Đại diện Cộng đồng người Việt Nam tại Hoa Kỳ trao tiền cứu trợ cho nạn nhân siêu bão Haiyan thông qua Tòa đại sứ Philippines ở Washington DC. http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese
Bài viết trên chương trình Global Media Arts (GMA News) của Phi Luật Tân, Press Releasetừ Tòa Đại sứ Phi Luật Tân, và video clip ghi nhận hình ảnh Cộng đồng Người Việt Quốc Gia Tỵ Nạn cộng sản tại Hoa Kỳ, trao hiện kim giúp đở ngừơi dân Phi Luật Tân...nạn nhân bảo Haiyan, qua tòa Đại sứ Phi Luật Tân tại Hoa Thịnh Đốn, hôm Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 12, 2013....
Được biết đối với chương trình cứu trợ: Người Việt Tỵ Nạn Không Quên Ơn Người Philippines / Vietnamese Refugees For The Philippines (VR4P), của Cộng Đồng Việt Nam vùng Washington, D.C., Maryland và Virginia, đây là số hiện kim được trao trong đợt đầu tiên đến người dân Phi Luật Tân.....
Và chương trình lạc quyên cứu trợ vẫn còn tiếp diễn...
Được biết đối với chương trình cứu trợ: Người Việt Tỵ Nạn Không Quên Ơn Người Philippines / Vietnamese Refugees For The Philippines (VR4P), của Cộng Đồng Việt Nam vùng Washington, D.C., Maryland và Virginia, đây là số hiện kim được trao trong đợt đầu tiên đến người dân Phi Luật Tân.....
Và chương trình lạc quyên cứu trợ vẫn còn tiếp diễn...
Ex-Vietnam refugees pay 'debt' to PHL, donate $400k for Yolanda relief
Former refugees from Vietnam are paying a 30-year-old debt of gratitude to the Philippines by extending a donation amounting to $400,554 (P19 million) to victims of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
The Philippine embassy in Washington said the former refugees, who were also called the "boat people" because most arrived on Philippines shores on small boats, sought to support ongoing relief efforts for Yolanda's victims.
Vietnamese community representatives went to the embassy Monday (US time) to extend their sympathies to the Filipino people and turn over the $440,554 they initially raised, the embassy said.
Yolanda barreled through Visayas and Southern Luzon on Nov. 8, leaving more than 5,600 dead.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Philippines as they mourn so many loved ones and neighbors lost in the dreadful destruction of Typhoon Haiyan,” said Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN) Vice President Phu Do.
"We faced fears, had hopes and dreams. So are you now. We continue to be on your side for what can be done as relief efforts," he added.
Phu Do and Vietnamese Refugees for Philippines (VR4P) project leader Bach Mai Nguyen also turned over posters and a plaque of appreciation to Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr.
Cuisia noted the Philippines had accommodated thousands of Vietnamese refugees who fled their country, mostly by boat after the Vietnam War ended in 1975.
Also, the embassy said more than 250,000 refugees died during their voyage.
“It was a very dark time for all of us boat people. We had no other choice but to risk our lives to escape. Many of us had faced tragedies, hunger and even death during our quest towards freedom. However, we were able to conquer this battle because we were not alone. We had the help, the protection and the sponsorship from different people, especially the people of the Philippines,” said Dieu Quyen Nguyen, Executive Director of the Ben Em Dang Co Ta Foundation.
“You had once shown us the meaning of love when we were just foreigners in your country. Now it is our opportunity to thank you for what you had done for us unconditionally,” she added.
Dinh Doan, Chairman of the Vietnamese Community in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, added Filipinos should remember that "you are not alone," and that "(t)he Vietnamese people are behind you.”
For his part, Cuisia said the donation was a "very touching gesture from a people who said they never forgot how they were treated kindly by Filipinos who instead of pushing them back to sea, even pulled their boats ashore to help them.”
Turnover
Cuisia said the Embassy received a check for $240,554 for the Philippine Red Cross, while another check for $200,000 was turned over to the US Philippines Society, which is supporting relief efforts in Central Philippines.
He added the donations came from members of the Vietnamese community, including those among some 400,000 refugees or so who had relatives accommodated at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan or the Philippine First Asylum Center in Palawan.
