When the Community Comes Together

Although this isn't a salon-related story, I think it's important to be aware of the stories that impact the greater Vietnamese-American community.
 
A Village Called Versailles is a documentary on a tight-knit Vietnamese-American community in East New Orleans hit by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the residents in the community of Versailles were refugees of the Vietnam War. Having lost a home once, the community banded together to help rebuild their homes, rebuilding quicker than many other communities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and with little help from the government. Just as it seemed the community would be back in order, the New Orleans mayor decided to open a landfill to be filled with toxic debris from the hurricane two miles away from Versailles. Outraged, the Vietnamese community fought back and made their presence known, protesting at City Hall and on the site of the landfill.
 
This documentary premieres tonight, Tuesday, May 25th at 10pm (but check your local listings: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/guide.html) on PBS on the award-winning series, Independent Lens. For more information on A Village Called Versailles, visit: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/village-called-versailles/index.html.
 
 
It just goes to show how much can be accomplished when a community comes together to fight and make their voices heard.
 
 
-Kim

Originally posted on Viet Salon