Asian American activists call White House immigration paper `anti

PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SEATTLE, WA
Permit No. 2393
VOL. 34, NO. 8
JOURNAL OF THE NORTHWEST ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
It’s official —
Korean American Day is Jan. 13
Washington
state
Senator Paull Shin, DEdmonds, stands alongside Gov. Chris Gregoire
at a bill signing recognizing Korean American Day.
Washington becomes the
first state in the nation to
recognize the holiday
in state law. Photo by
Sandra Manwiller.
Jan. 13 will be
observed as a non-legal
holiday with schools,
banks and post offices
open for business.
APRIL 18 - MAY 1, 2007
Asian American activists call White
House immigration paper ‘anti-family’
A White House immigration draft could be as devastating as the
Chinese Exclusion Act, say community leaders
BY EUGENIA CHIEN
New American Media
Asian American community leaders
called a White House immigration draft
“inhumane” and “un-American” because
it calls taking away the right of legal immigrants to sponsor their relatives to join
them and breaking up families as a result.
The document containing “a set of
principles” for immigration reform drafted
by key Republican Congressional representatives was circulated in Washington
last month. The plan creates temporary
visas for undocumented immigrants and
new workers, but it also puts more limits
on American citizens’ ability to bring their
parents, children over age 21 and siblings to
the United States.
“This plan attacks families and offers
false hope for those seeking to legalize,” says
Karen K. Narasaki, executive director of the
Washington-based Asian American Justice
Center.
The Asian American community is the
second largest group of immigrants who
enter the United States through family
sponsorship or by being immediate relatives of American citizens. China, Vietnam
and India are among the top 10 countries
whose immigrants arrive through family sponsorship, according to the Office of
Immigration Statistics at the Department of
Homeland Security.
In 2005 about 17,000 Chinese obtained
legal status in the United States through
family sponsorship; 26,800 became legal
residents because they were immediate
relatives of U.S. citizens. Because so many
Asians enter the United States through
family quotas, the result of the White
House draft “could be nearly the same as
the Chinese Exclusion Act,” says Michael
- continued on page 5
Sea-Tac, seaports, real estate major draws for new Port CEO
BY KEN MOCHIZUKI
Examiner Assistant Editor
With a sweeping view of Elliott Bay
from his Port of Seattle office, the Port’s
new Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani
points to a container ship headed toward a
cargo terminal.
“You see that ship there?” he said.
“Seventy percent of all containers go
inland. What’s to prevent that ship from
going to another port? We have to provide
the total package of services.”
After a month and a half on the job,
Yoshitani, 60, said being the Port’s CEO is
going “great” as he manages the three main
components of the Port: Seattle’s seaports,
Sea-Tac Airport and real estate acquisition and development. He deals with one
“dynamic issue” after another, he said –
“long projects that have momentum.” One
of the most recent is development of the
third runway at Sea-Tac. To make the runway possible, the Port is having to “redevelop the area,” he said. Buying property,
“noise issues” and working with the local
community and politicians has turned the
runway into a “real estate project.”
Yoshitani also recently dealt with air
pollution from ships and trains using the
port – issues that have “significantly hampered” other ports, he said. “We’re taking
corrective action well in advance.”
After a six-month national search and
considering over 70 candidates, the Port
of Seattle Commission unanimously chose
operating budget of $450
Yoshitani last January to
million and a $250 million
replace retiring Port CEO
capital budget. Besides the
Mic Dinsmore. Yoshitani
industrial ports along Elliott
previously worked as depBay, Harbor Island and the
uty director of the Port
Duwamish Waterway, the
of Los Angeles beginning
Port also manages Shilshole
in 1989, became director
Bay Marina, the Maritime
of the Port of Baltimore
Industrial Center and
and the Maryland Port
Fishermen’s Terminal on
Commission in 1995, and
Salmon Bay, terminals and
deputy director and then
the grain elevator at Smith
director of the Port of
Cove, and two cruise ship
Oakland since 1998. He
terminals. The Port’s reveis credited with turning
nue is derived from the Port
around a struggling port
being “real estate developsystem at Baltimore and
overseeing the creation of Tay Yoshitani - Port of Seattle CEO ers and property managers,”
Yoshitani said. “Whatever
the largest export terminal
asset we own, we charge for
on the West Coast at Los
Angeles. He also serves as Senior Adviser for the use of it.” Parking at Sea-Tac accounts
the Coalition for Secure Ports, a national for “thirty to thirty-five percent of the total
consortium of industrial and maritime revenue,” he said.
“The third runway – you have to be in
organizations advocating for security from
this business to know how important that
terrorism.
Yoshitani said he chose to come to Seattle is,” he said. “That’s a huge leg up. The seaports can compete with everybody up and
because of a “professional desire.”
“A job like this doesn’t come along too down the West Coast and are in a position
often,” he said. “Only a handful of ports to continue to grow. Overall we’re a healthy
have this variety of business: an airport, the institution.”
Yoshitani’s father graduated from the
seaports, and real estate.” That “handful,” he
said, includes the port systems in Oakland, University of Southern California in 1937.
Due to discrimination, he found no work
Portland and Boston.
Yoshitani said he oversees an annual in America as an oil company engineer and
- continued on page 4
Presented by Washington Mutual
and International Examiner
Wednesday, May 16
Honoring:
Mai Nguyen
Kip Tokuda
Neighborhood House
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
Plus - a special new award
-See page 5
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
2 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
FEATURE
NEWS
arts
senior services
Northwest Asian American Theatre
NIKKEI CONCERNS
409 Seventh Ave S. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-340-1445 fx: 206-682-4348
Seattle’s premiere pan-Asian American performing arts center.
Manages Theatre Off Jackson.
Wing Luke Asian Museum
407 7th Ave. S Seattle, WA 98104
ph:206-623-5124 fx: 206-622-4559
[email protected]; www.wingluke.org
The only pan-Asian Pacific American museum in the country, the Wing
Luke Asian Museum is nationally recognized for its award-winning exhibitions and community-based model of exhibition and program development. WLAM an affiliate of the Smithsonian Instititue, is dedicated to
engaging the APA communities and the public in exploring issues related
to the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans. Offers guided
tours for schools and adult groups, and provides excellent programs for
families and all ages.
business
Chinatown/International District
Business Improvement Area
409 Maynard Ave. S., Suite P1 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-382-1197
www.cidbia.org
Merchants association enhancing business, parking and
public space in the International District. Sponsors Lunar New
Year and Summer Festival events.
Japanese American Chamber of Commerce
14116 S. Jackson Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-320-1010 www.jachamber.com
Encourages entrepreneurial & educational activity
among Japanese, Americans and Japanese Americans and promotes increased understanding of Japanese culture & heritage.
Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce
675 S. King St Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-332-1933 fx: 206-650-8337
[email protected]
Acts as an advocate for local Chinese businesses and in a public
relations role. Organizes the Seattle Miss Chinatown Pageant.
political & civil rights
Commission of Asian Pacific American Affairs
1210 Eastside St. SE 1st Flr. Olympia, WA 98504
Olympia ph: 360-753-7053 www.capaa.wa.gov
Statewide liason between governmnet and APA communities.
Monitors and informs public about legislative issues.
Japanese American Citizens League - Seattle Chapter
316 Maynard S. Seattle, WA 98104
www.jaclseattle.org
Dedicated to protecting the rights of Japanese Americans and
upholding the civil and human rights of all people.
Organization of Chinese Americans Seattle
Chapter
606 Maynard Ave S., Suite 104 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-682-0665 www.ocaseattle.org
Civil rights and Education, promotes the active participation of chinese
and Asian Americans in civic and community affairs.
schools
Asia Pacific Language School
14040 NE 8th, #302, Bellevue, WA 98007
ph: 425-785-8299 or 425-641-1703
www.apls.org
Multilingual preschool, language classes, adult ESL, “One World Learning School Program”Academic enrichment, prep for WASL and SAT’s.
Denise Louie Education Center
801 So. Lane St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-621-7880
[email protected] www.deniselouie.org
Half day and full day Head Start program located in the International District, Beacon Hill, Mt Baker, and Rainier Beach.
Comprehensive multi-cultural pre-school for children ages 3-5.
church
St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish
1610 S King St. Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-323-5250 email: [email protected]
website: www.stpeterseattle.org
St. Peter’s invite all people to a life of faith through worship education, service, and spiritual development.
Enriching the lives of our elders.
1601 E. Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122
Ph: 206-323-7100 www.nikkeiconcerns.org
Seattle Keiro, Skilled Nursing Facility
24-hour skilled nursing facility offering high quality medical
and rehabilitation programs, activities and social services.
1601 E. Yesler, Seattle, WA 98122
Ph: 206-323-7100
Nikkei Manor, Assisted Living Community
50 private apartments. Service plans tailored to individual
needs. Nurse on staff 8 hrs./day.
700 – 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6460
Kokoro Kai, Adult Day Program
Provides social opportunities, light exercises, lunch and
activities 3 days a week.
700 – 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6474
Nikkei Horizons, Continuing Education Program
Offers tours and excursions, courses in arts, computers,
language and more.
700 6th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
Ph: 206-726-6469
Legacy House
803 South Lane, Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-292-5271
[email protected]
Assisted living, Adult Day services, Independent Senior apartments, Ethnic-specific meal programs for low-income seniors.
National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
(Senior Community Service Employment Program)
1025 S. King St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-322-5272 fx: 206-322-5387
www.napca.org
Part-time training program for low income
Asian Pacific Islander age 55+ in Seattle/King County.
professional
Asian American Journalists Association - Seattle Chapter
P.O. Box 9698 Seattle, WA 98109
www.aajaseattle.org
Professional deveopment for journalist, scholarships for
students and community service since 1985.
National Association of Asian American
Professionals - Seattle Chapter
PO Box 14344 Seattle, WA 98104
[email protected]; www.naaapseattle.org
Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community
services for Asian American professionals and entrepreneurs.
housing & neighborhood planning
HomeSight
5117 Rainier Ave S. Seattle, WA 98118
ph: 206-723-4355 fax: 206-760-4210
www.homesightwa.org
First-time home buyer purchase assistance services including low-interest
loans, deferred payment loans, financial coaching, for-sale homes and more!
Inter*Im Community Development Association
308 6th Ave So Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-624-1802 fx: 206-624-5859
[email protected]; www.interimicda.org
Low-income housing, economic development,
neighborhood planning and advocacy for the APA community.
International District Housing Alliance
606 Maynard Ave. S #104/105 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-623-5132 fx: 206-623-3479
Multi-lingual low-income housing outreach,
rental information, homeownership community education.