“Thank you for your kind gesture and concern for our people. I look at your gesture as one of kinship and solidarity with the Filipino people,” he told the Vietnamese community representatives.
He also recalled how the Philippine government allowed Vietnamese refugees to settle in the country permanently after the processing centers closed in 1996.
“We face huge challenges in reconstruction in the months and years ahead, but we are grateful to have you behind us,” he said.
Meanwhile, US-Philippines society president John Maisto and executive director Hank Hendrickson accepted the $200,000 donation on behalf of the US-Philippines Society.
“It is very gratifying to see this outpouring of gratitude. You, of all people, understand suffering. You fled oppression and you were welcomed into the Philippines, and you came to the United States,” Maisto said.
"Thank you not only for your help to the Philippines, but, as a US citizen, I would like to thank you for what you have contributed to our country. This is another example of how blessed we are as a country to have you here,” he added. — LBG/HS, GMA News
The Philippine embassy in Washington said the former refugees, who were also called the "boat people" because most arrived on Philippines shores on small boats, sought to support ongoing relief efforts for Yolanda's victims.
Vietnamese community representatives went to the embassy Monday (US time) to extend their sympathies to the Filipino people and turn over the $440,554 they initially raised, the embassy said.
Yolanda barreled through Visayas and Southern Luzon on Nov. 8, leaving more than 5,600 dead.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Philippines as they mourn so many loved ones and neighbors lost in the dreadful destruction of Typhoon Haiyan,” said Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN) Vice President Phu Do.
"We faced fears, had hopes and dreams. So are you now. We continue to be on your side for what can be done as relief efforts," he added.
Phu Do and Vietnamese Refugees for Philippines (VR4P) project leader Bach Mai Nguyen also turned over posters and a plaque of appreciation to Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr.
Cuisia noted the Philippines had accommodated thousands of Vietnamese refugees who fled their country, mostly by boat after the Vietnam War ended in 1975.
Also, the embassy said more than 250,000 refugees died during their voyage.
“It was a very dark time for all of us boat people. We had no other choice but to risk our lives to escape. Many of us had faced tragedies, hunger and even death during our quest towards freedom. However, we were able to conquer this battle because we were not alone. We had the help, the protection and the sponsorship from different people, especially the people of the Philippines,” said Dieu Quyen Nguyen, Executive Director of the Ben Em Dang Co Ta Foundation.
“You had once shown us the meaning of love when we were just foreigners in your country. Now it is our opportunity to thank you for what you had done for us unconditionally,” she added.
Dinh Doan, Chairman of the Vietnamese Community in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, added Filipinos should remember that "you are not alone," and that "(t)he Vietnamese people are behind you.”
For his part, Cuisia said the donation was a "very touching gesture from a people who said they never forgot how they were treated kindly by Filipinos who instead of pushing them back to sea, even pulled their boats ashore to help them.”
Turnover
Cuisia said the Embassy received a check for $240,554 for the Philippine Red Cross, while another check for $200,000 was turned over to the US Philippines Society, which is supporting relief efforts in Central Philippines.
He added the donations came from members of the Vietnamese community, including those among some 400,000 refugees or so who had relatives accommodated at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan or the Philippine First Asylum Center in Palawan.
“Thank you for your kind gesture and concern for our people. I look at your gesture as one of kinship and solidarity with the Filipino people,” he told the Vietnamese community representatives.
He also recalled how the Philippine government allowed Vietnamese refugees to settle in the country permanently after the processing centers closed in 1996.
“We face huge challenges in reconstruction in the months and years ahead, but we are grateful to have you behind us,” he said.
Meanwhile, US-Philippines society president John Maisto and executive director Hank Hendrickson accepted the $200,000 donation on behalf of the US-Philippines Society.
“It is very gratifying to see this outpouring of gratitude. You, of all people, understand suffering. You fled oppression and you were welcomed into the Philippines, and you came to the United States,” Maisto said.
"Thank you not only for your help to the Philippines, but, as a US citizen, I would like to thank you for what you have contributed to our country. This is another example of how blessed we are as a country to have you here,” he added. — LBG/HS, GMA News
