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Interview with Tran Thi Nga:
Stay Strong and Persevere, You Are Not Alone
- Exiled Vietnamese Dissident Breathes the Fresh Air of Freedom in America, Encourages Those She Left Behind
March 10, 2020
ACAT is grateful to Boat People SOS for facilitating this interview and translating (donate here)
Tran Thi Nga: I consider all activities I have participated in the fight for human rights and democracy in Vietnam are necessary because there is so much injustice in the Vietnamese society due to the fact that the people are not educated and not aware of the rights and obligations of citizens. Furthermore, the law enforcement forces themselves are brainwashed by communism in their blind loyalty to the Communist Party and the State. They consider it is their duty to carry out all orders from the Party and the State even when these actions constitute many crimes against the people such as illegal and brutal land expropriation without fair compensation or the use of violence and imprisonment to suppress our rights to exercise freedom of speech, our demand for environment protection, and our will to protect our sovereignty against China’s aggression.
As an activist participating in several different fields of activism, I know that each field has its own value. For example, social media is valuable in bringing information to common people. It serves the purpose of educating the public, thus empowering them, as noted in a popular Vietnamese saying: “Khai Dan Tri and Chan Dan Khi”. And those who participate in protests against the wrongdoing of the government are exercising the basic human rights in protecting themselves, their families, and the country. I have great respect for them because they dare to do what they need to do in solidarity of many people to strengthen the voice of the people.
What work are you most proud of?
Tran Thi Nga: Throughout my struggle as an activist in Vietnam, I feel most happy that I had the opportunity to accompany and help the mothers of three young men who were unjustly placed on death row for the crimes they did not commit. They are: Ho Duy Hai, Nguyen Van Chuong, and Le Van Manh. As a mother, I had deep empathy for these mothers and understood very well their pain when their children were about to be wrongly executed. I held their hands and told them to persevere in their quest for justice for their sons and I will try my best to support them and will do everything I could to help them. I helped them disseminate information about these cases as well as documents proving the wrongdoings of the authorities when they wrongfully and unjustly convicted these three innocent young men of murder and gave them the Death Penalty. The result was wonderful. These cases received a lot of public attention and tremendous support of the people, the media, as well as the international community. As a result, the authorities in Vietnam had to halt the executions. However, so far, the Vietnamese communist authorities have not yet vindicated these three innocent young men and released them. I sincerely hope that people will continue to pray for and help these three victims until their sentences are vindicated and they are set free.
What advice do you have for dissidents in Vietnam?
Tran Thi Nga: My only advice to all my dissident friends is, “Whether you are still free or currently imprisoned, you should try to stay strong and persevere in speaking out against dictatorship and injustice, in continuing with your human rights work so that our country will have a chance to become a developing country and our people are fully entitled to the basic human rights as prescribed in the Constitution, the law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Please remember that you are not alone because I and many Vietnamese living abroad as well as our friends in the international community always accompany and support you.”
What are the biggest differences you see between your new life in America and your life before in Vietnam?
Tran Thi Nga: The biggest difference I can see immediately is that in the US I am no longer being followed and stalked by the authorities, nor I am harassed by the police demanding me to report my whereabouts or to register where I live or when I leave my residence. I am able to enjoy complete freedom of movement, freedom of speech. Even the air here is very fresh and the environment is very clean.
What is your hope for the Vietnamese people?
Tran Thi Nga: I hope the Vietnamese people soon realize that their rights and responsibilities as citizens are being deprived by violence and lies by the Vietnamese communist authorities. By then the people will know how to stand up and fight to demand that the communist government must stop these abhorrent acts so that Vietnam will become a plurality system with separation of power. Only then the people will be able to enjoy the full range of basic human rights and freedom. I sincerely hope that day will soon come for my people and my country, Vietnam.