Low Income Housing Institute
2407 First Ave Suite #200 Seattle, WA 98121
ph: 206-443-9935 fx: 206-443-9851
[email protected]; www.lihi.org
Housing and services for families, individuals,
seniors and the disabled in Seattle and the Puget Sound Region.
Seattle Chinatown/International District
Preservation and Development Authority
ph: 206-624-8929 fax: 206-467-6376 [email protected]
Housing, property management, and community development.
social & health services
Asian Counseling & Referral Service
720 8th Ave S Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606
www.acrs.org
ACRS offers nationally recognized, culturally competent health and
social services.
Food for survival and culture: food bank, specializing in Asian/Pacific
staples; emergency feeding; senior ethnic lunch programs
Healthy mind and body: assistance for elders and adults with disabilities; bilingual, bicultural counseling for children and adults; problem
gambling treatment; substance abuse treatment and recovery services;
domestic violence batterers’ treatment and community education
Building blocks for success: youth leadership development and academic support; vocational and employment services
Stronger communities through civic engagement: naturalization and
immigration assistance; community education, mobilization and advocacy Information for taking action: legal clinic; information and referral;
consultation and education
Asian & Pacific Islander Women & Family Safety Center
P.O. Box 14047, Seattle, WA 98114
ph: 206-467-9976 email: [email protected]
website: www.apiwfsc.org
Provides community organizing, education, outreach, training, technical assistance & comprehensive culturally relevant service on domestic
violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to API community members, services providers, survivors & thier families.
Center For Career Alternatives
901 Rainier Ave So. Seattle, WA 98144
ph: 206-322-9080 fx: 206-322-9084
www.ccawa.org
Need a Job! Free Training, GED, and job placement service.
Chinese Information and Service Cener
611 S. Lane St. Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 www.cisc-seattle.org
Helps Asian immigrants achieve success in their new community by
providing information, referral, advocacy, social, and support services. Our bilingual & bicultural staff offer after school programs,
English as a Second Language, citizenship classes, employment
training, computer classes, elderly care services and additional family support services. Please contact us.
International Drop-In Center
7301 Beacon Ave S. Seattle, WA 98108
ph: 206-587-3735 fx: 206-742-0282 email: [email protected]
We are open form 9 till 5 Mon-Fri and do referrals, counseling,
fitness and recreation, social, arts & cultural activities for elderly
member and walk-ins.
Helping Link
ph: 206-781-4246 fx:206-568-5160
www.cityofseattle.net/helpinglink
Vietnamese community-based organization providing social service,
education, social activities and more for the greater Seattle area.
International Community Health Services
International District Medical & Dental Clinic
720 8th Ave. S. Suite 100 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-788-3700
Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic
3815 S. Othello St. 2nd Floor, Seattle WA 98118
ph: 206-788-3500
www.ichs.com
We are a nonprofit health care center offering affordable medical,
dental, pharmacy, acupuncture and health education services primarily
to Seattle and King County’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Kin On Community Health Care
815 S. Weller St. Suite 212 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-652-2330 fx:206-652-2344
[email protected]; www.kinon.org
Provides home care, home health, Alzheimer’s and
caregiver support, community education and chronic care
management. Coordinate medical supply delivery. Install
Personal Emergency Response system. Serves the Chinese/Asian
community in King County.
Refugee Women’s Alliance
4008 Martin Luther King Jr. Seattle, WA 98108
ph: 206-721-0243 • fax: 206-721-0282 www.rewa.org
A multi-ethnic, multilingual, community-based organization
that provides the following programs to refugee and immigrant women and families in the Puget Sound area: Development Disabilities, Domesitc Violence, Early Childhood
Education, Youth Family Support, Mentel Health, Parent
Education and Education and Vocational Training.
Washington Asian Pacific Islander Families Against Substance Abuse
606 Maynard Ave. S, Suite 200 Seattle, WA 98104
ph: 206-223-9578
Alcohol, tobacco & drug prevention; early intervention &
outpatient treatment for APIA youth and their families.
Join our Community Resource Directory. Email: [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
OPINION
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 3
Lack of health insurance harms our community
BY HIROSHI NAKANO
ICHS Board Chair
The
International
Examiner profiled the
lives of the medically
uninsured in California
in its March 21 issue.
Their stories echo those
from our own state,
where almost one in 10
people live without any
medical coverage. Of those 593,000 uninsured
Washingtonians, approximately 190,000 live in
King County which includes 30,000 Asian and
Pacific Islanders (APIs) – that’s 13 percent of
our community.
There is a common misperception that the
uninsured are also unemployed. In truth, the
majority of people without health insurance
have jobs or are part of working families. Most
of them either work for employers who do not
offer health insurance or make too little to buy
into their employer-sponsored plan. Many earn
too much to qualify for Medicaid or other public programs, yet do not earn enough to afford
private insurance. Citizenship and other eligibility requirements for Medicaid and Medicare
also prevent many tax-paying residents from
accessing coverage.
International Community Health Services
(ICHS) is part of the safety net for the uninsured. ICHS was founded to provide culturally
relevant and linguistically appropriate health
care to API communities, although our patient
population today includes a wide diversity of
ethnic groups. In 2006, ICHS provided medical and dental services to over 16,000 patients,
including 4,250 uninsured. Two-thirds of our
patients live below 100 percent of the Federal
Poverty Level. Every year, our clinics spend
more than $1.3 million on charity care. As
a comprehensive family practice, ICHS cares
for people of all ages; however, the majority
of our patients are between the ages of 20 and
64. This demographic is the most likely to be
uninsured, since the programs like Medicaid
and Medicare primarily assist children and the
elderly.
Being uninsured can be devastating. Many
delay seeking medical care until the condition
is dire, leading to expensive emergency room
treatments and hospitalizations. The uninsured manage to pay only a portion of their
health care bills, often depleting their savings,
EDITOR
NhienNguyen
622S.WashingtonSt.
Seattle,WA98104
www.iexaminer.org
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ASSISTANTEDITOR
Establishedin1974,theInternationalExamineris
theoldestandlargestnonprofit,pan-AsianAmerican publication in the Pacific Northwest. Named
after the historic and thriving multi-ethnic International District (ID) of Seattle, the International
Examineraspirestobeacrediblecatalystforbuilding an inspiring, connected, well-respected, and
socially conscious Asian Pacific American (APA)
community. Our mission is to promote critical
thinking,dialogueandactionbyprovidingtimely,
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semi-monthly newspaper, we also publish a literary supplement, “Pacific Reader” devoted to the
criticalreviewsofAPAbooks.Wehavepublished
two books, “The History of the International District”byDougChinand“HumBowsNotHotDogs
–MemoirsofanActivist”byBobSantos.
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borrowing from friends and family, mortgaging their homes, and accumulating credit card
debt in the process. With half of all personal
bankruptcies originating from medical costs,
it is clear that lack of health coverage prevents
many from achieving financial stability.
In an effort to live within their means, many
of the uninsured forgo preventive care such as
dental cleanings. Thirty-four percent of APIs in
King County have untreated oral decay. This is
a major problem for our communities, since
poor oral health is linked to increased incidence
of disease generally.
While young and middle-aged working
adults are the most likely to be uninsured, a significant number of the elderly in API communities also lack coverage. ICHS sees many older
immigrants who do not qualify for Medicare
or Medicaid and who have at least one chronic
condition requiring regular medical evaluation
and treatment. Many elders will not purchase
medications or see specialists that cost more
than what they can afford. As ICHS physician
Dr Alan Chun explains, “This older, fragile, and
often isolated population would rather wither
away than incur expenses that they or their
children would have to pay for.” For many of
us, these words ache with truth. Debt is not part
of the “better life” that our elders wished for us
in this country.
By excluding so many from coverage, our
health care system winds up being expensive
for everyone. Unpaid medical bills result in
higher prices for medical services; insurance
companies shift this increased cost to employers via higher premiums; employers mitigate
higher premiums by increasing the copays,
deductibles, and coinsurance that employees
pay. Health care bills not paid out-of-pocket
by the uninsured amounted to $950 million in
Washington State alone in 2005. By 2010, unless
we fix our system, that expense is projected to
exceed $1.3 billion. If the cost of health insurance continues to rise as a result, even fewer
people will be able to afford it. Halting this
vicious spiral is key to ensuring good health
and financial stability for everyone.
Access to affordable health care is a
national problem that will ultimately require a
national solution; however, steps can be taken
at the state level. Adequately funding Basic
Health, the popular state health insurance
plan, would reduce the number of uninsured
Washingtonians significantly. About two-thirds
of the uninsured are eligible, but current funding is insufficient to open this program to all
qualified people who need it.
We encourage you to remind your elected
officials at the federal, state, county and
city levels of the importance of community
health centers like ICHS to the safety net. We
also encourage you to support the services
we provide to uninsured patients through
the Uncle Bob Health Fund, established
by ICHS to honor Robert N. Santos, community visionary and one of the founders
of ICHS. This fund is supported by direct
donations and by proceeds from our Annual
Celebration, held this year on May 19 at the
Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seattle.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
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submit letters with name, address,
phone number.
Send to:
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fax: (206) 624-3046
e-mail: [email protected]
4 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
- continued from front page
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
NEWS
PortCEO:“IwastheonlyJapaneseAmericaninthewholeschool...”
returned to Japan. By the early ‘50s and
with four sons, “my father’s main goal in
life was that his sons graduate from U.S.
universities,” said Yoshitani, the youngest
son and born in post-World War II Japan.
“At age 42, he moved his family back to the
states and took an entry-level job at Mobil
Oil.”
Arriving in America at age seven,
Yoshitani lived in Los Angeles and then
spent part of his junior high and high
school years in Norwalk, Conn. While
other newspaper profiles have described
Yoshitani’s early years as a miserable experience, he said, “I was the only Japanese
American in the whole school, and that
didn’t even occur to me.”
By the mid-‘60s, Yoshitani followed a
brother to the U.S. Military Academy at
West Point. The Academy, he said, was
a “great place to have gone; I wouldn’t
change a thing, although I remember I
was always tired.” He then underwent
training for the elite Army Rangers – “an
awful, awful school for nine weeks,” he said
– and became airborne (parachute jumper)
qualified. He served as an Army engineer in
Vietnam during the war building roads and
airfields. Even though his role was as a noncombatant from 1969-1970, “everybody got
shot at in Vietnam,” he said.
Yoshitani went on to earn his master’s
of business administration from Harvard
University. Being that he was a West Point
graduate, underwent elite military training
and earned a Harvard MBA, was he trying
to prove something to himself or others?
