Support viet folks experiencing hardship
Donation protected
hi folks, my name is vee. most of my life i've lived on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations in so-called Vancouver, Canada. i'm first-generation vietnamese, queer, nonbinary, and working class. my parents arrived to these lands in the late '80s as refugees, with the majority of my family remaining in vietnam.
firstly, before donating to this fundraiser, please donate to the Black in BC Community Support Fund for COVID-19: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/covid19-black-community-support-vancouver.
i'm organizing this fundraiser to help support family members who do not have the access, power, and privileges that i do. my family comes from a long history of intergenerational poverty, and while living standards in Vietnam have improved significantly over the last twenty years, my cousins, aunts, and uncles continue to struggle to make ends meet. (their stories are not much different than the majority of people in Vietnam. with the growing middle class, there is also an increasing and -- quite frankly -- a gross disparity in distribution of wealth.)
i've been financially supporting my grandmother every month and other family members when needed, but some recent expenses are above and beyond my means.
here is the breakdown of expenses:
- $4500 for my youngest cousin (July, August, September, October)
- $2300 for my nephew and cousin
- $1200 for my oldest cousin
to bypass gofundme fees, you can send e-transfers or via paypal to:
[email redacted]
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funds raised are for four family members:
1. most urgently, my youngest cousin is in Australia and has tested positive for COVID-19. she is an international student and is experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic. she is ineligible for government assistance and has no savings as she was working to pay her living expenses, tuition, and to send money home in Vietnam. unlike most international students who are children of wealthy elites, my cousin is not. during the first lockdown she became homeless. after getting back on her feet and back to work, she just tested positive for COVID-19 and the city she is in has just recently gone into another lockdown (look up Melbourne, it's a shitshow). i've just sent some funds to at least cover rent and food.
my intention is to be able to send enough funds for her to survive the lockdown and recover from COVID-19 without stress. $1500 for one month.
2. my nephew and cousin are currently incarcerated. in Vietnam, families have to pay for everything in prisons, including to reduce sentences. it's a massive burden on family members and those without support often have to borrow money from the prison guards/workers or other incarcerated people. since January i've been supporting in paying their monthly expenses.
my intention is to able cover a recent excessive cost that is outside of regular monthly expenses and which has placed a burden on their mothers: $2300.
3. my oldest cousin is a temporary foreign worker in canada. she makes about $3/hour as a mushroom picker and experiences terrible working conditions. she's currently working on moving to a farm that is less exploitative. she came here to make better wages to send home to her children, including my nephew mentioned above. her move to a better farm is going to cost ~$2000 in fees for a new contract and work permit (the one she has is tied to the current farm).
my intention is to help cover a portion of these fees so she can move to a new farm as soon as possible while continuing to provide for her family with little interruption.
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i know there's a lot going on in the world and there's so many folks in need. at the same time, the oppressions and exploitative conditions my family experiences are real and they deserve support. as someone with basic means myself, every visit to my motherland reminds me that the disparity in wealth distribution between western and non-western countries is fucking astounding. any amount helps and my hope is that if you give to my family that you also continue giving to others, especially Black folks.
i've put a lot of time, energy, and labour into community organizing. aside from all the reasons outlined above, if you have learned from me, extracted from my labour, or benefited from the work i have put in please donate. supporting my family is how you can support me in continuing to do the necessary work of building community capacity to respond to and transform harm and violence.
may we dismantle and overthrow systems of supremacy and oppression together.
with love,
vee
firstly, before donating to this fundraiser, please donate to the Black in BC Community Support Fund for COVID-19: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/covid19-black-community-support-vancouver.
i'm organizing this fundraiser to help support family members who do not have the access, power, and privileges that i do. my family comes from a long history of intergenerational poverty, and while living standards in Vietnam have improved significantly over the last twenty years, my cousins, aunts, and uncles continue to struggle to make ends meet. (their stories are not much different than the majority of people in Vietnam. with the growing middle class, there is also an increasing and -- quite frankly -- a gross disparity in distribution of wealth.)
i've been financially supporting my grandmother every month and other family members when needed, but some recent expenses are above and beyond my means.
here is the breakdown of expenses:
- $4500 for my youngest cousin (July, August, September, October)
- $2300 for my nephew and cousin
- $1200 for my oldest cousin
to bypass gofundme fees, you can send e-transfers or via paypal to:
[email redacted]
------------
funds raised are for four family members:
1. most urgently, my youngest cousin is in Australia and has tested positive for COVID-19. she is an international student and is experiencing financial hardship because of the pandemic. she is ineligible for government assistance and has no savings as she was working to pay her living expenses, tuition, and to send money home in Vietnam. unlike most international students who are children of wealthy elites, my cousin is not. during the first lockdown she became homeless. after getting back on her feet and back to work, she just tested positive for COVID-19 and the city she is in has just recently gone into another lockdown (look up Melbourne, it's a shitshow). i've just sent some funds to at least cover rent and food.
my intention is to be able to send enough funds for her to survive the lockdown and recover from COVID-19 without stress. $1500 for one month.
2. my nephew and cousin are currently incarcerated. in Vietnam, families have to pay for everything in prisons, including to reduce sentences. it's a massive burden on family members and those without support often have to borrow money from the prison guards/workers or other incarcerated people. since January i've been supporting in paying their monthly expenses.
my intention is to able cover a recent excessive cost that is outside of regular monthly expenses and which has placed a burden on their mothers: $2300.
3. my oldest cousin is a temporary foreign worker in canada. she makes about $3/hour as a mushroom picker and experiences terrible working conditions. she's currently working on moving to a farm that is less exploitative. she came here to make better wages to send home to her children, including my nephew mentioned above. her move to a better farm is going to cost ~$2000 in fees for a new contract and work permit (the one she has is tied to the current farm).
my intention is to help cover a portion of these fees so she can move to a new farm as soon as possible while continuing to provide for her family with little interruption.
------------
i know there's a lot going on in the world and there's so many folks in need. at the same time, the oppressions and exploitative conditions my family experiences are real and they deserve support. as someone with basic means myself, every visit to my motherland reminds me that the disparity in wealth distribution between western and non-western countries is fucking astounding. any amount helps and my hope is that if you give to my family that you also continue giving to others, especially Black folks.
i've put a lot of time, energy, and labour into community organizing. aside from all the reasons outlined above, if you have learned from me, extracted from my labour, or benefited from the work i have put in please donate. supporting my family is how you can support me in continuing to do the necessary work of building community capacity to respond to and transform harm and violence.
may we dismantle and overthrow systems of supremacy and oppression together.
with love,
vee
Organizer
Vee Bui
Organizer
Vancouver, BC
