Page 22 - FMH 8

While visiting San Francisco, a Vietnamese friend brought me along to a monthly pot luck gathering where 1.5 and 2nd generation young people meet up to practice their Vietnamese. (As an aside, I was surprised by the fact that everyone there was an omnivore as I am surrounded by vegans and vegetarians - all of whom are white. Per- haps there was a relationship to the strong Vietnamese community presence in San Francisco and the culture of family gatherings and meal sharing in Vietnamese cul- ture). At the pot luck the documentary, “A Village Called Versailles”, was screened. The documentary focused on the Vietnamese community in East New Orleans. It was chosen as it was the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Watching interviews with the elders and adults and hearing about the re-traumati- sation of dispacement some 30 years after their first diaspora, and then watching the aftermath of rebuilding hit home for me in a big way. Hearing that being placed in large shared living quarters, some of which were the same places they were put during their first relocation to the US, lining up for food, showers and basic sup- plies and then coming back to what was left of their homes they had spent 30 years working towards reconnected me to my mother’s story.
I am thankful for my relationship with my Má that has been fostered by my decision to consume meaty meals with her. I believe now that it matches perfectly with my po- litical beliefs that value and recognise the intersection of retaining culture as a tool for decolonisation while still maintaining my ethical beliefs to challenge the environmental impacts of the meat industry. I am a 27 year old 2nd generation Viet- namese-Australian flexitarian.
Giang gpham.nz@gmail.com mellowyellow-Aotearoa.blogspot.com