“I just tried to receive the best training and
best education I could,” he said.
For the next 14 years, Yoshitani worked
executive positions in real estate, office
products and food processing, including
with Dole Foods in San Francisco and
Honolulu until starting his career with the
ports.
Yoshitani moved to Seattle along with
his wife Becky and children Jennifer, 18;
Taylor, 15; and Ryan, 13. Regarding his
present job as the Port of Seattle’s CEO,
Yoshitani said he is “working with a cadre
of professionals I am proud to be associated
with.”
“This is the best job in the country for a
port director,” he said. “And being that this
job is in Seattle, how much better can it
get?”
The2007GreaterSeattleJapaneseCommunityCourt
University of Washington students Lisa Felice Akiyama, Allison
Chieko Iguchi, Samantha Miyuki
Lim, Monique Aiyaka Perkins, and
Alicia Jun Pumpian will be introduced at the Seattle Cherry Blossom
Festival as the 2007 contestants
who will participate in the 48th
annual Greater Seattle Japanese
Community Queen Scholarship
Pageant to be held on May 26 at the
Carco Theater in Renton.
Each year a community panel Back row, l-r: Lisa Felice Akiyama, Samantha Miyuki Lim.
selects a queen based on her aca- Front row, l-r: Alicia Jun Pumpian, Allison Chieko Iguchi,
demic achievement, leadership Monique Aiyaka Perkins
skills, community involvement, personal accomplishments, self-expression, communication skills and creativity. Throughout the year, the queen and her court
represent the Greater Seattle Japanese community at numerous local community events as
well as at the Cherry Blossom Festivals in San Francisco and Honolulu, and the Nisei Week
Japanese Festival in Los Angeles. The queen also represents the Japanese community in the
Seafair Scholarship Program for Women in July.
“Save Our Neighborhoods!” march and rally on April 21
On Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m, there
will be a march and rally to voice community concerns regarding the Dearborn Street
Project, a shopping mall development that is
being planned at the corner of Rainier and
Dearborn.
The rally will be held after the Spring
Clean Up, sponsored by the ChinatownInternational District Public Development
Authority (SCIDPDA), which takes place in
the morning of April 21. (See our Calendar
on page 14).
Rally details:
- Gather at 12th & Yesler (near BaileyGatzert School) to march to Goodwill
Industries (Dearborn & Rainier).
- Send a strong message to City Council
and the developer:
- your desire for responsible, neighborhood-friendly development at the
Goodwill site
- your opposition to an auto-oriented
shopping mall in the International and
Central Districts.
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
The IE announces new
Young Leadership Award
Dinner & Benefit on Wednesday, May 16
The International Examiner announces
the recipients of the 17th Annual Community
Voice Awards: Mai Nguyen, Kip Tokuda,
Neighborhood House and Muckleshoot Indian
Tribe. The dinner and benefit to recognize the
individuals and groups who have greatly contributed to the Asian American community is
scheduled for Wednesday, May 16 during APA
Heritage Month.
A new special award this year will pay tribute
to a promising, young leader in the APA community. The IE will name a new Young Leadership
Award after Matthew “Tatsuo” Nakata. Nakata
was tragically killed at a pedestrian crossing West
Seattle. The first winner under this award is 1st
Lt. Ehren Watada, for his stand against the War in
Iraq. Watada is scheduled to accept the award at
the dinner.
On March 10, the State Legislature passed
House Bill 1588. Through this measure, the
House paid tribute to Nakata, David Della’s
late Chief of Staff by naming the legislation in
his honor. Della’s office writes: “The Matthew
“Tatsuo” Nakata Act will add curriculum to the
state’s drivers’ education requirements that will
provide information on how motorists can safely
share the road with pedestrians and bicyclists.
Visit our Web site at www.iexaminer.org.
- continued from front page
Immigrationbills:AnotherChineseExclusionAct?
Lin, executive director of the Organization
of Chinese Americans.
“We cannot allow this injustice to happen
again. Family is the foundation of American
society,” Lin says at a teleconference hosted
by the Asian American Justice Center.
Joren Lyons, staff attorney at the San
Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus says
the White House proposal would have an
“immediate impact” on the Asian American
community” and “is quite shocking and
devastating for many families who have been
looking forward to the day they can reunite.”
The wait to become legal United States residents can take decades, Lyons says.
Advocates also criticize the penalty
fees proposed by the draft White House
plan, which would require undocumented
immigrants to pay $3,500 fines and other
fees every three years in order to stay in the
United States.
“The fees are exorbitant,” says Eun Sook
Lee, executive director of the National
Korean American Service and Education
Consortium in Los Angeles.
Many Asian American immigrant advocates support the STRIVE ACT of 2007, a
new comprehensive immigration reform
bill introduced by Representatives Luis
Gutierrez (D-IL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on
March 23. Advocates say that the STRIVE
ACT could eliminate the backlog of familybased immigrants and help reunite children
of Filipino World War II veterans.
The White House has minimized the
importance of the document, describing it
as only “discussion points.” So far no bill has
been based on the document.
Grassroots and advocacy organizations
across the country are calling for a nationwide
mobilization of APAs to Washington D.C. on
Monday, April 30 through Tuesday, May 1.
Visit www.advancingequality.org.
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 5
6 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
HOUSING
Condos: Asian immigrants shift to new concept of home
BY NHIEN NGUYEN
Examiner Editor
Illustration by Fantanely Wong
Asian immigrants instill the importance
of owning your own home to their children
at a very young age.
But the American dream is changing
from the house-and-white-picket-fence
image to a shared building with condominium units.
“The concept of a condo is very unusual
to a lot of immigrants,” says International
District Housing Alliance (IDHA) program
service manager Elaine Magil. “It’s not quite
the same thing as an apartment, where the
building manager comes and fixes problems
in your unit.”
When Magil first started at the organization, IDHA clients were not interested in
buying condos. They saw condos as being
similar to apartments — in lifestyle, living
restrictions and space — factors of which
they were trying to escape by buying their
own home.
Now, Magil says that clients, in particular
new homebuyers, are more willing than ever
to embrace the concept of condo buying.
“Generally speaking, there’s definitely a
trend,” says Tony To of Homesight, a nonprofit organization that promotes affordable
homeownership opportunities.
To says that low-income or first-time
homebuyers used to look for houses outside
of Seattle – as far north as Skagit County or
as far south as Pierce or Thurston County.
As the real estate market continues to boom
in the Pacific Northwest, housing costs in
Tips for condo homebuyers
these outlying areas are becoming comparable to that of the Seattle area. With gas
prices sky-rocketing past $3 a gallon, long
commutes from suburban living to urban
jobs are no longer affordable nor attractive.
“People are coming back into the city
and looking at our projects to purchase
units,” says To. Homesight is currently
developing affordable condos near Seattle
University, Squire Park neighborhood, and
the north end of Rainier Avenue at Jackson
Place neighborhood.
Though condos are not a good choice for
large families, as most units tend to have no
more than three bedrooms, condos are suitable for couples, smaller families and single
parent families.
Townhomes are also becoming popular
for families — even though they may work
like condos with associations and related
fees, townhomes look “a little bit more like
their image of what a home should look
like,” according to Magil.
But there are other reasons that condo
buying has become so attractive. For Asian
families in particular, Jeanny Lee of John L.
Scott says that many parents are realizing
that another way to help their children get
a leg up on the American dream is to buy a
condo as an investment. Parents may either
have their children live in the condo for college or early adulthood at a low, affordable
rent or sell the condo to their children at a
below-market price. The price break results
in equity that can be used as a down payment or lower mortgage payments.
“If it wasn’t for my mother helping me
and my brother, we would never be homeowners,” says Lee.
To predicts that condos will be not only
important to young adults, but also to the
older generation. Many seniors who own
large houses in Beacon Hill, says To, will be
looking for smaller, more manageable, more
accessible living situations, like Midori
Condominiums on Yesler Way.
Condos may not be the American dream
but it’s one step closer to achieving it.
Ask before you buy. Many new condo owners
may not know where the monthly condo fees
are going to and why they are paying them.
Every condo association is different. Some fees
may include utilities, water/sewer/garbage, cable
and building maintenance. Other fees include
various insurance coverage plans, such as fire,
flood or earthquake damage. Don’t double up
your payments by adding insurance coverage for
something that is already covered by the general
building fees.
Participate in the homeowners association.
Many important decisions get made during homeowners association meetings. If you’re not there
to represent your own needs and wishes, you may
be very surprised to see your monthly condo fees
increase. If the condo owner has language barriers, hopefully association members will be open
to finding ways to get the owner access to information and also become involved in the decisionmaking process.
Prepare for changes in condo fees. Your condo
association may have automatic annual increases
or decide to raise condo fee rates for various purposes. Since condo owners share the burden of
maintaining the building, each condo owner must
also contribute financially to any repairs, assessments or improvements. Assessments can mean
doubling condo fees or even second mortgages.
Check the homeowners by-laws and guidelines.
Owning your own condo unfortunately does not
mean you have free reign to re-model or re-design
your place. Oftentimes, re-modeling proposals
need to be approved by the condo association
before anything can be done to your unit. The
building may also have restrictions on tenant leasing, pets, children and selling procedures.
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
Freddie Mac unveils Asian homebuyers program
CreditSmart Asian to assist with Credit Housing Counseling
BY KHALIL ABDULLAH
New America Media
Offstage, on the ground floor of Freddie
Mac’s headquarters in McLean, Virg., the
martial artists of the Wong Chinese Boxing
Association were waiting to perform the lion
dance. Comprising two performers — one
carrying a massive decorative lion’s head; the
other hidden under a rippling yellow cloth
body — the king of the beasts leaps and
twirls to the sounds of drums and cymbals
in order to frighten away the evil spirits that
may have not yet departed with the coming
of the lunar new year.
The performance in March also was,
in part, to announce the unveiling of
CreditSmart Asian, a Freddie Mac initiative
designed to familiarize Asian communities
with establishing credit and ideally leading to homeownership. According to the
company’s data, only 60 percent of Asians
own their homes as compared to 72 percent
of non-Hispanic whites.
The lion dance was indeed appreciatively welcomed by company attendees
and guests, but only after a short roster of
speakers, including Gene McQuade, Freddie
Mac’s President and COO, and Hyepin
Im, President of the Korean Churches for
Community Development, who did some
intricate footwork of her own.