Stay Strong and Persevere, You Are Not Alone
- Exiled Vietnamese Dissident Breathes the Fresh Air of Freedom in America, Encourages Those She Left Behind
March 10, 2020
ACAT is grateful to Boat People SOS for facilitating this interview and translating (donate here)
- Tran Thi Nga is an internationally recognized award-winning human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience who fought against human trafficking, abuse of prisoners, and environmental degradation in communist Vietnam. She is known for taking and publicizing videos of police brutality. She was arrested for ‘propaganda against the state’ under Vietnam’s notorious Article 88 and sentenced to nine years in prison and five years of house arrest after a show-trial in 2017. The communists tortured and pressured her to confess guilt, but she refused. She continues her work as a member of Vietnamese Women for Human Rights and Bau Bi Tuong Than, which assists prisoners of conscience and their families
Tran Thi Nga: I consider all activities I have participated in the fight for human rights and democracy in Vietnam are necessary because there is so much injustice in the Vietnamese society due to the fact that the people are not educated and not aware of the rights and obligations of citizens. Furthermore, the law enforcement forces themselves are brainwashed by communism in their blind loyalty to the Communist Party and the State. They consider it is their duty to carry out all orders from the Party and the State even when these actions constitute many crimes against the people such as illegal and brutal land expropriation without fair compensation or the use of violence and imprisonment to suppress our rights to exercise freedom of speech, our demand for environment protection, and our will to protect our sovereignty against China’s aggression.
As an activist participating in several different fields of activism, I know that each field has its own value. For example, social media is valuable in bringing information to common people. It serves the purpose of educating the public, thus empowering them, as noted in a popular Vietnamese saying: “Khai Dan Tri and Chan Dan Khi”. And those who participate in protests against the wrongdoing of the government are exercising the basic human rights in protecting themselves, their families, and the country. I have great respect for them because they dare to do what they need to do in solidarity of many people to strengthen the voice of the people.
What work are you most proud of?
Tran Thi Nga: Throughout my struggle as an activist in Vietnam, I feel most happy that I had the opportunity to accompany and help the mothers of three young men who were unjustly placed on death row for the crimes they did not commit. They are: Ho Duy Hai, Nguyen Van Chuong, and Le Van Manh. As a mother, I had deep empathy for these mothers and understood very well their pain when their children were about to be wrongly executed. I held their hands and told them to persevere in their quest for justice for their sons and I will try my best to support them and will do everything I could to help them. I helped them disseminate information about these cases as well as documents proving the wrongdoings of the authorities when they wrongfully and unjustly convicted these three innocent young men of murder and gave them the Death Penalty. The result was wonderful. These cases received a lot of public attention and tremendous support of the people, the media, as well as the international community. As a result, the authorities in Vietnam had to halt the executions. However, so far, the Vietnamese communist authorities have not yet vindicated these three innocent young men and released them. I sincerely hope that people will continue to pray for and help these three victims until their sentences are vindicated and they are set free.
What advice do you have for dissidents in Vietnam?
Tran Thi Nga: My only advice to all my dissident friends is, “Whether you are still free or currently imprisoned, you should try to stay strong and persevere in speaking out against dictatorship and injustice, in continuing with your human rights work so that our country will have a chance to become a developing country and our people are fully entitled to the basic human rights as prescribed in the Constitution, the law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Please remember that you are not alone because I and many Vietnamese living abroad as well as our friends in the international community always accompany and support you.”
What are the biggest differences you see between your new life in America and your life before in Vietnam?
Tran Thi Nga: The biggest difference I can see immediately is that in the US I am no longer being followed and stalked by the authorities, nor I am harassed by the police demanding me to report my whereabouts or to register where I live or when I leave my residence. I am able to enjoy complete freedom of movement, freedom of speech. Even the air here is very fresh and the environment is very clean.
What is your hope for the Vietnamese people?
Tran Thi Nga: I hope the Vietnamese people soon realize that their rights and responsibilities as citizens are being deprived by violence and lies by the Vietnamese communist authorities. By then the people will know how to stand up and fight to demand that the communist government must stop these abhorrent acts so that Vietnam will become a plurality system with separation of power. Only then the people will be able to enjoy the full range of basic human rights and freedom. I sincerely hope that day will soon come for my people and my country, Vietnam.