A Vietnamese Blue Sky

Fight for Right by Anhthao Bui

2012-01-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

“If you find discrimination, you need to fight for rights, no matter what.”
–California Assemblyman Paul Fong

Professor Paul Fong introduces me to his friends and relatives as a poet, writer, and his former student at Evergreen College each time I attend his events. If Professor Fong is surrounding with media, fans, and supporters, he gives a signal to say “hi,” or let me know he notices my presence. His warm welcome boosts my self-esteem up to the sky and pacifies my ego. Thus, I often attend his events when I have a chance to say “hi” to him, to learn more about his life, his political path, and to be proud of knowing an outstanding California Assemblyman and a well-known politician. The more I know about Professor Fong, the more I am inspired by him and wish to write about him. While the artist Flo Oy Wong created the visual art called Unveiling of Made in USA to honor Professor Fong, I collect information about him, and with my experience as his former student, highlight his characteristics and contributions to the United States.

The Chinese community is one of the oldest Asian communities in the United States. They contributed to the building of the Western United States with hard work. However, the United States government did not treat the Chinese pioneers as well with tremendous unfair laws and policies: they could not become U.S. citizens and own their own property. The Chinese fought against the government to achieve the significant Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which established friendly relations between the U.S. and China. Unfortunately, the Chinese Exclusion Act was signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 1882, which limited Chinese immigration to the United States. This legislation was not overturned until 1943.

Professor Fong’s family is one of the traditional Chinese American immigrant families who live in Sunnyvale, surrounded by the Chinese community’s protection and support. Being raised in the Eastern cultures and educated with a Western education, Professor Fong inherits the Chinese values he proudly described in a speech: “I am a typical Chinese-American who cultivates hard work, achievement, independence and family.” During his early life, he demonstrated a love of nature, animals, and freedom with the interesting story to set a monkey free when he saw it was entrapped. Professor Fong expressed his love of animal with his recent Bill AB 376, the Shark Fin Bill, to protect the endangered animals, although shark fin soup is a popular Chinese traditional meal that brings good profits to Chinese businesses.

Once, when Professor Fong introduced me to his friends, his coworker asked him, “Did she learn from you?”
Professor Fong laughed loudly and answered her, “I do not know what she learned from me.”
When I took Political Science with Professor Fong, I had no idea of the basic concepts of the U.S. political system, because of my English language barrier. Political Science is one of the toughest General Education courses for English as a Second Language Learners. Understanding the difficulties that we newcomers coped with, Professor Fong encouraged us and provided us another opportunity to pass the course by joining community services to earn extra credit points. He told us that he did not expect us to understand and remember the organization of the U.S. governmental system, but he provided fundamental rights for us, the newcomers. He also predicted that at least five percent of his students would be successful in the United States.

A few years later, we easily passed the U.S. citizenship interviews without taking time to learn and memorize all the English political terms. We all agreed that Professor Fong’s Political Science class helped us a lot. I never knew that the subject of racial hatred would become my special interest. The community service hours opened new perspectives on the United State society, taught me to interact with other peoples and cultures, and stimulated in me a desire to succeed. Professor Fong is a magnet with his words: “Whenever you find unfairness and discrimination, you need to fight for rights, no matter what.”

January 8, 2012

2011-12-29T06:11:00.000-08:00

Montclaire's Garden

2011-11-19T05:48:00.000-08:00

November

2011-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

November

The retired falling leaves leave their silent- tree- partners to boogie in the whirly wind. They collect all their last energy to dance frantically into many directions. The patient naked trees silently watch their dearest spouses exultingly perform the Waltz and metamorphose into vibrant red, light yellow, purple, saffron, brown, and or mustard before they rest in peace on the dry ground. In the early dawn, the tiny sparkling diamond dews decorate Mother Nature’s foliaged coat to signal the world the autumn is in the air.

Shopping centers and malls reorganize their stores with shinning garnish and illuminating ornamentation to catch shoppers’ eyes within the Holidays Season. Colorful produces, glamorous merchandises, and fashion cloths are displayed on the counters, and behind the transparent glasses to seduce consumers. Parking lots happily welcome more cars to the shopping plaza. From the parking lots, pedestrians hear the delightful sounds and charming melodies from the stereo about the May Flower Ship, the Native American tribes, and the American ancestors who fought against hardships at their first steps to the New World.

Every morning on the way to work, I observe dynamical people start their new days in the busy streets with cars and cars. Some women wear makeup while they drive; other men with the coffee mugs try to drink or eat their breakfast when the cars stop at the traffic lights or move slowly. They drop their children at schools in a hurry and leave immediately after trading instant kisses with their children. All at once, from the bottom of my heart, uttering words explore, “Good morning November! Good morning students! Thank you for giving me a chance to share my knowledge with you and to guide you to become good citizens. Thank the Alum Rock’s leaders and the Child Development Company’s employers who give me a job in this great recession! Thank you for your trust in my potential skills to serve the American youth.”

Happy Thanksgiving of the year 2011!
Anhthao Bui

The Fourth of July

2011-07-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

By Anhthao Bui

When I first came to the United States, I was jealous of the United States because I thought God was unfair: God took away the other countries’ blessings and poured them into the United States. Therefore, the United States possessed prominent characteristics: prosperity, wealth, abundance, peace, benefits, and top-notch qualities. God was known as the sovereign of justice, but was not fair to the other countries. How can we expect human beings to be fair in the earthly world? However, the longer I have lived in the United States, the more I have learned about the United States, and the more I understand that the American people have sacrificed a lot and have fought against evils day and night to become a fabulous country and bring people around the world together: “One Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

Two hundred thirty-five years ago, the American people fought against the British Kingdom for freedom, so the United States was born. The Founding Fathers’ goal of liberty was exchanged for blood and invaluable losses: nothing was as valuable as freedom and independence. Liberty was not only the desire of the American people, but it was also the wish of human beings around the world. Thus, the Founding Fathers declared their Independence and guaranteed “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to all the people who live in the United States.

