First catholic university in Vietnam

Vietnam is to have its first Catholic university (click here)

The establishment of the new university marks a historical turning point for the Church in this communist country and a step towards complete freedom of education

Paolo affatato, vatican city

Vietnam’s first Catholic university is no longer a mirage. It is very soon going to become a reality, in fact according to Paul Bui Van Doc, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the structure could be ready within a year. It is going to mark a crucial turning point in the history of the Vietnamese Catholic Church, the sign of an eagerly awaited return to the freedom of education, which the communist government has denied the people for 60 years.

The Archbishop of former Saigon, proudly explained to Vatican Insider that “the dialogic approach adopted with the government is producing results.” As bilateral relations gradually relax, he said, bishops have pointed out that more and more universities and private campuses run by foreign Asian, Australian and European entities and universities have been popping up over the past decade. The first of these was established in 2001. “Why then should the Catholic Church in Vietnam be deprived of this right? Particularly given the shortcomings in the national education system, which are evident from the figures on Vietnamese education.” The Catholic Church can offer its educational philosophy and experience to educate people into becoming responsible individuals, for the good of the entire society,” the president of the local Episcopate said.

Having been kept out of the state-monopolized educational system for decades, bishops developed the project and took action once they found a gap in the institutions. They looked into forging a partnership with the prestigious Catholic University of Paris and came up with the idea of establishing an advanced Institute of theological studies in Ho Chi Minh City. Simultaneously, bishops sought pontifical status for the new Institution from the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education. Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc said this will be granted “very soon now.” 

The project quickly ended up on the desks of officials in the Vietnamese ministry of education and judging from the first interviews and informal communication established, a lot of headway has been made in the process of obtaining government authorization.

“We are confident. It will mark an important step forward for the common good of the country, a sign of great hope for a brighter future for Vietnam, “Bui Van Doc said.  Education is key and for the Church, educational freedom is a crucial means of carrying out the mission of evangelizing today’s society.” Bishops will discuss the concrete steps to be taken for the establishment of the new institute, at their next assembly, which is to be held between 27 and 30 October 2014, in Nha Trang.

It would not be an exaggeration to call the establishment of this long-awaited institution a “historical turning point”. The Catholic Church’s right to freedom of education in Vietnam was taken away in 1954, when the Communist Party came to power. This ban was later implemented in Southern Vietnam, in 1975, when Catholics ran over two thousand educational structures, from kindergartens to higher education institutes. In recent years, the Church regained full freedom to admit candidates to the seminaries (previously authorized by the State) and to run kindergartens. Congregations and religious institutions often open these in remote villages and in areas affected by marginalization and poverty.

The idea to open a Catholic university first arose three years ago. In a Pastoral letter issued in 2011 and titled “Let’s build together a civilization of love and life”, the Vietnamese Church (Catholics make up 7% of the country’s over 80 million inhabitants) declared that it was ready to contribute to the country’s development in the field of education, a key sector in terms of shaping young people and their consciences. The letter officially requested that the government “open the door to religious people of good will who wish to get involved in school education.” At the time, there were 23 private universities in Vietnam (many of them foreign), that is 11% of the total. But this percentage increased in the last three years, reaching almost 30%. "As citizens the Catholics from Vietnam have an obligation to love and build their country,” the text read. Partly and above all through their service to education.

This “constructive approach” paid off, the archbishop explained, because it made the government more open to the Church’s project. The seed grew and now everything is set for the first Vietnamese Catholic university of the new age and it is even being granted pontifical status. The president of the Vietnamese Episcopate will get the chance to talk to Pope Francis about the project in Korea, in about a month’s time. Here, 

Francis will be meeting representative of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.

wenn tausend Tränen fallen

Mein neues Buch

wenn tausend Tränen fallen ist eine Übersetzung aus dem Englischen

Nach der Niederlage Frankreichs in Dien Bien Phu im Jahr 1954 hegt man in Vietnam große Hoffnung auf Frieden im ganzen Land. 

Doch der Friede stellt sich nicht ein. 