From the podium, Im told a tale of
three fishermen who shared a boat. Each
remembered something he had left behind
after pulling away from shore. The first one
returned to retrieve his neglected item by
stepping out of the boat and walking across
the water to land. He then retraced his path
across the water to the boat. The second fisherman followed suit, also walking across the
water and returning safely. The third, who
suddenly recalled a forgotten object, stepped
out of the boat only to disappear beneath the
water. “I wondered if we should have told
him where the stepping stones were?” Im
said one of the remaining fishermen asked
the other.
Laughing, the audience also seemed to
exhale a collective breath of exhilarating
relief that Im had a rational explanation of
the fishermen’s seemingly miraculous powers. “I wondered where she was going with
that,” an audience member said later.
Im said she used the analogy of the stepping stones to illustrate what CreditSmart
Asian could provide potential Asian homebuyers: a clear pathway to home ownership. With Freddie Mac’s assistance, she
said the Korean Churches for Community
Development had educated 3,000 home
buyers in the last four years and that the
guidebooks would amplify her organization’s reach.
The Korean Churches for Community
Development was one of several “community partners” engaged by Freddie
Mac’s Asian Project Team, headed by Julie
Sun, Manager of Corporate Relations and
Housing Outreach, to assist in translating guidebooks into Korean, Chinese, and
Vietnamese. The guidebooks explain the
mechanics of establishing and managing credit with the goal of qualifying for a
mortgage. Other partners included: Asian
Americans for Equality; Boat People SOS;
Chhaya; Chinese American Citizens League;
Filipinos for Affirmative Action; National
Coalition for Asian Pacific American
Hyepin Im, President of the Korean Churches
for Community Development
Community
Development;
National
Congress of Vietnamese Americans, and
National Korean American Service &
Education Consortium, Inc.
Dwight Robinson, Freddie Mac’s Senior
Vice President of Corporate Relations and
Outreach, noted that even among Asians
who are fluent in English, many prefer information in their Asian language. He said that
the guidebooks were only a first step toward
making the information “interactive and
universally available on the internet” and
will be followed by efforts to push credit
education into the school system.
In addition to translation work, which
had to take Asian and American idioms
into account, focus groups were convened.
“How is credit understood and used in your
community?” Robinson said addressing the
audience, were the essential questions that
prompted Freddie Mac to engage the community partners. The entire process took
approximately two years.
Trang Khanh Tran of Boat People SOS
was one of the individual “community
ambassadors” cited by Robinson. She helped
develop the curricula by translating the
guidebook material into Vietnamese. Tran
had served as a volunteer for BOAT People
SOS for 10 years before joining as a full-time
staff member two years ago. She is now the
Community Development Department
Director and said that CreditSmart Asian
will be especially useful to new and lowincome immigrants.
Tran explained that her organization
provides direct services to those who do
not have the requisite knowledge to negotiate America’s sometimes daunting financial
system. “For example, many times new
immigrants do not know how to open a
bank account,” she said. “We help them.”
Now, with CreditSmart Asian, Tran agreed
that Boat People SOS has a tool kit to walk
constituents through basic financial literacy
and, eventually, the mortgage application
process.
Freddie Mac, though a stock corporation,
(formally, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation), was chartered by Congress
in 1970 to assist American homebuyers. It
does this by purchasing mortgages issued by
lenders and reselling them as investments in
what is known as the secondary mortgage
market. With the new money available from
Freddie Mac purchases, primary lenders are
able to issue new loans.
For
more
information.
visit
www.freddiemac.com.
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 7
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
CULTURE
Asian American Youth Culture: Multi-racial dating
BY ARLA SHEPHARD
Examiner Contributor
Now more than ever, young Asian-Americans
are defying their parents’ cultural norms and are
engaging in multi-racial dating, says an article
in American Demographics on Asian-American
youth trends.
This complex issue however often puts them at
odds with the parents and traditions that they’ve
come to respect and their growing assimilation
into American culture. Issues of identity come
into play, and many Asian Americans must come
to terms with how they want to be perceived and
what will ultimately make them happy.
University of Washington and FilipinoAmerican student Angeline Candido has been
dating her Caucasian boyfriend, Jonathan Yockey,
for nearly three years. Despite their closeness,
Candido admits that a part of her still keeps her
culture and her boyfriend separate.
“[Trying new] food is still very hard for him.
He doesn’t eat seafood … I wonder how we would
raise our children if we got married,” Candido
said. “Would they be raised in an American or
Filipino tradition? Would I teach them Tagalog?
What kinds of food would they eat?” she asked.
Multi-racial dating is not a new phenomenon among Asian-Americans. When Filipino
and Chinese male workers came to the United
States in the 18th and 19th centuries, they would
have no choice but to marry White women. After
World War II, the situation reversed itself with
several white men returning home with Asian
“war brides.”
Hand in hand with interracial dating comes
the issue of discrimination. Anti-miscegenation
laws, where interracial marriages are prohibited,
have been common since the post-slavery era. In
the case of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
Asian men were seen as a threat to American
society when they wed their Caucasian brides.
Nowadays discrimination comes in much
subtler forms for Asian American youth carefully
wading the pool of multi-racial dating. Culture
clashes and misunderstandings are common for
today’s youth, with family structure seeming to
be the common point of contention.
Candido’s younger sister experienced more
trouble with her interracial relationship. Her
ex-boyfriend didn’t understand why she couldn’t
stay out late, said Candido, or why she wouldn’t
simply talk back to her parents. Differing religious beliefs played a large role in the fate of the
relationship as well.
Sophia Le, a Vietnamese American UW student, has also experienced her share of turbulent
interracial relationships. She was hesitant to tell
her parents about her white high school boyfriend, who came from a very non-traditional
single-parent family.
“He was not very understanding of my
culture and didn’t understand why my parents
were so controlling. He would often insult them
in front of me. This lasted for five or six months,
where we would sneak around … I was hoping
that with time he would understand,” Le said.
Asian American youth have a hard enough
time “finding themselves” amidst the balancing
act of maintaining the culture of their parents
and striving to be more “American.” Adding
dating into the mix can force them to call into
question their own culture and beliefs.
“I was at a very confusing point in my life,
trying to figure out who I was. For someone to
tell you that your way of life is wrong is unsettling. Now I realize that family is important and
relationships need compromise,” Le said.
Le has found that compromise with her
current boyfriend, who is also white. Instead of
putting down her family, he encourages her to
express her culture more.
Fantanely Wong
8 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
“He wonders why I don’t learn to make pho [a
traditional Vietnamese soup dish] or why I don’t
speak more Vietnamese,” Le said. “He is open to
other cultures and loves trying new food.”
Despite the success of their current relationships, Candido and Le both run into problems
occasionally. Le’s boyfriend doesn’t understand
why the term “Oriental” might be offensive, and
Candido has to explain to her boyfriend why he
can’t call her father by his first name.
Roadblocks are inevitable in any relationship, and fortunately Candido and Le have rarely
experienced racism when dating outside of their
ethnicity. Once Candido was treated coldly from
the older World War II generation when it was
thought that she was Japanese, but aside from
that both families are accepting of the couple.
“My parents are completely accepting, but
would they be happier if I ended up with a nice
Filipino boy? Probably,” Candido said.
“I think my parents have accepted that it’s
harder to find a Vietnamese guy, but it might
make them happier … Still, considering the history between Vietnam and Cambodia, I know
they’d be more upset if I dated a Cambodian,” Le
said.
Le has found that the struggle to identify
oneself as Asian or American, an identity struggle
that most Asian American youth go through,
spills over into the issue of multi-racial dating.
The solution for youth, whether in an interracial
relationship or not, is to not fight to identify yourself within a set social construct. One doesn’t have
to be Chinese or American; one can make their
own culture.
“I was at that breaking point with my last
boyfriend where I thought I couldn’t be with
someone different from me,” Le said. “Now I
know better. It doesn’t have to be one way or
another, black and white, my culture versus
your culture. That becomes too polarizing
and restrictive. You can create that third
culture.”
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 9
ARTS
Zhi Lin: “Unheard voices and invisible people”
BY CLAIRE EMIKO FANT
Examiner Contributor
Amid the abundance of postmodern
offerings, Zhi Lin’s figurative paintings
and drawings stand out as testimony to his
mastery of the realistic portrayal of epochal
human history. Blending the representational techniques of Northern European
Renaissance painting with the compositional
devices of classic Chinese monumental landscape painting, he achieves his objective — to
use his artwork to bring to light the social
truths of the inhuman treatment of human
beings that most of us tend to ignore and the
historical truths that are buried in time.
For Zhi Lin, learning is a lifelong journey.
He is on a quest for the historical recognition of people, past and present, who make
up the undercurrent of human history
— undistinguished in the eyes of the society
in which they live and treated with disdain
and cruelty. Growing up during the Cultural
Revolution in China as a child, he witnessed
many street fights between political factions,
and became acutely aware of the social and
political climate to avoid persecution. This
caused him to turn inward and reflect upon
human society.
Lin began his career in printmaking,
experimenting with abstract forms and
Chinese calligraphy. Tiananmen Square in
1989 was a watershed event for Lin who
was in England studying European art at the
time. Drawing inspiration from artists such
as Philip Guston and Paula Rego, who turned
from abstract to figurative representation in
their painting, Lin found a
profound purpose for his
art. As someone who was
exposed to human violence
at an early age, he felt that a
realistic portrayal of his subject would cross cultural lines
with greater impact.
Zhi Lin’s current solo
show at Howard House is
a rare and excellent opportunity to view his completed project, “Five Capital
Executions in China,” an
undertaking which he began
in 1992, and his next project entitled “Invisible People:
Chinese Railroad Workers,” that is still
in the formative stages of development.
“Five Capital Executions in China” is
comprised of five monumental scroll paintings, each measuring 12 by 7 feet, depicting
Lin’s interpretations of five ancient forms of
capital punishment. They are titled: “Flaying”
(1993), “Decapitation” (1995), “Firing Squad”
(1996), “Starvation” (1999), and “Drawing
and Quartering” (2007). The scrolls are
hung and framed in the manner of Tibetan
Buddhist “thanka” scrolls that Lin had studied
in China. Ribbons with imprinted images of
influential Chinese thinkers flank each scroll,
and at the top sits a curtain that has been
gathered up to reveal hidden truth.
Each painting is realistically rendered
with finely wrought detail
that brings the viewer in as
a witness anticipating the
inevitable act. Crowds of
people populate the paintings, engaged in daily activities or watching the event
without emotion. Acrobats
perform in “Flaying.” A
parade marks a celebration in
“Drawing and Quartering.”