The United States has opened her arms and heart to welcome all the people who seek freedom and protection. The United States is a magnet country that hypnotizes people around the world to settle there for many reasons. The United States is the universal land where human values and talents are accepted and rewarded. In return, the newcomers contribute and devote their potentials and capacities to the United States in order to pay tribute to the ideals represented by the Statue of Liberty. The United States has speedily expanded, grown, and improved, the way a young tree feeds in a fertile land.

The United States builds and creates a liberal environment, a democratic atmosphere and an independent community to guarantee all her citizens the equal rights to express themselves and to practice their cultures and religions in harmony and respect for one another. In 1791 the Constitution enacted the First Amendment to guarantee freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion in the United States. The First Amendment provides citizens the authority to freely express themselves and practice their ideals in safe environment without harm to others. Unfortunately, some people misunderstand the Constitution; they noisily and excessively proclaim their thoughts and opinions, causing insult and damage to America, and comfort to contradictory individuals and controversial federations.

The battle between good and bad never ends. Human history proves that justice and injustice will fight against each other from Alpha to Omega. Other countries are jealous of the United States’ virtues and sovereignty; they cunningly undermine the United States’ ideal systems. They spit verbal venom to confuse and brainwash innocent citizens. The United States encounters human disasters, from the Nine Eleven tragedy to the current recession, and challenges untrustworthy countries. Moreover, the United States is like a fresh salad bowl with a huge variety of ethnicities and peoples. The government hardly satisfies their multicultural demands. The United States stands strong: strict castigation is a must.

Although the United States is confronting rocky tempests, many peoples continue to come to the New World, guided by the radiance of the Statue of Liberty over the horizon. Holding each other’s hands, together they sing aloud to reinstate their faith and trust:

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her, and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam
God bless America, My home sweet home
God bless America, My home sweet home.

Los Angeles, July 4, 2011

Haiku 101

2010-11-26T13:01:00.000-08:00

Condoleezza Rice—the Captivating Connoisseur

2010-11-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

By Anhthao Bui with editing by Daniel Lambert

I wish to sit in front of a grant piano and let my fingers freely dance on the keyboard. I wish to earn a PhD degree, and make book tours around the world to glorify my incredible father. Condoleezza Rice’s fruition reflexes my mind trip, which hooks me to trace her steps since I have known her on Facebook. I know that I, a working new immigrant, am not able to compare myself to Ms. Rice, a widespread noble lady, and we were raised in different cultures. However, reading her story, I have learned that we share some correspondent values, such as an educational backbone, a childhood surrounded by love, and an orientation toward family.

Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 was an unsafe place because of the hatred of African Americans. The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing by Ku Klux Klan members was not the only conspiracy that abused African American emotions, but it was a chronic event. Ms. Rice experienced Birmingham’s turmoil, so she ironically changed “Birmingham” into “Bombingham.” The fearsome events in Birmingham shocked me and challenged my knowledge. Growing up in Vietnam, a war-torn country, I was jealous of the peaceful United States. I thought that after the U.S. Civil War, the United States was the most secure place in the world. Thus, currents of people around the world poured into the United States to seek protection. However, my understanding about the United States was encapsulated. In the United States, few places were untrustworthy to live in. The explosive event at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was not the first or the last attack, but it has happened like that until today, with the September Eleven terrorist attack. While Ms. Rice encountered her local violence as a child, my immaturity confronted the national disturbance of the Fall of Saigon in April of 1975.

As an only child, Ms. Rice received her parents’ full benefits of love. Her parents wrapped her in a cozy cocoon of affection to protect her from danger. As well-educated and sociable people who occupied themselves with community services, Ms. Rice’s parents still kept their eyes on their only daughter with serious guidance and high expectations. Ms. Rice's father accepted the community’s critics regarding his indifferent African American political norms and movements because he did not want to end up in jail: he needed to protect his own family. Ms. Rice communicated well with her parents. She trusted her parents and always shared her true feelings and emotions with them. While Ms. Rice directly won her parents’ abundant attachment and care, I shared my parents’ love with my siblings. My father did not have time to talk to his youngest child when he was alive. Like many Vietnamese women, my mother stayed home to take care of us, but she almost ignored me because the older siblings needed more attention than I did. Until now, our communication was limited. However, I indirectly tasted my parents' inestimable love and incredible sacrifice.

Ms. Rice’s parents realized that education was the only way to escape from discrimination and prejudice. They invested their daughter's knowledge and nurtured her mind with the best education: religion, music, sports, politics, and books. Ms. Rice possessed an outstanding Intelligence Quota and extreme determination. She learned how to play the piano at age three; she practiced a difficult piece of music for eight hours in order to get her own piano from her parents; she graduated from high school at age fifteen; she was one of a few female African Americans to receive a PhD degree. Like Ms. Rice’s parents, our parents honored education. They fed us with books, arts, and diverse philosophies. We all learned how to play musical instruments and had our own library. Our parents also prepared us female spirituality with “công, dung, ngôn, hạnh,” (“public services, appearance, communication, and virtue") and “cầm, kỳ, thi, họa,” (“singing, undertaking, writing, and drawing.”) However, my intelligence was below the standard. During my youth, I suffered my family and friends’ mockery about my stupid and silly acts. Ms. Rice reveals that her parents are extraordinary people. To me, my parents are the greatest creatures in the world and more powerful than God.

