TO:GOVERNER CHRIS PATTEN, GOVERNER OF HONG KONG, GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
UPPER ALBERT ROAD, HONG KONG.
TO:COMMISSIONSER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPT.
TO:MS. SODAKA OGATA
TO:UNCHR HONG KONG CHIEF OF MISSION, MR. J. ASSADI
TO: BOUTROS BOUTROS-GHALI, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUATERS.
My name is Jimmy Nguyen I'm an eleven year old male disciple
of THE SUPREME MASTER CHING HAI, but when you read this letter
think of me as an adult, Now I want to talk about the refugees,
please let them stay in Hong Kong and Philippine, until one country
can sponsor them. If they go back to Vietnam they will suffer.
Now these people have been suffering for a long time, some
even have been suffering since childhood. These people don't want
to suffer all there life, they want to be free. Do you know how
much it hurts me to even think about those innocent people. Every
day I can't eat because I think to myself how can I eat when those
who are suffering need it more than I do. From the past some
people or most people already suffer because of lost love ones, and
if you make them go back to Vietnam they will suffer even more.
I know how it feels to loose a love one, my two brothers and
one sister died because of the north made the south very poor and
when my brother and sisters were sick we had no money for medicine.
Now how would you like it if that happen to you.
Every day I have to live with that, but I have to forget the
past, now I have a eloquent MASTER she is the one that suffers the
most she has to take alot of karma from all humans in the world,
she is the one who loves me and helped me to get enlightened and to
understand why I'm here in this world, she also is the one who
convinced me to write this letter. Now I have to prevent what
happened to me in the past, from happening to other fellow
sufferers that's why I'm writing this letter not because I want to
do it to make me look good for people, it is for the sufferers. I
don't want these people to live the rest of there lives waiting and
thinking will they ever be free.
I Know I don't have as much power as you do, but I do have
alot of will, and by all means my will is put into this freedom for
the people. Pleases don't let these people go back and live in
that miserable hell. So please consider letting them be free and
don't harm these innocent sentient beings, if you want to take
there life away, why not take mine I am willing to take my will
over there and show it to you, because what ever happens to me I
know I will always be happy for all eternity, because I have my
eloquent MASTER! That's why you have no pity for these fellow
suffering beings, how can you go on living like this. Just think
if you were a refugee, wouldn't you want to be free.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Le Nguyen
This is very precious information. Please distribute immediately to various media and influential persons concern about the refugees.
URGENT NEWS
AID THE VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG
Around midday on May 17 in Hong Kong, at the entrance of the
Prince of Wales Hospital, a reporter of the Sing Tao News Group
specialized in gathering news in hospitals coincidentally ran into
eight patients believed to be Vietnamese refugees from the
Whitehead Detention Center No.3 camp. They were sent to the
hospital for emergency treatment because they cut their wrists
committing suicide together. The reporter wished to investigate
further, but the police forbid anyone from approaching with the
excuse of protecting them. Therefore, no further news is available
until this moment. However, there's information from inside the
camp that the number of people taking group suicide was more than
eight. It was heard that ten people rammed their head against the
wall and the floor, resulting bleeding and wounds on their heads.
For the sake of freedom, and rousing the conscience of all the
democratic countries, they are prepared to die for their course.
Some time ago, the International Supreme Master Ching Hai
Meditation Associations had received information that the
Vietnamese refugees would commit mass suicide on April 30. They
had warned the Hong Kong government to recognize the fact and take
appropriate measures. In the contrary, the Government tried to
conceal everything, and insists all are only groundless rumours.
Actually, refugee Dang Ngoc Thang of camp 7 had set himself ablaze
on April 7 during the Government's assault of the Whitehead Camp.
He was arrested after the fire was quickly extinguished by the
firemen. On May 2, Doan Van Hai of Camp 3 also attempted to burn
himself. An informer exposed him, and the police put out the fire
with force. They tried to arrest him at first, and then didn't send
him to the hospital for treatment until now, fearing the news would
leak. Not counting the previous record of suicides, there are many
such incidents just in these few weeks. Very much aware of the
consequence, the Government still tramples on human rights. Now
that the mass suicide of the refugees really happened, again they
tried to cover up the truth. We can't help suspecting that the H.K.
Government doesn't care about the human rights, and is deliberately
driving the refugees to their graves!
(A latest cutting of today's newspaper is attached. We will
continue to report if there were some more news.)
Sing Tao evening news
Tuesday May 17, 1994
[Eight boat people
in Whitehead Camp wounded,
suspected group suicide by cutting wrists.]
[Special report by our press]: Around noon today, among the boat
people holding a hunger strike in the Whitehead Detention Center,
eight of them suffered knife wounds. According to initial
information, they cut their wrist as a group suicidal action. All
of them were conveyed to the hospital for treatment.
However, the police has launched investigation to find out the real
cause.
The truth about the Vietnamese Communist persecution against
Buddhism can be seen through the appeal letters from the refugee
camps.
