Civic engagement and self-empowerment of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia

The first cohort of Czech second-generation Vietnamese has only recently reached adulthood. Raised by Czech nannies, they received early socialization into Czech society, while Vietnamese culture remained unfamiliar. With this childhood experience, the generation grew into young adulthood questioning their identity/identities. Caught between social and normative pressures from both the Vietnamese community and Czech society, the formation of associations by second-generation Vietnamese can be a means to respond to their disadvantaged position. Based on in-depth interviews with leaders of these associations and participant observation of their activities, the article examines the goals and activities of second-generation associations (SGAs) and compares them with first-generation immigrant organizations. SGAs are shown to fill the gap of parents as key role models of socialization in Czech society and as platforms to enhance the self-confidence and sense of social responsibility of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia.

Voyageurs malgré eux: Silence, embodiment, and exposure in Minh Tran Huy and Doan Bui

In recent Franco-Vietnamese literature written by descendants of immigrants, the liminality of exile is portrayed in all its complexity through migrant bodies – that of parents’ bodies – and through political and social bodies – linked to History and the Việt Kiều’s positionality in French society. The experience of external movement becomes an internal one, creating porosity between the outside and the body, self and others, places and times. This article argues that, in Minh Tran Huy’s Voyageur malgré lui and Doan Bui’s Le Silence de mon père, by representing their family’s migration, both authors present the silenced histories of the Vietnamese community in France. In order to do so, Tran Huy and Bui first focus on uncovering and writing the stories of their silent fathers: through their embodiment of exilic history, the fathers transmit the wound of their immigrant condition to their daughters. Consequently, daughters come to manifest similar bodily expressions of traumas they have not experienced and know little about. The fathers’ histories are eventually voiced and re-invested by the second generation. This shows how the unearthing of their fathers’ life stories is also about reappropriating a dual identity as well as making Asian diasporic perspectives and histories visible, notably to create new avenues of representation for French individuals of Asian descent.

Psychological impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on Vietnamese community

PurposeThis study investigates the psychological impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on Vietnamese people and examines the factors affecting their psychological well-being during and after the lockdown period.Design/methodology/approachBased on the survey answers of 701 Vietnamese respondents, this study explores the psychological impact associated with COVID-19 lockdown in Vietnam. Using a newly developed “mvord” package in R that controls the heterogeneity in error structure of the sample units (Hirk et al., 2020), the study runs multivariate ordinal logistic regression models to examine the determinants of the emotional outcomes.FindingsThe study discloses negative psychological states among the Vietnamese community during and after the lockdown, including boredom, anxiety, sadness, stress, anger, precautionary measures and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Demographic characteristics (male gender, young age, poor-health condition, high educational level, small family size, officers or professionals, using public transport, quarantine experience before the lockdown, non-extended lockdown period and living in rural areas) and various difficulties during lockdown (insufficient information about COVID-19, income loss, having daily-life difficulties and unhappy experiences during lockdown) are related to higher degrees of different psychological symptoms during and after lockdown in Vietnam.Originality/valueThis study identifies the importance of mitigating the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on Vietnamese well-being and prepares the Vietnamese government better to handle the public mental issues during future lockdowns.

Floating down the river: Vietnamese community-led social innovation

Purpose This paper aims to explore the barriers facing social enterprise-led community energy projects in Vietnam, to understand the barriers and enablers of social innovation in transitioning economies. In doing so, this paper seeks to identify whether the Vietnamese ecosystem is conducive to sustainable community energy projects and social innovation more broadly. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a qualitative, case study-based methodology to explore institutional barriers to social innovation in the context of three community-led energy projects in Northern Vietnam. Interviews and focus groups were undertaken with 17 individual stakeholders within or engaged with the three case studies. The qualitative data used was analysed using constant comparative method, a method of analysis based in grounded theory that allows for iterative analysis of the data gathered. Findings Social enterprises and their beneficiaries are reliant on their ability to network, but with the Vietnamese government actively involved in the markets, there are significant barriers standing in the way of these networking opportunities. Communities with little political capital are alienated from state institutions, whereas enterprises that offer alternative solutions to governmental priorities are seen as competitors by political agents. Originality/value Applying Granovetter’s theory of “embeddedness” and Herold et al.’s (2019) and Popov et al.’s (2016) theories on institutional centrality and power distribution, this paper seeks to add to our understanding on the impact large, hegemonic institutions can have on the networking ability of social enterprises and their beneficiaries.

“POST-WORSHIP FEAST” CUSTOM THROUGH VILLAGE CONVENTION DOCUMENTS IN THE XVIII-XIX CENTURY VIETNAM

A ‘Post-worship feast’ custom is traditionally celebrated after every ritual practice in a village is an important custom in Vietnamese culture. For centuries this custom has reflected the cultural life of Vietmamese villages. This article introduces the ‘post-worship feast’ custom and the contents related to this that was written in village convention documents of Vietnam in the 18th to the 19th century. The paper also aims to analyse values and specific mechanisms that help this custom continue to exist in the modern Vietnamese community.

Addressing the Social Vulnerability of Mississippi Gulf Coast Vietnamese Community through the Development of Community Health Advisors

Background: Resiliency is the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to stressors from adverse events. Social vulnerabilities (limited access to resources, political power, and representation; lack of social capital; aspects of the built environment; health inequities; and being in certain demographic categories) can impact resiliency. The Vietnamese population living along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a community that has unique social vulnerabilities that impact their ability to be resilient to adverse events. Objectives: The purpose of this project was to address social vulnerability by implementing and evaluating a volunteer Community Health Advisor (CHA) project to enhance community resiliency in this community. Methods: A program implemented over eight three-hour sessions was adapted from the Community Health Advisor Network curriculum that focused on healthy eating, preventing chronic conditions (hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and poor mental health). Topics also included leadership and capacity development skills. Results: Participants (n = 22) ranged from 35 to 84 years of age. Most were female (63.6%), married (45.5%), unemployed (63.6%), had annual incomes of <$10,000, and had high school diplomas (68.2%). Community concerns were crime (50.0%), volunteerism (40.0%), language barriers (35.0%), and food insecurity (30.0%). Approximately 75% had experienced war trauma and/or refugee camps, and 10% had experienced domestic violence. Scores on the Community Health Advisor Core Competency Assessment increased from pre-test to post-test (t = −5.962, df = 11, p < 0.0001), as did SF-8 scores (t = 5.759, df = 17, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Strategies to reduce vulnerabilities in the Vietnamese community should include developing interventions that address health risks and strengths and focus on root causes of vulnerability.

OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY WITH THE PRESERVATION AND DISSEMINATION OF NATIONAL CULTURE

This paper focuses on the following contents: (1) overseas Vietnamese community with the preservation of national culture; (2) overseas Vietnamese community with the mission to disseminate national culture; (3) the active support of the State and some proposals. This paper was presented at the 2nd Conference of the Overseas Vietnamese Community “Vision towards 2020 – the Overseas Vietnamese Community's Integration and Development with the Nation” held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 27-28, 2012.