A few years ago, when I first got to know Ms. Rice, I admired her with a lack of reason. However, since I have followed her book tour, I have learned more about her and noticed that she obtained the same dreams that I sought. I chose her as my role model to motivate me to work harder to achieve my goals. Ms. Rice’s superiority is derived from prominent elements of the fertile earth—her environment; devoted agronomists—her parents; and the exclusive seed—Ms. Rice.

Meeting with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Proposition AB 32 versus Proposition 23

2010-10-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

By Anhthao Bui with editing by Dan Lambert

I am not Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fan nor am I interested in the global warming subject, but I wanted to attend the governor's speech about proposition AB 32 at the Santa Clara Convention Center because of my curiosity. I wanted to see the Governor in person. Perhaps meeting outstanding politicians is one of my weaknesses to satisfy my vulnerable self-esteem. However, I persuaded myself that I wanted to learn new things; like the Vietnamese proverb says, “Đi một ngày đàng, học một sàng khôn,” ("Travelling broadens one's horizons.”) I agree!

I came to the Convention Center early; I did not need to pass through the security checkpoint. The security officers only checked the audience’s belongings: bags and purses. I entered the theatre and noticed that not many people attended the event. On the stage, the Bear Flag and the American Flag comforted me and made me feel secure; a small coffee table with two mugs on it sat between the two overstuffed chairs. I wondered if the Governor with speak with the audience standing near that table, like President Lincoln does at Disneyland's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. I have never seen a speaker deliver a speech near a coffee table like that.

Students with their green uniforms came in and filled up the reserved seats on the right side. I remembered chaperoning Bachdrot students to the San Jose Convention Center to see President Bill Clinton in 2000. I had to be held outside the Center more than one hour for security checks. I stood during the event and waited too long for President Clinton’s appearance. Growing up in an Asian country where male makeup was not accepted, President Clinton’s makeup gave me an initial negative impression of him. Moreover, at that time, my English skill was limited; I could not understand President Clinton and Congressman Mike Honda’s words. I only knew that they came to San Jose to support Al Gore’s presidential campaign.

A lady in a white dress approached the podium to the left of the stage; she talked about the upcoming event and introduced the event’s agenda. We clapped our hands to welcome the speaker, Governor Schwarzenegger. The Governor appeared; there was no music or standing to greet the leader of California; this brought a friendly, cozy atmosphere to the proceedings, and created a close connection between the attendees and the speaker. The heart of the event was green energy and dangers to the environment, as the Governor educated the audience about the danger of climate change, and encouraged us to support the environmental group called Climate One.

The Governor said, “Two thirds of Californians approve our state's landmark law to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Do you know who the two most prominent opponents of the law are? Valero and Tesoro, also two of the state’s top polluters. They are behind an initiative on the November ballot called Proposition 23, which would suspend our law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But in reality, because of the fine print, when it comes to unemployment, they really don’t want to suspend it. They want to kill the initiative. They want to kill our laws. And when they are not creating a shell company, they are creating a shell argument that it is about saving jobs….It is about their ability to pollute and thus protect their profits. Those who seek to overturn the carbon reduction law say that the green-tech future is too costly.”

I have learned the reasoning behind Propositions AB 32 and 23. AB 32, the Global Warming Act of 2006, required reducing greenhouse emissions in California; by contrast, Proposition 23 is against the reduction of greenhouse gasses because it is too expensive. However, in response to the Governor’s points, the cost of diseases and infections from pollution, as well as the cost of rising oil prices because of exports from other countries, are much higher than the budget for saving energy. He proved that if more consumers would use solar energy for transportation, heating, and other necessities, the cost would be reduced (like the reductions in the cost of internet service and cell phones). Governor Schwarzenegger stated that clean energy creates more jobs for Californians.

Global warming and clean energy projects are Governor Schwarzenegger’s passion. He is determined to protect AB 32 and fight against Proposition 23 during his term in office, and he will continue to fight when he leaves office, because of his love for California. He calls on all California voters to vote "No" on Proposition 23. Good luck, Governor!

Santa Clara Convention Center: September 28, 2010

October 2, 2010

Rogers Elementary School

2010-09-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Best Friends

2010-09-02T17:09:00.001-07:00

The United States is in Our Hearts: Former Mayor Esteves Comes Back

2010-08-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

The United States is in Our Hearts:
Former Mayor Esteves Comes Back
By Anhthao Bui
with editing by Dan Lambert