And we as viewers are a complicit audience with a direct
bird’s-eye view of the horrific
event about to take place. It
is unsettling with an eerie
allegorical quality akin to
the religious paintings of the old European
masters. Indeed, implied in the series is that
Lin used China as the setting for an epic narrative that is essentially universal in scope and
time, as no culture or civilization escapes the
human propensity for violence.
Lin attacks his next project, “Invisible
People: Chinese Railroad Workers,” with
the same passionate commitment and thoroughness, beginning with plenty of research.
With help from books, photographs and the
research capabilities created by the Internet
and GPS, Lin was able to locate the areas that
were inhabited by the immigrant Chinese
railroad workers recruited to build the transcontinental railroad during the second half
of the 19th century. He traveled to California
and Utah to record where the workers lived,
worked and died — places like Donner
Summit and American River at Cape Horn in
the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Bloomers
Cut in Auburn, California, and Promontory
Summit in Utah, site of the golden spike ceremonies.
In the 8-1/2 by 11-inch Chinese ink paint-
ings exhibited at Howard House, Lin’s trained
eye and adept hand captures the wild, remote
loneliness of these places, where only the
railroad itself gives evidence to the Chinese
workers’ presence. Lin’s paintings are a blend
of graphic and realistic presentation that is
realm of water-based media. The layered
brushwork and wash possess an immediate
contemporary quality that sets them apart
from classic Chinese painting and historical
engravings of the same areas. On each piece
he describes the wilderness landscape and
how the Chinese workers’ mostly unrecognized efforts altered it for the transcontinental
railroad.
Hundreds of Chinese workers perished at
Donner Summit, American River and other
remote areas, yet at none of these places nor
in American railroad history is there much
acknowledgement of their contributions
except with unmarked graves and nondescript memorials like the Chinese Wall at the
Donner Pass tunnels and the Chinese Arch
(formally Chinaman Arch) near Promontory.
Lin seeks to again challenge mainstream
historical and cultural awareness by examining the contributions of Chinese immigrant
workers to American history and the mistreatment they endured after the railroad had
been completed and many became jobless.
As with “Five Capital Executions in
China,” for “Invisible People: Chinese
Railroad Workers” Lin will develop final
paintings based on his research and travels to
California and Utah, draw and paint studies
with human models wearing period dress,
and create his masterpieces that engage the
viewer to look beyond the general perception
of our country’s history.
Zhi Lin currently teaches painting at the
University of Washington. His work will be
on display at Howard House until April 28.
10 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
John Yau, backwards and forwards
BY ANNA MARIA HONG
Examiner Contributor
John Yau was born in Massachusetts in 1950,
soon after his parents fled Shanghai, and he has
lived in Manhattan for many years. The author
of over 30 books of poetry, fiction and criticism, including “Borrowed Love Poems,” “Ing
Grish,” “Hawaiian Cowboys,” and “The United
States of Jasper Johns,” Yau has received many
awards including being named a Chevalier in
the Order of Arts and Letters by France.
Yau had just published his wonderful poetry
collection, “Paradiso Diaspora” (Penguin),
a fluid, witty and provocative work which
begins with a series of collaborative poems with
visual artist, Leiko Ikemura, and ends with the
humorous “In the Kingdom of Poetry,” which
explains exactly what a poet should not do
beginning with the line, “Don’t write poems/
about yourself.” After hearing him lecture about
the Seattle-based artist Randy Hayes, I spoke to
Yau about his process and his new book.
Anna Maria Hong: Most of my questions are
about your book “Paradiso Diaspora.” I love
the title, and I love that it’s an anagram. The
way I interpret it, is that paradise is a kind of
scattering, as opposed to “lost” and as opposed
to “one place.”
John Yau: That’s fairly accurate, “paradise” as
a scattering and maybe the “diaspora” is also
a paradise. I mean it to go two ways: you’re
thrown out of the paradise into the diaspora,
and the diaspora is also the paradise. You can
read it literally backward and forward, and
maybe there is no paradise but the place where
you are, whatever that place is, if you accept the
consequences of that possibility. I think that’s
one of the ways I was thinking about it when I
wrote that title, and also I just lucked into when
I discovered that anagram and thought, “Ah,
lucky me!”
Welcome to our tribute to April, National Poetry Month. Our feature this issue
is an interview with art critic, essayist, poet, prose writer, publisher, editor and
curator, John Yau. Yau holds a unique position in the arts since he wears so
many hats and I think it’s this versatility of expression and perspective that
makes his writing so fresh and vital. Anna Maria Hong caught up with him
last summer when he was in the area to read and teach workshops at Port
Townsend. No single interview could address Yau’s multiplicity of interests but
for those wishing more information, I’d suggest “The Passionate Spectator:
Essays on Art and Poetry” by John Yau (Poets on Poetry Series/University
of Michigan Press) for starters. To wrap things up, we also include two book
reviews of poetry. Enjoy and read poetry! Alan Lau - IE Arts Editor
kind of anonymously, and I really like that a images in her work as much as I could . . . So, it
lot.
is a real back and forth collaboration.
JY: Not really. In a way I was thinking that
everybody is part of diaspora but they don’t
want to admit it. You know, there’s this notion
that some people are more American than others, and I just think no. When I was growing
up, my father said over and over again that
everybody in America came from somewhere
else – even the Native Americans came from
somewhere else; they crossed the Bering Strait.
I think it’s interesting to think that America’s
this place where everybody has left their own
country, and at the same time it’s thought of
as this kind of paradise that you go to. What is
paradise?
AMH:
A kind of restlessness.
JY: Yeah! Restlessness and that you can’t accept
your condition. Everyone in America wants
something a little bit better, a little bit different.
I mean I think that’s probably true everywhere
. . . I think also living in New York, where
you think nobody’s a native New Yorker, and
everybody is really from somewhere else, and
you meet Russian poets, and all these different
people, and that seemed kind of like paradise
to me, that it wasn’t one thing, and I would be
the person outside of that. In New York, you feel
like everybody’s outside in some funny way.
AMH:
You don’t really find that in other
American cities.
JY: Yeah, not in a city you can walk around in.
L.A. is anonymous in a different way. I want
to be in a city you can walk around in; I don’t
want to have to drive everywhere. I like public
transportation. I like walking, I like the subway,
and if I have to I’ll take taxi-cabs, another kind
of funny transportation . . . In L.A., I once took
the bus – I think the entire Wilshire Boulevard
from Santa Monica to L.A., an hour and 40
minutes – and I realized the people who took
the bus in L.A. were the people who were really
poor, and they literally went and got their laundry and took the bus for five blocks and got off.
And I was really curious, because it was like a
weird, little community vehicle, and the people
would recognize some people on the bus, and I
was like “Wow!” and I loved the ride! A friend
of mine thought I was crazy to take the bus, but
you would see in L.A. what you would not otherwise ever see. It was like a New York subway
to me except very slow.
AMH:
The first section of your book is
“Andalusia,” and the notes say that it was
published in a limited edition with artwork by
Leiko Ikemura. What was the process of working together?
JY: Leiko Ikemura is a Japanese artist who lives
in Germany, and I had seen her work in Berlin
a number of times. She’s a ceramicist and a
AMH:
And
everyone
has
a
place.
AMH:
Were you also thinking of specific
JY: And everyone has a place even though it’s painter, and somewhere along the line I had
diasporas like the Chinese diaspora?
read that she had done a book of drawings for
a poet named Marina Zwetajewa, because she
really likes Russian poetry. So, I decided I would
do a collaboration with her, and I met her and
talked to her, and I had to come up with the
poems for her work. I knew that she had lived
in Spain at a certain point, and I was interested
in poems by Arab or Muslim women written
in the 12th and 13th century in Spain that were
anonymous.
At the same time, I was reading about the
Persian miniatures and the creation of paradise
in the Persian miniature, because it’s a garden;
there’s no people in it in the beginning. There’s
no animals. It’s all flowers. So, then I wrote
these poems trying to limit myself to images
that you find in Persian miniatures that had no
individuals in them.
AMH:
Do you have a preference for which
way it works? Because you’ve done so many
collaborations.
JY: No, I don’t have a preference for which way
it works. I’m just really interested in doing it,
because I think it gets me out of thinking in
certain ways and gets me thinking about different subjects, and I try to respond to the person’s
work.
AMH:
And do you think it’s influenced your
solo work as well?
JY: Yeah, and, in fact, I can go to an exact
moment. In the ‘80s, I worked with an artist
named Archie Rand, and we decided to collaborate. We were going to do watercolors
where I would write on the paper, and he would
do the watercolor, and then he made up all the
rules; I accepted them. He said that we had
to do a thousand. I then had a little house in
upstate New York. He came to my house, and
he brought all the paper and gave me half of it,
and I was to write something, and he was to do
a watercolor, and it got to the point where he
would be passing me a watercolor, and I would
be passing him something I wrote on, and we
kept going faster and faster. And I said, “A thousand? That’s crazy!”
And he said, “Well, that’s the only way you
can get beyond what you know how to do.”
And that really changed my writing at a certain
point, because it made me think about, “Oh,
have I ever thought about getting beyond what
I know how to do. Have I ever tried to get myself
into another kind of situation?” And he was
doing the watercolors extremely fast, and he’s
very, very good, and I had to write, and I had
to not think in a way. And, also I had to think
about where I put the words on the page, and
you want the poem or the writing to happen
as fast as the image, but images happen faster
than language. So, then it’s really like, how many
words can you use before you slow it down so
much? So, that really helped me to compress my
lines a lot. Even if you put half the line up here
and half the line down here, what happens with
the break? So, things like that really did make
me rethink everything I knew about writing.
And, after that, I really got excited about working with artists.
And artists — what’s amazing, because we
don’t think about it as writers — artists, if they
don’t like something, they throw it away. And
it’s material! It’s like paper, canvas, whatever.
And you think, “Well, if they’re not afraid of
that, and it’s costing them money, what’s so
precious about any one thing I write?” And then
you get rid of the notion, “Oh, I wrote this line,
it’s important, you know! I wrote it!” It’s like,
“Eh, it’s not that good a line or it doesn’t work
here, get rid of it.” So, that, I think, was really
helpful, too. Working with artists has been a big
influence on me.
AMH:
Wow.