From: The Vietnamese United Buddhist Association at Tai A Chau Camp
-
Campaign to Relieve Buddhist Catastrophe in Vietnam
To: The General Secretary of United Nations
The Leaders of All Nations
The International Amnesty, Human Rights Associations,
Religious Associations, all Government Authorities
The Media, Journalists All Over the World
(Originally In English)
PETITION LETTER
The history of Vietnam goes back more than four thousand years ago with two thousand years of Buddhist history which has always been a strong factor in the life of the Vietnamese people through many famous and heroic dynasties: Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran etc. Most Vietnamese people are Buddhist. Throughout many generations, the Buddhist people have sacrificed their blood in order to bring about a healthy and moral culture which was the foundation for a free, democratic and truly prosperous nation. However, since 1930, when Ho Chi Minh collected and brought home the Marxist and Leninist scriptures to establish a Communist regime, the Communist party has always followed their dogma based on atheism which considers religion as some form of narcotic element used to lure people to sleep. Communism sees it as their goal to destroy religion, evidenced of their suppression of the Vietnamese United Buddhist Association, which is an institution representing the culture and custom of the people.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With the current changes in the world, we have witnessed the
fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, which
brought about the total collapse of Marxist-Leninist ideology,
opening to all humanity a new era, an era of peace throughout the
world.
However, the Vietnamese Communist party still tries to hold on
to their power. They have shaken hands with other countries to
improve their economic situation since they have realized that they
were the cause of poverty and fear that the poor will stand up to
overthrow Communism like they did in Eastern Europe. The goal of
economic improvement is to support the Communist regime machinery.
The following is living proof of Vietnamese Communists
suppressing the Vietnamese United Buddhist Association after the
day they used force to take over South Vietnam.
On 15/11/93, the Communists again was put on trial in secret
in order to hide the truth and not allowing lawyers as well as the
public, the press to attend the trial. There were stories of
demonstrations, self-immolation of Buddhist disciples inside and
outside of the country to protest against the suppression of the
Vietnamese United Buddhist Association, but government authorities
still continued with the suppression.
Today, all of us, 1653 Buddhist followers of Vietnamese United
Buddhist Association, who are refugees at Tai A Chau camp, Hong
Kong, used the means of a peaceful, non-violent praying hunger
strike to show our determination against all of the above inhuman
activities.
With your existing power and prestige, please use your influence to
raise your voice to intervene and force Hanoi's government to:
We pray that God will bless all of you with health and prosperity.
Tai A Chau, April 10, 1994
Representing the Committee Organizing the Campaign
Chief Executive
Quang Phuoc: Le Thanh Chau
General Secretary
Quang Minh: Vo Van Thi
Nam Mo Sakyamuni Buddha
Nam Mo Ching Hai Wu Shang Shih
Dear Master,
... Today we wrote this letter to You with no other reason than to ask for Your guidance and help in our suffering situation in this detention center. We hope that You would help out our cause...
... We would like to sincerely prostrate to You and hope that You would guide us. Although You are a living Master in this world, but we unfortunately don't have enough merit to meet with You...
... With the Buddhist situation at home being under great calamity, and with our danger of being repatriated, but with the responsibility as Buddhist disciples, we, not minding all difficulties, have organized a praying ceremony of Relieving Religious Catastrophe in Vietnam, starting from 15/3/94 lunar date until 13/4 lunar date. On the 14 and the 15 which is Buddha's Birthday, we will fast on these two days to pray at the altar...
... For the future as well as the present situation, as You already
know, we earnestly hope that You will raise Your voice to help
relieve the Buddhist catastrophe in our country and to help us
escape sooner from this imprisonment...
Respectfully Yours
Quang Minh/ Vo Van Thi
P.S.: We would like to offer You a badge of the Buddhist
Association on this praying season. We wish for Your help in
bringing up our activity in the newspaper for the whole world to
know.
Note from the Supreme Master Ching Hai Meditation Association:
(* Any similar letter from detention camps or VN is sent to various
press and places as requested, according to Master's instruction.)
To: All the Reverends, Buddhist monks and nuns and Buddhist followers all over the world
...Monks, nuns and Buddhist disciples in our home country are in great calamity , and our people are living with despair and sufferings. Recently, at the exile of Quang Ngai, the Reverend Thich Huyen Quang, president of the Vietnamese United Buddhist Association, clearly brought up concrete proofs of the Vietnamese Communists suppressing Buddhists in the country...
... We have witnessed the fall of religion under the power of the Vietnamese Communist. In front of our eyes, almost all Buddhist praying centers and a number of temples were closed after 1975, a number of Buddha statues were broken and thrown on the street side, some Buddhist monks and nuns leaders or members of the association and families of the Buddhist followers were arrested and questioned, strictly detained at their local area. We were not allowed to go to temple, and Buddhist monks were forbidden from preaching; all Buddhist followers had no where to turn to...
... Today, being imprisoned at the detention center after escaping from the Communists, we are also facing the danger of being forced to return to the prison of Communism, the place that has the intention to kill all religions, mainly the Vietnamese United Buddhist Association...
Tai A Chau, April 10, 1994
Representing the Committee Organizing the Campaign
General Secretary,
Quang Minh: Vo Van Thi
Chief executive,
Quang Phuoc: Le Thanh Chau