I knew former Mayor Jose Esteves before we made friends with each other. My students often told me about him with their innocent and proud voices and manners, because they knew and spoke with a politician who held a high rank and position in our society. Although I had not met Mr. Esteves yet, I pictured a “cool mayor” who was friendly, easy to get along with, and a role model for students.
Indeed he was!
By chance, I met former Mayor Jose Esteves in one meeting in our community. At the reception, Mr. Esteves came, smiled, and said to me, “I like your poetry. Nice to meet you.”
I replied to him, “Thank you. Nice to meet you too. I admire your accomplishments. Milpitas has developed and changed very fast over the last few years. I would like to know what inspired you to become such a successful politician.”
Mr. Esteves gave me his business card and a friendly tapped on my shoulder. “Please give me a call or visit me at the City Hall.”
We became good friends, often discussed, or shared things with each other. Mr. Esteves proudly told me that during his term, Milpitas became a great city with new business centers and the new library, and hundreds of new housing units. Moreover, Milptias was also a safe city. In return, I showed him Yellow Flower, my book of poetry, as an example of my accomplishment. We have something in common; we both like Carlos Bulosan, a Filipino politician and writer for 50 years and Mr. Bulosan’s philosophical ideas about America; we both love the United States and wish to make the United States better because the United States is the heart of men who die for freedom. The United States is not only for white people, but also for anyone who lives in the United States, from the eloquent African Americans, the hard-working Hispanic Americans, to the patient Asian Americans. While Mr. Esteves showed his love to the United States through his political acts to serve the country and its people, I praised the United States in my poetry and in my other writing.
We were busy and disconnected; I haven’t heard any news about Mr. Esteves.
Once, my friend invited me to attend Mr. Esteves’ Campaign Kickoff Event to reelect the Mayor of Milpitas. We were happy to see each other again.
I asked Mr. Esteves, “Why do you want to run for mayor? Political campaigning is a risky business and hard work. Especially, in this recession, everything faces toward the budget deficit.”
Mr. Esteves agreed with me, “Ann, you are right, but I want return to the City Council to work on the challenges facing Milpitas. Moreover, I want to complete my unfinished work that I left behind.”
Mr. Esteves continued, “Ann, do you remember Carlos Bulosan writes that the United States is in the hearts of people who die for freedom and in the eyes of those who build a new world? Because of our love for the United States, we contribute our ability to the country we love. Moreover, the United States is a country with opportunities for all the people, no matter who we are: native born or alien, educated or illiterate—We are America! Ann, I cannot work alone and need your help and others' help."
I smiled. “Mr. Esteves, your words are persuasive. Please count on me."
Please visit: http://www.estevesformayor.com/

Meg Whitman at Christopher Ranch

2010-07-24T15:11:00.001-07:00

By Anhthao Bui with editing by Dan Lambert

The Christopher Ranch was located on California Highway 25 toward Hollister. There was no sign about the Christopher Ranch. When I changed to Highway 25, I almost got lost, but the Jerry Brown activists saved my life. They waved their hands and raised their posters, which read “Vote for Jerry Brown.” I made a right turn, gave them a glad smile, and said "thank you" to them.

I drove to the Christopher Ranch area and drove around: there was no sign about Meg Whitman’s event. In front of a building, some people gathered at the two booths; Madam Whitman was standing, shaking hands and talking to another group of people. After I parked my car, I went to the booth to sign in. A young lady asked me my full name and wrote it on the roster and directed me to come inside the building. I heard that Madam Whitman spent a lot of money for her campaign and advertisements. Thus, I expected that the campaign should give the audience some free gifts with her name on it. Also, the audience should have free soft drinks, and participants should be able to give their contact information, so the staff members could contact them. At least her campaign staff members did not try to bother the voters. The simplicity of Madam Whitman's event tamed my heart.

I came inside the building; my eyes were stuck on the yellow chrysanthemums which were my favorite flower; the chrysanthemum was the soul of Gilroy and Salinas that reminded me of John Steinbeck’s "Chrysanthemum." The yellow chrysanthemums brought me back to my childhood villa in Vietnam. Garlic, green pepper, and other crops were surrounding the stage. I hardily sniffed the garlic aroma into my lungs. The Christopher Ranch’s big truck with a picture of Gilroy farm land was along the left wall; next to the big truck was a tractor; big posters which read “Meg’s Plan for Jobs” and “Meg 2010: Creating Jobs for a New California” were in front of the stage.

Farmers are the working class who play an important role in our daily lives, but their living conditions are often below the standard. Farmers and peasants need a lot of help and our government’s attention. I wished Madam Whitman would be a true friend to farmers. I read the poster again: “Meg 2010: Creating Jobs for a New
California,” and thought, Oh no, Californians were proud of the long history of seeking wealth; I did not want any politician to change our California into something new at all. The Bear Flag was on the right side of the stage. Oops: the setting's environment was missing something else. I looked up, I looked down, I looked around, but I could not find the United States flag. I was upset; I liked to attend political events in order to wave the flag, to sing, and to hear patriotic songs, but I did not have the chance to enjoy myself.

Mr. Christopher and Madam Whitman appeared on the stage; we stood up to welcome them. Mr. Christopher quickly introduced Madam Whitman as the guest speaker of the event. He then gave the microphone to Madam Whitman. Madam Whitman briefly told the audience about her biography: E-Bay was her most noteworthy accomplishment, but she did not talk about it much. She clearly shared with us the factors that urged her to run for governor and her plans for California with three main points: first to provide jobs and create tax cuts; second to recruit new industries and to retain existing employers; and last but not least to solve California’s water crisis.

She said, “I have plans; without a plan, things never happen.” I thought, “Yep, we often teach and encourage our students to make an outline before writing an essay; the outline is like a plan; without an outline, one can hardly write a good essay. Your outline for your plan is neat and clear, Madam Whitman.” I clapped my hands and yelled loudly. She smiled at me. Her radiant smile bloomed on her mellow face. Her voice was warm and clear: not too fast or too slow. She did not yell or raise her voice at the main points to drive the audience’s attention. Madam Whitman acted well in the role of a mature female leader. To Vietnamese people, a woman with a full face reveals her benevolent and sophisticated virtue.

