US Congress urged to stop discrimination against Vietnamese-Americans

The Embassy of Vietnam in the US has sent a letter to some US congressmen, asking them to help end the discrimination against Vietnamese-Americans and Vietnamese citizens there.

Discrimination against Asian-Americans owes its source to the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: AFP

Meanwhile, the embassies of ASEAN member states have raised the issue with the US National Security Council and the US Department of State following a number of cases recently.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some National Assembly’s Committees, and the Embassy of Vietnam in the US have worked with the US Security Council over the fact that Vietnamese-Americans and Vietnamese nationals in the US are the targets of racial discrimination.

The discrimination in employment and access to public services, in the forms of attack and robbery with targets being Asian American, owes its source to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Embassy of Vietnam in the US.

The embassy emphasizes the Vietnamese community’s contributions to the US society, mainly their dedication on the front lines to ensure health, security and well-being for people across America in the pandemic.

A wave of violence targeting Asian community happened since lockdowns to cope with the coronavirus pandemic began about a year ago.

Shortly after the pandemic broke out in 2020, Vietnam Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc held a telephone conversation with Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation expressing concerns over discrimination against Asian people, including Vietnamese and asking the US government to be mindful of this reality.

“We know that there is a lot of angst, fear with our Asian community,” said San Jose’s police chief, Anthony Mata, during his visit to Little Saigon. “It’s important for us to have that dialogue, engage with them and see how we can help,” Reuters cited him.