Honored to be included in the
@washingtoncitypaper for our role in stopping the gentrification of Eden Center 🙏🏽 (graphics by Emily Martin) Growing up a few blocks away, Eden was a safe haven for us and our families. The culture, food, and community provided many Vietnamese a second home.
And not just Vietnamese, but also many fellow South East Asian refugees. The Vietnam war, Secret War in Laos, and Cambodian Genocide pushed millions of people to escape death and many settled in Falls Church, Arlington, and beyond. We grew up with low-income housing, food stamps, and very little money. Our parents had to work two jobs to survive and put food on the table.
Regardless of what we were going through, we all gathered at Eden Center 💛 A big shout out to
@avietplace @vnl @denisetnguyen @fictionals who initiated this movement. They rallied everyone together, attended council meetings, and shared it online. We stumbled upon the news through their activism.
We felt our childhood home was in danger so we quickly voiced our concerns and used our following to amplify their message 🗣️ it was a domino effect of positivity because
@thesundayroastnews Emily Martin of the Washington City Paper saw our struggles and chose to write about it… so here we are 🤝
The fight to keep the Vietnamese community thriving in Northern, VA is far from over, but this is a hopeful start.
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. Washington City Paper 📍
#SaveEdenCenter #AVietPlace #WashingtonCityPaper #EdenCenter #FallsChurchCity