Gilroy, California: July 22nd, 2010

http://www.megwhitman.com/

Haiku 91

2010-07-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving

2010-02-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Long time ago the Pilgrims left behind their motherland and sailed to the boundless ocean in the hope of finding a place to practice freely their religion. Day after day, night after night flowing in the adventurous sea, they caught land and built huts in the new world; they confronted the alien jeopardy. Ultimately they gathered to thank God for helping them survive during the adventure and to thank the native Indians for helping them overcome the brutal winter.

Like the Pilgrims, after the Saigon's Fall in 1975, current waves of Vietnamese launched to the risky sea with the determination: freedom or die. They traded their freedom by tons of adversities. The United States is one of the countries to receive the jumbo Vietnamese population. In regards to the American tradition, many Vietnamese Americans celebrate Thanksgiving; they get together to thank those, who accept and assist them, and those, who share land, bread, and job with them.

I personally thank my family to care and to sponsor me to the United States. I acknowledge my professors and instructors who give me the ability to express my heart and mind in English. I applaud my friends’ support, cooperation, and motivation me to pursue my dream. I cheer my students’ love and trust. I adore my Blue Eyes’ democracy, magnificence, and magnetism.

I love you; you love me; we are the happy United States of America.

Thanksgiving 09

The Savior

2009-09-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

DENIAL

2009-08-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

Carries a glorious mission
Denies pure love
Follows God’s voice
He pledges to be a goatherd

Over the oceans
On the mountain
A fragile heart sobbing
Blasphemes God’s steal her love

MOTHER'S DAY

2009-07-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

THE UNITED STATES

2009-07-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

LAKE MC CLURE

2009-07-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

HOME ROOM TWENTY-ONE

2009-05-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

IMPROMPTU

2009-05-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

BROKEN LOVE

2009-05-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

LOVE PAIN

2009-04-14T10:27:00.001-07:00

THANKS

2009-01-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the Đồng Khởi Movement
Vietnamese lost freedom
Thanks for the Nam Kỳ Revolution
Justice flew away from Vietnam

Thanks for the Saigon’s fall
Vietnamese live in exile
Thanks for the Red Government
Vietnam becomes the poorest country

Thanks for the reeducation camps
Men understood oxen’s labors
Wives lost their husbands
Children lost their fathers

Thanks for the New Government
Vietnam was isolated from the world
Vietnam went back to the prehistoric age
Human labors replaced technology

SHAME

2009-01-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Shame on Viet Communists
They sell Viet land to feed their greed
If folks cry out their split
Our folks are committed to death
Folks pretend to be deaf
Wise citizens accept silence
I reject my quiescence
I chastise their treason of roots
Because rage fills my soul
To see our folks in woe’s burden
Trường Sa’s big present
Red Bloc sells to Nation China

MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHERLAND

2008-12-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

VIETNAM SOVEREIGNTY OVER HOANG SA &TRUONG SA ISLANDS
Sovereignty
Saigon Times Magazine
12-2-04

Hoang Sa (Paracel Islands) comprise more than 30 islands that are coral reefs and shoals. They are at 15.45 degrees to 17.15 North and 111 degrees to 113 East on an area of 16,000 sq km in the East Sea, 120 nautical miles (1 nautical mile=1.852 km) off Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai Province of Vietnam and 140 nautical miles off Hainan Island of China. The land surface area of Hoang Sa is about 10 sq km. The largest island, Phu Lam, has an area of 1.2 sq km.

Under the Nguyen Dynasty, Hoang Sa belonged to Quang Ngai District, Quang Nam Province. In 1938, they were part of Thua Thien Province. In 1961, they were named Dinh Hai Commune and were part of Hoa Vang District in Quang Nam Province. They became an island district of the centrally run city Danang under a Government's decision issued on November 23, 1996.

Hoang Sa, together with Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, is part of Vietnam's territory. In the early 17th century the Nguyen lords set up an army made up of locals from Quang Ngai District to gather goods and tools left aboard stranded ships in Hoang Sa and exploit precious marine resources. These activities continued until the 20th century and were recorded in many historical documents such as Toan tap Thien nam tu lo do thu (1686), Phu bien tap luc (1776), Lich trieu hien chuong loai chi, Dai Nam thuc luc tien bien, Dai Nam thuc luc chinh bien (1844), Dai Nam nhat thong chi (1910) and Quoc trieu chinh bien toan yeu. The Nguyen lords also sent men to Hoang Sa to conduct surveys, erect milestones and stelae and grow trees.

With the exploitation of resources in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa across the centuries, the Nguyen Dynasty exercised its sovereignty over the two island groups practically and legally. The sovereignty seemed to be undisputable until the 20th century. Meanwhile, China's maps and historical records do not have evidence of Chinese sovereignty over the two islands. Even the Hai luc (1842) states: "Van ly Truong Sa comprise shoals spreading several thousand miles on the sea that are the outer border of An Nam."

In 1907, China began to eye Hoang Sa and Truong Sa. In May 1909, it sent three gun ships to break into some islands in Hoang Sa. In 1921, the South China government decided to merge Hoang Sa, which they called Tay Sa, into Hainan Island. The move sparked a territorial dispute over Hoang Sa with the French colonial ruler of Vietnam at that time, and later over Truong Sa in 1930. In 1935, China claimed its territory included four groups of islands in the East Sea.

In 1939, Japan took over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa from France and turned them into navy bases. However, a conference between the U.S., Britain and China in Cairo in November 1943 ruled that Japan must return the Chinese territories it occupied. The Potsdam conference in August 1945 between the U.S., Britain, China and Russia ruled that the Cairo declaration must be observed. It should be noted that the Chinese territories that Japan had occupied and must return to China included Manchuria, Taiwan and Pescadores (Penghu) Islands. Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were not mentioned.

