Democratic Voice of Vietnam

It is time again for BPSOS’ annual fundraising event. The “Lend A Hand” fundraiser, with dinner and live performance, will be held on Friday May 17, 2019 at Harvest Moon Restaurant, 7260 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church, Virginia.

The funds raised will support BPSOS’ operations to protect the growing number of Vietnamese seeking refugee protection in Thailand – this number, standing at around 1,000 today, continues to increase as political and religious persecution in Vietnam goes on. This situation has forced us to temporarily shift our resources away from rescuing victims of labor and sex slavery, but with your help, we hope to reinvigorate the work of Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA) in the near future. The funds raised will also help sustain our efforts to assist and defend human rights defenders who are now in prison or in exile.

Over the past decade, BPSOS has rescued and assisted in the rescue of some 11 thousand victims in 20 countries, provided legal aid to over a thousand asylum seekers in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, successfully fought for the freedom of a dozen prisoners of conscience and secured US $750,000 in emergency assistance for 236 human rights defenders at risk. Starting in 2012 we have also built resistance capacity for a growing number of religious and indigenous communities to form the foundation for the democratization of Vietnam.

In 2019, besides continuing all the above humanitarian and human rights activities, we will implement new projects with a view to bring about democratic changes to Vietnam: the Legal Fund for Justice will support litigation by victims against violators of human rights, the Vietnam Civil Rights Project will press the regime to enforce its own domestic laws, the Vietnam Property Restitution Project will seek compensations for property that the Vietnamese government expropriated from Vietnamese Americans, and the NextGen Youth Leadership Summit will train future community leaders and human rights advocates.

Please sponsor our projects by sending in your donation or by attending the “Lend a Hand” charity event on May 17th, 2019. Your donation will be 100% tax deductible in the United States. If you need more information or want to become involved, please contact BPSOS at: 703-538-2190 or via email at [email protected]. Thank you very much for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you at our event. Even if you do not live in the Falls Church area, you can still help. There are over eight “Lend a Hand” events across the U.S. throughout the year, where you can make a difference. Thank you for supporting our international initiatives!

Sincerely Yours,

Nguyen Dinh Thang, Ph.D

President & CEO

BPSOS