In ihrer Autobiografie erzählt Autorin Yung Krall das tragische Schicksal ihrer Familie, die durch Krieg, Kommunismus und CIA auseinandergerissen wird. Als Tochter des Botschafters der »Befreiungsfront Südvietnams« und loyalen Gefolgsmannes Ho Chi Minhs, und als Nichte eines Patrioten aus Südvietnam, der fest an Demokratie glaubt und ihr die persönliche Einstellung für das Leben gibt, wächst Yung mitten im Krieg und in Abwesenheit des Vaters auf, huldigt den Idealen der Freiheit und Demokratie. 

In dieser vaterlosen Zeit erlebt sie die Brutalität des Krieges hautnah die Angriffe der französischen Luftwaffe, die Terroranschläge der kommunistischen Partisane, die Indoktrinierung ihrer Familie, die Tet-Offensive und die dramatischen Lage der verzweifelten Flüchtlinge. 

Sie heiratet einen Offizier der US Navy, siedelt in die USA über und bringt alles mit, was ihr in der ungewöhnlichen Familie gelehrt wurde. Schon bald wird sie eine Agentin der CIA. In dieser Zeit erlebt sie auch die höchste, persönliche Niederlage, denn sie schafft es nicht, ihren Vater zur Umkehr, zum Verbleiben bei der Familie zu überzeugen. 

Ihre Liebe zu Amerika lässt sie zu einer wichtigen Zeugin im Prozess »Magic Dragon« werden, bei dem hochrangige feindliche Agenten zu langjährigen Strafen verurteilt werden, obwohl sie weiß, dass sie und ihre Familie damit in Lebensgefahr geraten. 

Dieses Buch ist gedacht für all diejenigen, die mehr über das Schicksal des vietnamesischen Volkes erfahren wollen.

Bitte hier klicken: neues Buch

Den Mutigen eine Stimme geben. "Meinungsfreiheit in Südostasien"

von Amnesty International Nürtingen bei Stuttgart, Seegrasspinnerei 

Den Mutigen eine Stimme geben.
"Meinungsfreiheit in Südostasien"

In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Forum Vietnam 21

zeigen wir diese Ausstellung der Stiftung Asienhaus.

Wie zeigt sich öffentlicher Protest oder Regierungskritik in Ländern Südostasiens? Wie wird mit oppositionellen Gruppen oder einzelnen DissidentInnen verfahren? Welche Auswirkungen hat dies auf die Medienlandschaft und die Nutzung von Medien in den einzelnen Ländern?

Die Ausstellung spricht zentrale Problematiken einzelner Länder in der Region an und gibt Menschen in Südostasien eine Stimme, die in den Medien weniger Beachtung finden.

Eintritt frei.

Quelle: amnesty international Nürtingen

Berlin: Ausstellung Medien- und Meinungsfreiheit in Südostasien

Berlin: Ausstellung Medien- und Meinungsfreiheit in Südostasien

Die Ausstellung 

"Den Mutigen eine Stimme geben. Medien- und Meinungsfreiheit in Südostasien.“ 

ist vom 23. Juli bis 6. August in der Bibliothek am Wasserturm (Prenzlauer Berg) in Berlin zu sehen. Ein Vortrag zur Ausstellungseröffnung gibt es am 30. Juli um 19 Uhr Bezirksbüro von amnesty international. 

Die Veranstaltung findet zusammen mit amnesty international statt.

Eintritt frei.

Veranstaltungsort: Bibliothek am Wasserturm, Prenzlauer Allee 227/228, 10405 Berlin

Details & Anfahrt: Bibliothek am Wasserturm

Ausstellung in Berlin

Einladung der Uni Hamburg

Zusammenleben in Deutschland, Ausstellung in Hannover

I hate the vietnamese traffic police

From Charlie Pryor

While in Vietnam, I took notes on a lot of things I observed in my surroundings. Sometimes my notes were happy, and sometimes they were not. Anyone with any decent logic can understand that all new experiences come with ups and downs, and the paragraphs that follow are full of them; but more downs than anything. I was going to change the quote below from its original version, but I cannot seem to make it sound any more honest than from the moment I wrote it during our lengthy drive in Ho Chi Minh City a mere 4 weeks ago. It is the most profoundly blunt portrayal of “screw the police” I’ve ever thought and written down, and I would feel no less than ashamed of myself for not sharing it with the world in its beautiful, raw form:

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see the video