China, however, continued to claim sovereignty over the two islands in one way or another in 1947, 1950 and 1951. At the conference for redefinition of the borders of countries after World War II held in San Francisco in 1951 with the participation of 51 countries, 46 voted against the motion to return Hoang Sa and Truong Sa to China, only three supported the motion.

In 1956, China sent troops to occupy a group of islands east of Hoang Sa, taking advantage of the situation where French forces had to withdraw from Vietnam and the Vietnamese Government had yet to take over the islands and consolidate forces there.

In 1974, China occupied some more islands of Hoang Sa which were controlled by the Saigon regime. Nguyen Van Thieu, then president of the regime, asked for American intervention. However, the U.S. ignored the plea, as it did not want to take the risk of protecting the territory of a country that it had to give up.

In 1988, China again mobilized air and navy forces to occupy six areas in Truong Sa. The issue became more complicated in 1992 when China signed a contract with Crestone allowing the American company to explore for and exploit oil in a block of 25,500 sq km on Vietnam's continental shelf that is 84 nautical miles from the base line of Vietnam and 570 miles from Hainan Island.

Vietnam continues to assert its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands. Its policy is to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully through negotiation.

Gen. Lý Thường Kiệt (1077 A.D.)
http://paracelspratlyislands.blogspot.com/2008/01/vietnams-sovereignty-over-hoang-sa.html

Sông núi nước Nam, vua Nam ở
Rành rành định phận tại sách trời.
Cớ sao lũ giặc sang xâm phạm,
Chúng bay sẽ bị đánh tơi bời

Over Mountains and Rivers of the South,
reigns the Emperor of the South,
As it stands written forever in the Book of Heaven.
How dare those barbarians invade our land?
Your armies, without pity, will be annihilated.

南國山河南帝居
截然定分在天書
如何逆虜來侵犯
汝等行看取敗虛

Sur les monts et les fleuves du Sud,
règne l'Empereur du Sud.
Ainsi en a décidé à jamais le Céleste Livre.
Comment, vous les barbares, osez-vous envahir notre sol?
Vos hordes, sans pitié, seront anéanties!

แผ่นดินเวียตนาม กษัตริย์เวียตนามทรงอยู่
เขตแดนถูกกำหนดชัดเจนโดยสวรรค์
เหตุไฉน ศัตรูจึงมารุกล้ำ
พวกมึงจะถูกตีอย่างย่อยยับ

Das Land Vietnam, wo sein König bleibt.
Das is offensichtlich im Heiligen Buch zugeteilt.
Warum haben die Eindringlinge es überschritten?
Euch wird eine brutale Niederlage beigebracht!

베트남 강산에는 베트남 왕이 산다.
그것은 바로 하늘의 뜻에 따른 운명이다.
그런데 왜 너희 원수들은 이곳을 차지하러 오는가.
너희들은 패배해서 쫓겨나갈 것이다.

OCTOBER THIRTEENTH

2008-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

October thirteenth, ninety sixty something
That gloomy night
Mother Nature enraged
She poured her anger to the earth

A first faint cry
Lost into the explosion of thunderstorms
Flood overflowed the seashore

The newborn was abandoned

DEAR ANNE FRANK

2008-08-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Anne Frank,

I just finished reading your diary. I love it very much. Your diary makes me cry. Actually, I read the book when I was a little girl, but I did not remember why I loved your book until now. First, I admire you, Anne. You are brave. I cannot imagine how my life would be during two years of separation from society in a small space. Perhaps I would commit suicide. Second, I find myself in your character. We have many things in common. We love nature and aesthetics; you liked writing and wished to be a famous writer. Your wish was granted; your book was translated into many languages. I love writing and wish to be a famous writer too. However, unlike you, I am confused about my ability. Failure engulfs me in an ocean of depressed mud and an inferiority complex. I try to escape from the inferiority complex and the depression, but I am not successful. I fight against my enemies every minute. I am so exhausted and wish to die, but I have no choice. I am cowardly; I dare not commit suicide because I know before my breath stops, I may suffer tremendous physical pain. Oh, I am scared because I hate pain. I do not know why I cannot give up my goal. The more I suffer darkness, the more I wish to write. I write for myself. I want to improve my writing skill.
Many people have admired me and said that I was talented, smart, and remarkable. However, I was confused about my ability. If I was really talented or smart, I should be successful and not fall into failures.
Like you, I am so lonely among my family. My mother and my siblings love me very much; they are jealous of people whom I am close. However, they never know that they accidentally push me down into the canyon of dolor because of their poisonous language and their mean judgments.
Also, we have the same hobbies; we like literature and history.
I am bipolar. Two different characters are in this person: Anhthao in writing and Anhthao in a real life.