JY: And then there are things I do to contradict
it. For instance, I talk about a shadow in the
poem, and there would be no shadows in a
Persian miniature, so I deliberately contradicted in one or two places. So, that’s the beginning,
and that’s the first section, and then there’s a
second section, where I wrote the poem “In
the Lion Night” that was in response to her
drawings. She did the drawings and sent photographs to me. And then I did another series
of poems in response to her work, “Poems
for Leiko,” – that’s the third section, and that’s
To read the complete interview, visit the IE Web site
sort of more specifically responding to specific at www.iexaminer.org
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
Living in Japan inspires other worldly poems
“Ninety-Five Nights of Listening” (poems)
By Malinda Markham
Mariner Books (an imprint of Houghton
Mifflin), 2002
Reviewed by Mari L’Esperance
In her first collection of poems, Malinda
Markham explores, considers, and illuminates
her subjects with compassion, a keen intellect,
and startling, precise language and imagery.
The poems themselves are largely built around
and inspired by Markham’s fascination with
Japanese culture and language.
The poems that make up “Ninety-five Nights
of Listening” possess a remote otherworldliness
— like museum artifacts from another place
and time kept under glass —coupled with an
intimacy and immediacy of voice and subject.
This pairing of opposites — the rarefied and the
familiar, the intangible and the material — is
evident in the first stanza of the poem “Things
That Seldom Remain in Place”:
“Ghosts peel from the wallpaper. They turn to
foxes,/run red to the trees. Weather knots/at the
corners of sleep and will not recede./Who can see
a stranger’s wrist/and not have regrets? The scent
of wild orange/Invokes memory benign; sliced
lime/calls forth pleasing thoughts best forgotten.”
Throughout her collection, Markham is
engaged in a persistent inquiry, attempting in
each poem to reconcile the intangible with the
embodied while correspondingly acknowledging the ultimate futility of her efforts. Her
poems are infused with meaning and wonder;
their perceptions seem to break apart at the very
edge of their coming into being. This cyclical
confluence and pulling apart of the divine and
the mundane, the one “questioning” the other
and back again, is what provides the tension and
synthesis of these poems. They are simultaneously hermetic and unbound — “This is music:
Birds scratch a line from treetop/to roof. The
struck spine rings/like a sealed room.” (from
“Being Glass”) — contracting and expanding much as the heart and lungs contract and
expand.
In her poems,
Markham struggles
with the failure of
language to capture
fully and accurately
memory,
meaning, and feeling.
Furthermore,
she
maintains that fine
and difficult balance between what
is revealed and what
is withheld without compromising one or the
other; the two co-exist and inform one another,
resulting in a shadow dance of give and take
that threads its way through these poems.
“Once a year, bells ring if there is someone/To
sound them. If the snow melts,/Something
unforeseen will be given” (from “Recalling the
Start”).
Frequently linguistically challenging while
rich with haunting music and images that are
often as strange as they are beautiful, the best of
Markham’s poems also comfort and instruct, as
do all poems of lasting and memorable merit.
These are poems that voice the collective
search for meaning and understanding and are
imbued with a consciousness that this search
can never be fully realized. Markham beautifully articulates this sense of futility in the final
section of her poem “Before the River Freezes
in Place”:
“Sing me the story where lightning/divides
the tanager in two./Each half beak opens, and
wind pulls night/from inside the two mouths./
Are you looking for comfort? No matter/how you
ask it, those two sides of sky/do not become one.
There are people/wanting to be covered by night.
There is a bird-shaped space/the color of light.”
These are not “easy” poems; they demand
the reader’s full participation. But one’s efforts
are amply rewarded, for Ninety-five Nights of
Listening is a collection whose mysteries and
layers of meaning continue to reveal themselves
and to resonate long after the poems have been
read, and then again over subsequent readings.
Engaging images still feel distant
“The Real Moon of Poetry and Other Poems”
(poems)
By Tina Brown Celona
New York: Fence Books, 2002
Reviewed by Tarisa A.M. Matsumoto
After several failed attempts to finish reading Tina Brown Celona’s “The Real Moon of
Poetry and Other Poems,” I forced myself to
sit down one Tuesday and get to the end, no
matter what. I was able to finish the book,
but when I look back at the poems of the
2002 Alberta Prize-winning book, I am
unable to connect with them.
Brown Celona writes in a variety of
styles — prose poems to traditional stanzaic poems — and the poems are definitely
narrative, but I would not call them lyrical.
Brown Celona certainly has a talent for creating resonating images: “The days are like
a row of corpses/Face down at the edge of a
pit.” She even describes the bomb dropped
on Hiroshima as a “Singer sewing machine/
Dropped from the sky.” And there’s my
favorite: “…The cardinal/Like a red sock/In
the juniper bush.”
Usually, images like these are enough to
engage any reader. The world comes alive,
and ordinary things
become capable of
parting the seas or gutting laughter from our
memories. Despite the
engaging images, I feel
distanced from the poem
and the poet. In one of
her poems, Brown Celona writes, “…We are
back in the landscape/of letters.” This is the
best account of her poems in this collection:
they attempt to describe a world of poetry.
For academics, these poems may pulsate with
life, but if you are looking for poems to show
you something about the world, ourselves, or
the human condition, there are other books
that come closer to accomplishing these
things than Brown Celona’s work in “The
Real Moon of Poetry and Other Poems.”
As a matter of fact, in one of the last
poems in the book, Brown Celona writes:
Let’s not use the word “landscape” in a
poem.
And especially not the word “poem.” Why
do we use these
Words in a poem?
After reading this collection, I’m left asking myself the same question.
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 11
12 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
FILM
“Journey from the Fall” steers clear of Hollywood
BY NHIEN NGUYEN
Examiner Editor
When Ham Tran pitched his film idea about
the story of Vietnamese boat people, studio
executives asked two questions: “Can you make
it in English?” and “Can you cast Lucy Liu?”
Some said Tran was overly ambitious, even
naïve, to think he could woo investors — and
ultimately distributors — to support a foreign
language, historical drama with no name
actors.
Six years after the germination of the film
idea following Sept. 11, Tran proved naysayers
wrong. “Journey From the Fall” opens in Seattle
on April 20 at Regal Meridian 16 in downtown
Seattle and Portland, Ore. at Lloyd Mall 8 on
April 27.
“Journey from the Fall” explores the lives of
the Vietnamese after the fall of Saigon, including
the inherently dramatic stories of the re-education camps, the boat journey, and resettlement
in America.
Throughout the filmmaking journey, Tran,
who was born in Saigon and immigrated to
America with his parents through the Orderly
Departure Program in 1982, persisted with
his vision to create a Vietnamese film with an
authentic Vietnamese voice. Even most members of the production crew, from costume
designer to executive producer, are Vietnamese
Americans.
Tran’s passion for authenticity translated
into support from about a dozen investors — all
from within the Vietnamese community. Some
Vietnamese supporters were willing to take
money out of their children’s med school savings to fund the film’s production.
Tran, whose short film “The Anniversary”
was short-listed for an Academy Award, took
the community’s support to heart. Tired of
recurring images of Vietnamese women as
prostitutes or “quiet, demure” characters, Tran
was determined to portray characters that were
complex and true to life.
“If you know any Vietnamese woman, she
speaks her mind,” said Tran in an interview
with the International Examiner during his
film’s Seattle premiere at the Northwest Asian
American Film Festival (NWAAFF) earlier this
year.
To represent the strong-willed Vietnamese
female character, Tran cast the quintessential
Vietnamese leading actress, Kieu Chinh (“The
Joy Luck Club”), as mother of re-education
camp prisoner, Long Nguyen.
Long’s wife, Mai, was a more difficult
character to cast, as the part required a fluent
Vietnamese speaker who carried the “essence”
HamTran
of a desperate wife and young mother during
that tumultuous time in Vietnam’s history.
At first, Tran rejected the concept of casting a Vietnamese popular singer because he
didn’t want “cheezy karaoke acting.” But after
a long search for the perfect Mai, Tran chose
Diem Lien, a promising young voice in the
Vietnamese music industry. Tran also cast pop
singer Cat Ly as Phuong, who plays a fellow
survivor from Mai’s treacherous boat journey.
Casting took many surprising turns with
not just the female leads but also the male
counterparts. The original actor to play Long
Nguyen, Khanh Doan, turned out to be too
healthy to portray a starving re-education
camp prisoner. Little did Tran realize that
his male lead was someone born for the role
– Long Nguyen (“Heaven and Earth”) shared
the same name as that of Tran’s lead character.
Nguyen could relate to the part as his own
father was caught escaping the war and sentenced to six months in prison. Many other
cast and crew members have direct, personal
experience with the stories, making it all the
more important for Tran to stay true to his
vision.
Tran said, “This is a Vietnamese film
about Vietnamese people, not an American
Vietnamese film.”
My Journey, My Story. ImaginAsian
Pictures invites you to submit a video or an
essay about your personal journey or a friend’s
or family member’s personal story of leaving
Vietnam and coming to America. Selected submissions will be featured in the “Journey from
the Fall” DVD (Special Features section). Visit
www.journeyfromthefall.com for official rules.
Filmmaker studies her subject closely
BY CHIZU OMORI
Examiner Contributor
live in close quarters,
This documentary has
but Linda gamely allows
a happy ending.
him to continue his
Now, for the most part,
artwork in her apartdocumentaries are grim,
ment. She has decided
depressing, or designed
to make a documentary
to make you feel outrage
film about this unusual
and anger, but this one
man, and she draws him
is different. The interestout, getting information
ing part of “The Cats of
in bits and pieces. In the
Mirikitani” is that it tells
meantime, she works to
a somewhat sad tale about “The Cats of Mirikitani”
get Jimmy into the social
Jimmy Mirikitani, a Japanese American home- services system.
less artist who has been eking out an existence An article about Janice Mirikitani, San
drawing pictures and selling them on the side- Francisco poet, catches her attention, and she
walks of New York.
asks if this could be a relative. They contact
Bent and aged, he wears a jaunty beret, her, and indeed, they are related.
paints and draws brightly colored pictures
Worked into the narrative is archival footof flowers, cats, and maintains a dignity that age of the camps as Linda learns more about
doesn’t match his circumstances. One feature the internment and Jimmy’s past. They are
of his art is drawings of the World War II forming a bond, and they bicker like relaTule Lake concentration camp for Japanese tives. Jimmy had worked as a companion to a
Americans, which are mysterious to most of rich man on Park Avenue, acting as cook and
those passing by. Jimmy’s utterances are sub- driver. When the man died, Jimmy drifted and
titled because his English is heavily accented. lived on the streets.
