September 2nd is Vietnamese National Day, commemorating when President Hồ Chí Minh read the Declarations of Independence of Vietnam at Ba Đình Square in Hà Nội in 1945. This moment signifies the success of the August Revolution, led by the Viet Minh, which declared Vietnam to be a free and independent nation to the world.

Nhân kỷ niệm 47 năm giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam khỏi tay đế quốc Mỹ, kết thúc cuộc kháng chiến chống Mỹ cứu nước và khởi đầu đất nước Việt Nam ngày nay, Cầu Kiều đã tổng hợp một số quan điểm chống đế quốc tiêu biểu trước và sau chiến tranh.

In honor of the 47th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam from American imperialists, which ended the American War in Vietnam and started the beginning of modern day Vietnam, we have compiled various anti-imperialist viewpoints on the war.

Bánh mì is one of Việt Nam’s most recognizable dishes. It can be considered a cultural commodity symbol. For instance, nationwide voters selected bánh mì as the theme for Việt Nam’s national costume at Miss Universe 2018. Although bánh mì is enjoyed today as the preeminent Vietnamese sandwich, its history is tied directly to French colonialism.

The largest group of overseas Vietnamese lives in North America, Australia, and the European Union.

But did you know the second largest group lives in the former socialist states of the Eastern European Bloc?

REBUILDING A NATION
Việt Nam gained independence from France after the August Revolution of 1945.

It’s important to recognize that colonialism is not always manifested as overt violence. It can also be enforced subtlety through the very design of our cities. In Vietnam, we can see how French colonialist urban planners transformed the built environments of cities like Hanoi and HCMC/Saigon to support their colonization and oppression of Vietnamese people.

The truth is: Vietnamese feminism was never individualistic, it is in conjunction with self-liberation from their oppressors. Vietnamese women knew that to protect Vietnamese women anywhere means they have to fight against foreign invaders, to cry and mourn for the lives of feudal women means they have to critique the harsh Confucian systems that oppress them.

Cầu Kiều Collective would like to extend our sincerest support to those impacted the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. In recent weeks, we have seen an outpouring of support and analysis from the Vietnamese community all over the world, and understand that it has invoked strong emotions given our own history with war and displacement.

This day marks General Vo Nguyen Giap’s 110th birthday. To celebrate, we at Cầu Kiều Collective hope to encourage our readers to learn more about Gen. Giap and his contributions to Vietnam’s resistance against imperialism, and continue to connect it to the ongoing struggle for liberation in the Global South today.

TW: Colonialism, Brutality, Racism, US Imperialism, Starvation, War On May 8th, 1954, the Vietnamese people declared their independence from France and defeated them at Điện Biên Phủ. It was the second time that a Western empire had been defeated in a war, inspiring other colonies to rise up. (The Haitian Revolution was the first successful […]

“Vietnam always remembers the solidarity and precious support Cuba gave to Vietnam in the past at our most difficult times. Vietnam will always be there to support and help the Cuban people in our capacity.” – Statement from the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Le Thi Thu Hang

The protests in Cuba have been front and center of the western news cycle this week. Understanding what is happening in Cuba is important and runs parallel to Vietnam’s historical struggle against US Imperialism.

On July 5th, we celebrate Algeria’s independence from France after eight years of fighting. We remember the revolutionary struggle and spirit of the Algerian people. The Vietnamese and Algerian anti-colonial movements worked in tandem, as they were both resisting French domination.

Did you know a lot of Vietnam’s beauty standards are a result from French colonialism and American imperialism?

Anti-China sentiment amongst Vietnamese communities aids and abets Western propaganda and demonization of China.

Cultural commodification is a capitalist process in which cultural forms and practices are given economic value so that they may be bought and sold in a market. For Asian cultures in the West, this process traces back to colonialism and imperialism which formed the basis for the “othering” of racialized subjects.

Have you ever wonder why Vietnamese Americans have a cult-like obsession with Hennessy? The answer can be found by studying France’s colonization of Vietnam.

The Laotian Civil War is often understood in conjunction with the American War in Vietnam and the Cambodian Civil War. Our histories are deeply intertwined; all three of our nations suffered under French colonialism, Japanese, occupation and American imperialism.

Today marks the birthday of Ho Chi Minh, Malcolm X, and Yuri Kochiyama. We honor these three revolutionaries for their work toward a better world. We continue to learn from them and the struggles of their time in order to
continue building alternatives to racial capitalism and imperialism.

It is imperative that we stand up for Palestine and keep standing up for Palestinians’ right to their homeland. The violent imperialist ideologies that destroyed our homeland and killed and displaced millions of Vietnamese people is the same violence that the Palestinian people have faced and continue to face.

Food is just one way in which colonization and imperialism has shaped Vietnamese identity and way of life. It is important to keep learning about our history, even the ugly parts, and connect it to a larger struggle.

Chúc mừng ngày thống nhất đất nước!

Hôm nay đánh dấu 46 năm kể từ ngày giải phóng Sài Gòn, sự kiện này cũng đặt dấu chấm hết cho kháng chiến chống Mỹ (tên quốc tế: Chiến tranh Đông Dương lần thứ 2) – sự khởi đầu của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam thống nhất.

Happy Vietnamese Reunification Day!

Today marks 46 years since the liberation of Saigon, the end of the Second Indochina War (known as the American War in Vietnam), and the beginning of modern day Vietnam.