MOTIVATION

2008-08-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

I was an English major at San Jose State University. I love reading and writing. However, as an ESL student, I struggled with some English courses. I did not talk much in the classroom and I made some English grammartical errors. Thus, I was confused and frustrated about my ability. Professor Mitchell understood and encouraged me to pursue my dream. Once, when professor Mitchell came to the classroom, she said, “Class, we are proud to have a famous poet in our class.”
Theresa was curious, “Really? Who is he or she?”
Students were surprised, “Who? May we know the poet’s name?”
Professor Mitchell smiled and said, “Anhthao Bui is her name. Her poetry is chosen to publish in the anthology,'The Best Poems and Poets of 2003.' She also gets the Diversity Award of the Humanity Department.”
Students looked at me and yelled, “Wow, no wonder! Are you a poet, Anhthao?"
Angela, my best friend, nodded, “Yep, she is. Her poetry is beautiful. I read her poetry when I took the English 132, the Creative Writing Course.”
Professor Mitchell suggested, “Anhthao, could you share with us your poetry?”
I was shy. My face turned red. With a soft and trembling voice, I told her, “Yes, Professor. I would like to share with you the poem, “Haikus I”
I stood up and tried to read loudly and slowly, “Haikus I”
Among foreigners
Differ from languages, cultures
I'm blind, deaf, and dumb

Melancholy tears
Fall on Shakespeare's masterpieces
Cloud men's loneliness

Anguish eats my flesh
Solitude swallows my blood
Fear hacks me to death

I am a phoenix
Death, rebirth, a life cycle
Crawl on a new path

When I finished the poem, class paused a few seconds, and then students burst into applause and praise.
“Wow, Anhthao!”
“So powerful!”
“So unique!”
“You’re talented, Anhthao."

Professor Mitchell told me, “ Anhthao, tell us about your poetry. Why did you write it?”
I was touched. My eyes were wet. I murmured, “Thank you so much for your praise. One early morning, when I got up, I saw white spots tears on the Shakespeare’s black book cover, so I wrote the poem to describe my emotion and my depression. I like haiku because of its simplicity. However, a haiku is not enough to convey a full message, which I want to express, so I tie some haiku into a bunch of poetry and call it “haikus.” My haikus is different from the traditional haiku. Each traditional haiku becomes a stanza in the haikus.
Bobby uttered, “Wow! Anhthao, you are creative.”
Professor Mitchell told us, “ Anhthao was an ESL student. She has lived in America for six years. She loves literature and wishes to be a Vietnamese-American writer. She often makes grammartical errors when she writes, but I like her ideas. Her thoughts are deep. She is very quiet in class. I want you to help her.”
Lina showed her admiration, “You’re remarkable, Anhthao. English literature is very difficult.”
Jo Ann confessed, “I cannot write beautiful poetry like yours.”
Pamela added, “Poetry is your gift, Anhthao.”
Prof. Mitchell agreed with Pamela, “Indeed, she is! Don’t give up, Anhthao. You only have three more classes. Your writing is fine. We understand you.”
Angela offered, “I volunteer to help Anhthao correct her English grammartical errors.”
I appreciated Angela, “Thank you, Angela.”
I asked, “May I read one more poem?”
Prof. Mitchell agreed, “It’s fine, Anhthao.”
I read, “ In Debt
I owe my father a sperm
I owe my mother an egg
I owe my country a yellow skin
I owe America my freedom
I owe my professors
My knowledge
What did I do for the debt?
Nothing!
What should I do?
What should I do?
Never enough.

Cesar told me, “I love your poetry, Anhthao.”
Richard commended, “You did many things. You are successful. You almost receive your Bachelor’s degree.”
Kyle added, “You got many accomplishments.”
I told them, “ I promise not to give up my dream and will apply the English Master’s Program. I know I will cope with difficulties and hardships. However, I do not have the right to give up because of your trust and your care for me, my dear professor and friends.”
Prof. Mitchell encouraged me, “You will be successful, Anhthao.”

SJSU, Spring 2003

Haiku 48

2008-08-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Admiring Nature
Poetry muscle working
Describe its beauty

Haiku 47

2008-08-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Nature circulates
Fall, winter, summer, and spring
Life cycle courses

BLUE SKY

2008-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Its nature
Is blue
If it blurs, blue is endless

CREATIVITY by Anhthao Bui

2008-07-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

To bloom a creative garden, I must lose myself and turn my blue into fertile dirt. Creativity needs fertilizer and good care. Creativity likes blue and gloom. I nurture my aesthetics and feed it with my blood, flesh, and vigor. Creative trees are greedy suckers. They violently suck my live maroon with joy. Creativity is bacteria to live in my cells. They undermine my brain, heart, and control system.
Artists are those who have imbalanced psyche and suffer their long life depression. Artists are crazy people who live in their imagination. Artists are the poorest people in the world who long for love and wish to understand. Artists are valiant heroes who fight against their vexing enemies in each breath. Artists skillfully use their own weapons and shields to protect themselves from their self-humiliation.

YELLOW FLOWER'S PHOTOS

2008-07-13T12:06:00.000-07:00

YELLOW FLOWER
A BOOK OF POETRY by ANHTHAO BUI

PART VI AMERICA

“This is America: ...- a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”
George Bush, “Acceptance Speech” August 18. 1988

PART VII FAMILY

“All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

PART VIII STUDENTS

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
John Cotton Dana

PART IX DEATH

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.
Sylvia Plath, “Lady Lazarus”

PART X MISCELLANEOUS

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

YELLOW FLOWER by Anhthao Bui

2008-07-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

YELLOW FLOWER

Author: Anhthao Bui
Paperback: 104 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (July 12, 2007)
Language: English
6x9 softcover
ISBN-10: 143432297
ISBN-13: 978-1-4343-2279-1
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.3 inches
Yellow Flower is available at amazon.com, barnesandnobles.com, borders.com, target.com, wallmart.com, and your local bookstores

Yellow Flower is a poetry collection marking her 11- year marathon toward the publications of her own literature. With almost 60 poems, Yellow Flower reveals Bui’s secret life of inner struggles and conflicts—love, patriotism, anger, regret, and self-doubt. Although pain and sorrow are the major themes, some positive poems are full of hope and appreciation toward the United States and its people.
Yellow Flower is the book for those who are seeking to read emotional poetry.
Anhthao wishes to dedicate Yellow Flower to the celebration marking San Jose State University's 150th anniversary.
ANHTHAO BUI
Anhthao Bui had lived in Saigon, Vietnam before she migrated to San Jose, California in late 1996. She started learning English as a Second Language at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose in the fall of 1997. She transferred to San Jose State University in the fall of 2000, and graduated in May 2004. Anhthao Bui earned her bachelor of arts in English.
Ms. Bui's background is multicultural and includes education in French, Vietnamese, Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Communism, and Western Civilization.
Anhthao Bui continued her education at National University in San Jose in June 2005, but soon discontinued her pursuits for her personal reason.