And there are special Seattle connections with
Linda, finding Jimmy resistant to moving
this artist.
out, works on his pride as an artist and he
Filmmaker Linda Hattendorf was living a begins to teach art in a senior center. With
couple of blocks away from his usual station the help of social workers and his new friends,
and in January 2001, she strikes up a friend- he agrees to move into a place of his own and
ship with Jimmy, photographing and filming he does get social security checks. He is now
him in exchange for drawings. One day, he transformed into a popular and respected
asks her to contact Roger Shimomura, Seattle teacher, he’s settled, and he is no longer that
native who is a world-renown artist. Roger homeless bum.
visits him in New York, and in conversations,
Then, Linda takes him to California where
begins to reveal his story. Jimmy talks of he meets poet Mirikitani, comes to Seattle
internment, Tule Lake, his years there, and the where he is reunited with a sister he hadn’t
anger he still feels about that experience. Born seen in 60 years. He has a show at the Wing
in Sacramento, Calif., he spent his youth in Luke Asian Museum; he goes to the Tule Lake
Hiroshima, coming back to the United States Pilgrimage and wanders the grounds and
just before the start of World War II.
landmarks of that area. Jimmy finally says he’s
In August, Linda begins looking after him, not mad anymore and is at peace.
asking him about social security, etc. But he is
This film has layers of meaning, and edited
proud and independent, rejecting her help. He so subtly that the layers are slowly revealed.
expresses great anger about Hiroshima, tell- It’s a quirky, lovingly shot film about art,
ing her that his entire family was wiped out. artists, war, injustice, internment, homelessJimmy is clearly a person with a troubled past. ness, friendship, compassion and sheer luck.
On 9/11, Jimmy is very close to the towers and Hattendorf, who becomes a true friend to this
furiously draws the scene as toxic fumes swirl eccentric, fiercely independent man, has made
around him. Linda invites him into her apart- a wonderful film about Jimmy and herself.
ment and they watch the TV news of the chaos
“The Cats of Mirikitani” will show at
and horror happening just outside her place.
Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle,
Jimmy somewhat settles in and the two from April 20-26 at 7 & 9 p.m.
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
In the exhibit entitled “Non Action Painting,” longtime Chinese brush painter Frederic Wong uses tea
and other pigments to stain ceramic tiles. On view
BY ALAN LAU
through April 27 with a reception on April 20 from
5 – 7 p.m. at which violinist Rachel Wong will perform. Edmonds Community College Art Gallery
Seattle jazz pianist/composer Victor Noriega, who in Lynnwood Hall on the third floor (gallery access
walked away with two awards at the last Earshot via the library), 2000 68th Ave. W. in Lynnwood,
Jazz Music Awards, has been busy abroad, playing (425) 640-1339. http://gallery.edcc.edu.
at clubs in the Philippines and Shanghai. Come
welcome him back and see what experiences travel “Tussle in Shorthand” is a new group show
has brought to his playing when he returns to the curated by Yoko Ott which features artists from
Seattle stage on April 28 with the Victor Noriega around the world who employ mechanisms that
Trio + 2 at Tula’s at 2214 Second Ave. Set starts at assist them in interpreting or dealing with their
8:30 p.m. For reservations, call (206) 443-4221 or physical and psychological environments. Work
log on to www.tulas.com.
by Meiro Koizumi of Tokyo is included. Through
April 29. Punch Gallery, 119 Prefontaine Place S.,
Okay, let’s try this again. A while back, I mentioned (206) 621-1945.
this film coming to the Grand Illusion in error. But
now it is really coming. Katsuhito Ishii’s “Taste of Ceramic artist Ayumi Horie shows new work. She
Tea” ranks as one of my favorite films from Japan will also lead a workshop at Pottery Northwest
in recent memory. It runs April 27 – May 3. It’s a on April 21 & 22. For information on the worklook at a Japanese family living in the countryside shop, visit www.potterynorthwest.com. Sandra
with a few eccentricities. Sprinkled with a double Westford presents works in pastel on paper. She
dose of magic realism and anime, this wacky calls her work “zen realism.” Both shows at KOBO
comedy presents endearing characters that At Higo. Reception for both artists on April 21
somehow cohere as a happy family. NOT TO BE from 6 – 8 p.m. Through May 19, 604 S. Jackson,
MISSED – 1403 N.E. 50th, (206) 523-3935.
(206) 381-3000.
walk-through tour on April 28. “Family Day at the
Wing” presents a workshop with Mizu Sugimura
on April 21 at 1 p.m. Collage artist Sugimura will
show you how to make your own handmade book.
For details, call (206) 623-5124 ext. 114 or e-mail
[email protected] – 409 Seventh Ave. S., (206)
623-5124.
Atul Gawande, a general surgeon and staff writer
for The New Yorker when he isn’t teaching at
Harvard Medical School, has a splendid new
book out entitled “Better: A Surgeon’s Notes On
Performance” (Metropolitan/Holt). He reads from
it May 3 at 7 p.m. at the Microsoft Auditorium
at Seattle Public Central Library. Co-presented
by Elliott Bay Book Company and Washington
Center For The Book. Downtown at 1000 Fourth
Ave., (206) 386-4636 or log on to www.spl.org.
Seattle Symphony — Maasaaki Suzuki conducts
J.S. Bach’s Fourth Suite as part of the “Basically
Baroque Series” on May 11 & 12 at 8 p.m. Features
soprano Ying Huang. Benaroya Hall. Call (206)
215-4747 for tickets.
“Contemporary Indian Miniatures” by Ajay
Garg is the new show on view at DAVIDSON
GALLERIES – Original Prints and Works on Paper
through April 28 – 313 Occidental Ave. S., (206)
624-1324.
The Seattle Asian Art Museum. Kids and families
can enjoy the “Free First Saturdays” program
activities from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Alvord Board
Room and Fuller Garden Court. On May 5, “Treemendous Scrolls!” lets visitors try their own hand
at painting trees with a calligraphy brush and ink
– 1400 E. Prospect, (206) 654-3100.
Gregory Kono’s kites are featured in a group show
of artists using the element of wind. Through
April. Bainbridge Arts And Crafts at 151 Winslow
Way E., (206) 842-3132.
The work of Yuki Nakamura and Mark
Takamichi Miller is included in a group show
entitled "Building Tradition: Contemporary
Northwest Art" through April 29 at the Whatcom
Museum at 121 Prospect in Bellingham, (360) 6766981 or log on to www.whatcommuseum.org.
For lovers of the slack-key guitar sound from
Hawai’i, check out Led Kaapana & Mike Kaawa
on April 24. Popular singer/songwriter Vienna
Teng returns to Seattle for a May 12 show with
Sara Bareilles. All at The Triple Door downtown,
“Memoirs” is the title of a show by Vietnam vet 216 Union St., (206) 838-4333. thetripledoor.net.
Craig Barber who used his abilities as a photographer to help cope with memories from his tour of Jazz vocalist Sachal Vasandani and his band perduty. Through May 12. Benham Gallery, 1216 First form at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley on April 23 at 7:30
p.m., 2033 Sixth Ave. www.jazzalley.com.
Ave., (206) 622-2480.
Howard House presents UW Professor Zhi Lin’s
“Unheard Voices and Invisible People” (see review
in this issue) through April 28 – 604 Second Ave.,
(206) 256-6399. www.howardhouse.net.
Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural
Festival takes place at Seattle Center April 20 – 22.
The theme of this year’s fest is cherry blossoms.
2006 Kobe Jazz Queen Mami will perform as well
as Japanese rock band BLESSEDMAIN. Japanese
wood artist Atsushi Tanaka will demonstrate
woodcarving and exhibit his work.
“When the West Came to Japan” is a show that
shows the dawn of Japan’s Westernization in all
its complexity on view at Carolyn Staley Fine
“Water Lillies” is a show by Thu Nguyen. She Japanese Prints throughout the month or online at
often focuses on the abstract nature of water www.carolynstaleyprints.com – 2001 Western Ave.
embodied in landscape/cityscapes rich with color Suite 320, (206) 621-1888.
and depth. Through April 29. The Fountainhead
Gallery, 625 W. McGraw St., (206) 285-4467.
“Eternal Dreams & Rapture Born From the
Heart” is the title of a show by Richard KirstenUW graduate Yi Liang returns from China where Daiensai. On view through April 29. Kirsten
he is teaching to attend the opening of his Seattle Gallery at 5320 Roosevelt Way N.E., (206) 522debut show of paintings at Linda Hodges Gallery 2011 or log on to www.kirstengallery.com.
on May 3 from 6 – 8 p.m. Through a series of thin
linear landscapes, one sees a 360-degree perspec- “Nomadic Eye: the spirit of people, places, and
tive of Greenlake. Through June 2, 316 First Ave. S., things” is a show of images from around the world
(206) 624-3034. www.lindahodgesgallery.com.
by photographer Oksana Perkins at ArtXchange
through April 27 – 512 First Ave. S., (206) 839-0377
Examiner contributor Winnie Wong has paint- or log on to www.artxchange.org.
ings in the ArtXchange Juried Group Exhibition
from May 3 – June 30. Opening reception is May 3 The work of Mark Takamichi Miller is included
from 5 – 8 p.m.: 512 First Ave. S., (206) 834-0377 in a show of new portable works purchases by the
or log on to www.artxhange.org.
Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and Seattle Public
Utilities at the Seattle Municipal Tower Gallery
“Poetic Spaces – An Exhibition of Photographs through April 30. The group show entitled “People
and Poetry of the Young Living on the Margins + Place” includes 48 artworks by 35 artists. 700
of Calcutta” is on view till April 30 on the ground Fifth Ave., third floor. (206) 684-4748.
floor and second floor of Odegaard Library on the
UW campus. www.kalammarginswrite.org.
“How the Soy Sauce Was Bottled” is a special
exhibition featuring the artwork of Heinrich Toh,
Don’t miss Etsuko Ichikawa’s ephemeral ode to James Lawrence Ardena, June Sekiguchi, Saya
fire and movement on paper as she captures the Moriyasu and Susie Jungune Lee who created new
gesture of that movement in time in her show works based on the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s
now at Gallery4Culture through April 27 – 101 permanent collection. This will be the last show
Prefontaine in the Tashiro /Kaplan Building, (206) in the present site before the Museum moves. On
296-8674 or log on to www.4culture.org.
view through Nov. 20, 2007. Jason Huff, a member
of the selection committee for the show, will lead a
Tetsunori Kawana, Sogetsu School master instructor from Tokyo, gives a Japanese flower arrangement demonstration on April 28 at Mercer Island
Community Center. Luncheon at 11:30 a.m., demonstration at 2 p.m. $45 fee. 8236 S.E. 24th St. To
register, call Lily McMahan at (253) 939-7941.
