County.
Committed to serving the Vietnamese community, Calix is the Community Relations Coordinator for the Vietnamese-American Youth Alliance (VAYA) and hopes to helps organize their first Asian Youth Conference.

Inspired by a friend, Calix became aware of VietACT, which she saw as an opportunity to continue her interests in social justice, human rights advocacy, and mental health work in traumatized and immigrant groups. She joins VietACT as an intern interested in using her passion and education to advance the rights of exploited Vietnamese trafficked into Taiwan and to create healing experiences for these resilient survivors. In her spare time Calix likes to surf, dance and write non-fiction pieces.

Dear VietACT Members and Supporters,

Thank you to ALL that applied to this year's VietACT International Internship Program. As with previous years, we had more qualified applicants than space allotted and regret that we were unable to send more talented interns to Taiwan. After a thorough review of all the application materials and answers gathered during many tele-interviews, VietACT would like to congratulate and recognize Calix Vu-Bui as our Official 2009 VietACT Intern. Please refer to Calix's biography (in another post) for more information about her community organizing background and her experience in the mental health and social service field.

When asked about her thoughts in being selected for the internship, Calix stated, "I'm really excited to be given an opportunity where I can utilize my education to participate in a project that combines humanitarian effort with social advocacy. I'm also interested in the global aspect of human trafficking, an issue that is on-going and pervasive. On a sociopolitical and human rights level, my background and interests in social justice and community healing work are greatly aligned with VietACT’s mission. One can create policy and advocacy on this matter, but in the end, human trafficking effects the core of its survivors’ mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. It is the intrinsic right of every human to be of sound, functional mental and emotional health. For me, it is an honor to be selected to work on this issue."

Calix will be departing for Taiwan in early September 2009 and will stay there for five months until February 2010. She will participate in the start up of a new detention center project that will utilize therapy under the guise of a "recreational program". In response to her upcoming projects and assignments as the new intern, Calix stated "I anticipate a rich and salient experience, an opportunity for me to be impacted by the survivors’ resiliency as we learn from one another through mutual understanding and solidarity. I predict that the survivors will give more to me than I can ever give to them."

We at VietACT welcome Calix into our family with open arms and wish her the best in all the opportunities that lie ahead of her.

For more information about our International Internship Program in general, please visit our official web site at http://www.vietact.org/. Calix will soon be updating her initial thoughts on our "VietACT Intern Blog" at http://vietactintern.blogspot.com/, so be sure to give the blog a visit. A reminder to everyone that while there is a need for assistance at the shelter in Taiwan and other countries abroad, we must not neglect the fact that there is also MUCH work to be done HERE in our very own local community. If you would like to be more involved with VietACT and our mission, please contact us for information on some of our domestic opportunities and campaigns. If you have any further questions or concerns about VietACT or our International Internship Program, please let me know.

On behalf of VietACT's Board of Directors and Volunteer Staff, thank you for your continual support.

Anthony T. Nguyen
International Internship Program Coordinator
Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking (VietACT)
internship@VietACT.org

Dear VietACT Members, Supporters, and those Interested:

A reminder that in furthering our purpose and mission, VietACT (Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking) is currently accepting applications for our 2009 International Internship Program (IIP).

The application deadline has been extended until Saturday Night (11:59 PM PST) April 25, 2009. If you are majoring in Law, Psychology, Public/Mental Health, Social Work, Social Sciences (in general), or Public Policy (etc) - you are HIGHLY encouraged to apply.

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Packet
(includes Intro letter, Application Form, FAQ, etc)
http://v117h.fileave.com/VietACT%202009%20IIP%20Packet.doc

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Application Form (Form ONLY)http://v117h.fileave.com/VietACT%202009%20IIP%20Application.doc

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Flyer
http://v117h.fileave.com/VietACT%202009%20IIP%20Flyer.jpg

If the above link(s) do(es) NOT work and you would like an application, please feel free to contact us for one: internship@vietact.org

Please help VietACT spread the word about this opportunity by forwarding this email to those you know that might be interested. Thank you.

In furthering our purpose and mission, VietACT (Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking) is currently accepting applications for our 2009 International Internship Program (IIP).

VietACT (Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking) welcomes a limited number of interns to work on behalf of VietACT in Taiwan (Taoyuan, Taiwan) throughout the summer (though preferably longer if possible). Students and professionals of various disciplines are encouraged to apply, particularly law, social work, psychology, public health, and general social science. Interns will work at TaiwanACT's Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office (VMWBO) and will participate in research, case studies, case work, writing projects, teaching and advocacy. Potential interns are encouraged to find funding through their universities and/or private funding. VietACT will make arrangements for basic room and board. Interns will make their own arrangements for traveling. (A small stipend may be available depending on funding availability).

More Information can be found at our Official Site at http://www.VietACT.org

Join us on our Xanga Blogrings, Myspace, and Facebook Group Account (Keyword: VietACT).

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Packet
(includes Intro letter, Application Form, FAQ, etc)
http://V117H.fileave.com/VietACT 2009 IIP Packet.doc

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Application Form (Form ONLY)http://V117H.fileave.com/VietACT 2009 IIP Application.doc

Click here for a link to download the VietACT 2009 IIP Flyer
http://V117H.fileave.com/VietACT 2009 IIP Flyer.jpg

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us: internship@vietact.org

Please help VietACT spread the word about this opportunity by forwarding this information to those you know that might be interested. Thank you.