INTRODUCTION

Anhthao Bui cautiously entered my classroom of Steinbeck students, English 167. She had launched into an English major at San Jose State, a typically determined move by this Vietnamese immigrant, a woman with a mission. “I fell down the first time I was assigned to the English War/Considering I was an ordinary hero without armor,” she writes in a poem about her confrontations with language. Indeed, for anyone who knows Anhthao, her struggles to master and teach the English language have had the classical dignity of this poem that describes her assault. But Anhthao rearmed herself again and again, earning a degree, finding a job. She wrote for her classes, and she wrote for herself:

Collecting last breaths
Growing in obscurity
Conquering the ruin

A yellow flower
Emerges in a deep jungle
Radiates the world

Like that flower—and the title of this collection—Anhthao radiantly emerges here as a poet of great promise. This collection is characterized by the honesty which is always hers, “My poetry is written in/Tears and blood.” As she traces her passions and admits her loneliness or sense of failure, she reveals, if briefly, her interior landscapes. And the poems change moods frequently, as she ranges over a broad poetic field: love, death, university libraries, family, job, America. What is revealed in these poems is an immigrant’s appreciation of this complex country: the dream seems more tangible when a newcomer embraces it, and American leaders more profound when seen through her eyes. Poignantly, her poems bear the stamp of her reading as an English major, both in epigraphs and in this, one of the loveliest in the collection, a Whitmanesque reflection.

NATURE

A pair of white breasts
A pair of black breasts
A pair of small breasts
A pair of big breasts
A pair of short breasts
A pair of long breasts
A pair of firm breasts
A pair of wrinkled breasts
Bathe in the same spring
Blocked by many rocks
And green trees
What kind of women are they?
They are not shameful
When men see their naked bodies
They do not fear danger
In a deep jungle

Anhthao’s poems bear the deep stamp of her gratitude and boundless generosity of spirit.

Susan Shillinglaw, Professor
Department of English and Comparative Literature
San Jose State University

QUOTES by Anhthao Bui

2008-07-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

MY QUOTES

“I am a precious maple hiding in a deep jungle.”

“The Unites States is a mirror, which reflects a Vietnamese spirit.”

“Technology serves my creativity.”

“Life is short; achieve my goals first.”

“Education makes me humble.”

“Knowledge gives me strength and confidence.”

“Writers are the loneliest creatures in their own world.”

“The artists’ hearts are hypersensitive like musical instruments.”

“Diligence supersedes slow learning.”

“Nothing is easy.”

“My success is paid off with tones of failures.”

“The battle between God and me never ends.”

“Give me a chance, I will give you the world.”

“If I want to succeed, I must lock my ego in a drawer.”

“Be on the alert for other’s mistakes that might be mine.”

“Do not let my mood interfere in my task, but let it flourish in my writing.”

“When I look in a mirror once, I might look in my conscience hundreds of times.”

“While I may look in a mirror once, I might look in my conscience hundreds of times.”

“Wearing alien writing shoes, I am traveling over the oceans and walking through the jungles to taste the spicy New World.”

“Playing piano measures my brain’s work and my anxiety.”

“I start reaching my literary goal with total enthusiasm and end it with sour tears and bitter thorns.”

“Learning piano teaches me patience.”

“A nude body is God’s incarnation.”

“Nude photos bring you back to nature.”

“Sex is a token of love.”

“A popular person may accept society’s strict judgments.”

“Throwing in a popular world, one may accept society’s strict judgments and face intense scrutiny.”

“ True understanding between individuals does not derive from their academic degrees, their social hierarchies, nor their prosperous levels, but it is the equal of their universal knowledge and their diplomatic conducts.”

“Each individual is a mysterious island and an interesting book, which I want to discover.”

“True love respects each other.”

“Watching a talent teacher is as delighted as eying Leonard de Vinci’s Mona Lisa.”

“Forgiving is easier than forgetting.”

“When I do good deed, I would like people to call me, “Ms. Bui,” who is the youngest child of my parents. However, when I do evils, I want people to criticize Anhthao, an independent individual, who lacks her father’s teaching in early childhood and who is a wild bush growing among natural prairie.”

“The more I experience discrimination, the more I wish to write.”

“Silence is the most powerful act to confuse the opponents.”

“Individual’s identity and attitude create one’s fate.”

“People show their jealousy and inferior complex by castigating one another.”

“Failure ignites my success’s flaming determination in the United States.

About Purple

2008-07-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Name: Anhthao Bui

Pen Name : Purple, Lanvy, Maika

Nationality: Vietnam

Occupation: Educator & Writer

From : San Jose, California

Goal : Pursuing a higher education and achieving my literary dream

Freetime : Playing the piano, reading, and writing

Website : http://buimuse.com/

Published: Yellow Flower, a book of poetry

Unpublished : Fish Sauce, an anthology; Hummingbird, a book of poetry