Washington Center for the Book at The Seattle
Public Library presents the “2007 Seattle Reads”
series choice, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Lahiri comes to town in May but activities around
the book already abound. Gurinder Chada’s “Bend
It Like Beckham” screens April 23 at 7 p.m. at the
Green Lake Branch. “Writing India in the Pacific
Northwest” is a discussion with local South Asian
novelists Bharti Kirchner and Indu Sundaresan, 7
p.m., April 25 at the Central Library’s Microsoft
Auditorium. Mira Nair’s “Mississippi Masala”
screens on April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Hill
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 13
Jhumpa Lahiri is
the selected author
for 2007 Seattle
Reads.
Branch. Seattle Theatre Group Education and
Community Programs presents: “From Bharatha
Natyam to Bhangra”: A lecture/demonstration
in ancient traditional and popular Indian folk
dances at 2 p.m. on May 5 at the Central Library’s
Microsoft Auditorium. There will be a Community
Organizations Dialogue on “The Namesake” on
May 6 at 3 p.m. at the Capitol Hill Branch, (206)
386-4636 or log on to www.spl.org.
Novelist Indu Sundaresan will participate in
a dinner with local literary luminaries entitled
“Literary Voices” as presented by UW Libraries.
April 21 at 6 p.m. UW Club Building, UW campus,
(206)-616-8397; [email protected].
Kenneth Pyle discusses and signs his book,
“Japan Rising: Resurgence of Japanese Power And
Purpose” (Public Affairs) on April 27 at 7 p.m.,
University Bookstore, (206) 634-3400.
The 5th Annual Rainbow Bookfest featuring talks,
activities, workshops by multicultural authors, 9:
30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Asian Resource Center at 1025
S. King, www.rainbowbookfest.com.
Linda Hattendorf’s “Cats of Mirikitani” tells the
story of homeless Japanese American artist Jimmy
Mirikitani, who the director discovered painting on
the streets of New York. Scarred by the experience
of war and internment, Mirikitani uses his art to
find his own personal peace. This Seattle premiere
screens April 20 – 26 with special guests introducing the film the first two days. May 4 – 10 brings
the Seattle premiere of Ritu Sarin and Tenzing
Sonam’s “Dreaming Lhasa,” a romance and a
quest tied to the story of an exiled Tibetan filmmaker from New York who returns to make a film
about the spiritual and political realities of today’s
Tibet. Northwest Film Forum at1515 12th Ave.,
(206) 329-2629 or log on to nwfilmforum.org.
“The Day My God Died,” a documentary on
child sexual slavery in the brothels of India and
what is being done to rescue these girls will screen
on May 4 at 7 p.m. Narrated by Tim Robbins and
Winona Ryder. The $10 admission fee goes to
support Maiti Nepal, an organization that helps
girls in brothels. Presented by Crooked Trails, a
Seattle-based nonprofit tourism organization,
www.crookedtrails.com. At Mary Gates Hall on
the UW campus.
14 —— April 18 - May 1, 2007
Saturday, April 21
• The 9th Annual Chinatown ID / Little Saigon
Spring Neighborhood Clean-Up will kick off at
9 a.m. at Hing Hay Park. The event is hosted
by SCIDpda’s Community Action Partnership
(CAP) public safety program. Funds raised
beyond the cost of the event will support CAP’s
year-round programs. For more information
or to donate or volunteer, email Tim Wang at
[email protected] or call (206) 674-9466.
• Indian Association of Western Washington
(IAWW) and the South Asian Studies Center
of the University of Washington jointly present
“Images of India.” Kane Hall on the UW campus from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. www.iaww.org.
• Join the Nepal Seattle Society (NSS) in celebrating Nepali New Year 2064 B.S. with food,
dance, and song. Doors open at 6 p.m. at the
Yesler Community Center, at 917 E. Yesler Way,
Seattle 98122. $20 for NSS members, $25 for
non-members, kids ten and under free. For
more information visit www.nepalseattle.org,
or call (206) 321-5779
Thursday, April 26
•
The 2007 Asian Hall of Fame Celebration
inducts new honorees Olympic Skating
Champion Apolo Anton Ohno, and CEO of
Beatrice Industries, Loida Nicolas-Lewis. 5:30
p.m. dinner, 6:15 p.m. show at Asian Resource
Center, 1025 South King Street, Seattle. $50/
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
CALENDAR
ticket, visit www.asianhalloffame.org, or call
Karen Wong at (206) 232-7495.
• The International Rescue Committee presents their annual dinner and silent auction at
6 – 9:30 p.m. at the Fairview Club. Contact
Jennifer Malloy at (206) 623-2105 or e-mail
[email protected].
Friday, April 27
• The International District Housing Alliance
celebrates their 30th anniversary at The Westin
Seattle. 5:30 p.m. Call (206) 623-5132 x318.
Saturday, April 28
•
Beyond Suffering from Trauma of
Displaced Migration: Black April marks the
32nd year of the fall of Saigon. Workshop offering conversation about shifting memory and
drifting experience of dislocation. The case of
Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue, at the interpost-1975s Vietnamese migration will be utisection of S.E. 28th St. and 148th Ave. S.E. Call
lized to stimulate dialogue. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at
BCC Student Programs at (425) 564-6150 or
Treehouse, 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle, 98144. For
e-mail [email protected].
info, email [email protected]; call (206)
365-1613.
Saturday, May 5
• Key Community Development Banking presents “SCIDPDA Fun at the Races 2007.” Grab
your derby hats, put on your sunglasses and join
us for SCIDpda’s signature annual fundraising event on Kentucky Derby Day! 1 to 4 p.m.
Emerald Downs Race Track, Auburn. $100/
ticket. (206) 838-8240. www.scidpda.org.
•
“Cultures of Our Community” MultiCultural Festival will be held at Bellevue
Community College (BCC). The free event will
run from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at BCC, 3000
Sunday, May 6
•
Come celebrate Asian Pacific Islander
Heritage Month with art, music, performances,
and dance at the Seattle Center! The all day free
event will showcase Cold Tofu, a Los Angeles
based Comedy Improv group and locally based
performances from the Filipino Youth Activities
Drill team, Dragon Dance Group, Vovinam
Martial Arts, Ke Liko Aíe O Lei Lehua, Chinese
Community Girls Drill Team, Nepal Seattle
Society, Rachel Santos and much, much more!
12 noon – 5 p.m. at The Seattle Center, Center
House, 305 Harrison St., Seattle.
INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER
CLASSIFIEDS
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
Bridge Maintenance
$19.64 - $28.51/hr DOQ
Plus Excellent Benefits
The
Seattle
Department
of
Transportation needs a Bridge
Maintenance Mechanic and a Helper
to work on the restoration, repair, and
construction of bridges, tunnels, seawalls, stairways, and related structures.
Fabricate and repair structural steel
components, troubleshoot hydraulic
systems, and repair plumbing systems. Work from suspended baskets
over water, on scaffolding, and in
boats under piers. Requires from six
months to four years of metal working,
bridge construction, or related experience, and the ability to obtain a CDL.
Experience in the fabrication of ferrous
and nonferrous alloy metal structures is
highly desirable. For more information
and an Online Application Form, visit
www.seattle.gov/jobs by 4/29/07. The
City is an Equal Opportunity Employer
that values diversity in the workforce.
Financial Analyst
Uses QRM software to perform financial modeling for asset liability mgmt.
Requires MA/MS in Finance, Bus
Admin or Econ + 2 yrs exp performing financial modeling for asset liability mgmt, incl modeling prepayment
behavior, loans, securities & derivatives; performing interest rate risk modeling using mkt valuation, net interest
income, & value-at-risk methodologies; preparing monthly rpts outlining
changes in duration & NPV. Position in
Seattle, WA includes competitive salary & outstanding benefits.
NAPCA
The National Asian Pacific Center on
Aging (NAPCA) seeks a candidate
to manage the Seattle office of its $6
million, national program to help meet
the employment and training needs of
Asian and Pacific Island (API) seniors
as part of a 40-year-old program under
Title V of the Older Americans Act.
The ideal candidate holds a Bachelor’s
Degree or equivalent work experience
in social service, employment and
training, or senior services. Preferred
qualifications including working familiarity with local communities and
organizations; bilingual in Chinese,
Korean, or Vietnamese; comfort in a
performance-based environment.
See a detailed job description at
www.napca.org. Email letters of interest
and resumes to [email protected].
No calls please.
Location: Seattle International District
Compensation: DOE. Benefits include
medical, dental, vision, prescription,
health savings account, group life,
401k with company match, and transit
subsidy.
Executive Director
Chinatown-International
District
Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA)
is looking to hire an Executive Director.
Duties include: overseeing and administering all programs and services,
supervising staff, managing office
operations, monitoring organizational
budget, maintaining and developing
stakeholder relations, providing direction and staff support to the Board and
representing the District on standing
committees and appointed task forces. Please mail resume to: CIDBIA,
Attn: Board Chair, 409 Maynard Ave
S., #P-1, Seattle, WA 98104
Visit
us at
www.iexaminer.org
Please apply online at wamu.com/
careers, referencing Job # 428091,
Source Type as Advertisement
and Source Name as International
Examiner.
Washington Mutual is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. We embrace
differences, welcome diversity, and
value a culture of respect.
Financial Analyst
Uses MatLab and SAS to conduct risk
analytics and modeling projects for
risk management. Requires MA/MS
in Math or Statistics + 1 yr exp using
MatLab & SAS to perform quantitative
analysis, including modeling, analytics & numerical analyses. Position in
Seattle, WA includes competitive salary and outstanding benefits.
Please apply online at wamu.com/
careers, referencing Job # 428187,
Source Type as Advertisement
and Source Name as International
Examiner.
Washington Mutual is an Equal
Opportunity Employer. We embrace
differences, welcome diversity, and
value a culture of respect.
EMPLOYMENT
Heavy Truck Driver
$23.80 to $24.77/hour
Plus Excellent Benefits
Drive a truck/trailer, tractor/trailer
combination, three-axle truck, or
heavy dump truck to haul materials
and equipment to Seattle Department
of Transportation construction sites.
Perform thorough safety inspections,
operate winches, hoists, pumps, and
compressors, and maintain mileage
and equipment records. Requires at
least one year of experience in the
operation of multi-axle trucks and
combinations, a Class A CDL with
Air Brake Restriction removed, and a
Medical Certificate. For more information and an Online Application Form,
visit www.seattle.gov/jobs by 4/29/
07. The City is an Equal Opportunity
Employer that values diversity in the
workforce.
April 18 - May 1, 2007 —— 15
Macy’s