33 minute read
THRU APRIL
VOL 41 NO 14 APRIL 2 – APRIL 8, 2022 FREE 40 YEARS YOUR VOICE Refugees helping refugees in #StandWithUkraine movement
By Nina Huang
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NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Inspired by her grandmother, who was a single mother that raised her mother and uncle, Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman wanted to use sewing as a way to give back to the community.
Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI) partners with immigrant women to foster an inclusive, prosperous transition to the United States through
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Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman and RAI artist, Diba
Photo by Jessica Garcia Photo by Sharon Ho Chang
Baseerah Salim wears a #StandWithUkraine pin
AAPI REPRESENTATION AT THE OSCARS
EDITORIAL InterIm parking lot to get new fence for neighborhood beautification
The South King Street side of the parking lot still had tent encampments with people living in them last week
Youn Yuh-jung, right, presents Troy Kotsur with the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for “CODA” at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Let’s talk about the Oscars… and not the thing that social media wants to talk about.
Youn Yuh-Jung, who became the first Korean actress to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2021, appeared as a presenter for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
see EDITORIAL on 16
THE INSIDE STORY
A&E Return to the road
for Hill 5
A&E Riz Ahmed is an
Oscar winner 8
ON THE SHELF Pham’s ‘7 Forms
of Respect’ 9
PUBLISHER’S BLOG Celebrate that you
are alive! 10
By Mahlon Meyer
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The smell from a pile of trash is so strong that it hangs several yards out into the street. It smells like sickly sweet human flesh. But
see PARKING on 15
KOMO 4 fires Jonathan Choe
Former KOMO-TV reporter Jonathan Choe said he’s not a neoNazi, fascist, or white supremacist.
“Those are just some of the names I have been called over the past few days for my recent coverage of a protest in Olympia,” Choe wrote on Medium. “As a proud Asian American journalist who’s faced years of discrimination for my race and ethnicity, this is comical at best.”
Jonathan Choe
New torii at Seward Park
Seward Park torii
The long-awaited celebration to mark the construction of the Japanese torii (gate) in Seward Park will be held on April 2 from 1-2 p.m. The celebration will include taiko drummers, a lion dance, and remarks from elected officials as well as community advocates.
The Department of Neighborhoods awarded a planning grant to the Friends of Seward Park, which hired landscape architectural firm Murase Associates to design the torii. Murase worked with the Friends of Seward Park to gather community input. Community participants chose a design that honors the original Seward Park torii, addresses concerns about long-term maintenance, and reflects current community values and the wilderness character of the park. The columns (hashira) of the torii are made of natural basalt from central Washington. One giant western red cedar tree harvested on Vancouver Island provided the timber for the lintel (kasagi) and crosspiece (nuki). Seattle Parks Foundation supported the Friends of Seward Park, and together they successfully raised $347,000 for the project.
Seattle Parks and Recreation managed the construction of the new torii gate. It replaces the 26-foot timber torii given to the City by Seattle's Japanese American community in 1934 as part of the International Potlatch celebration and then donated as a gesture of intercultural friendship and placed in Seward Park. The original torii was removed in the mid1980s due to decaying beams.
Cherry blossoms at UW
Photo by Becky Chan
After a two-year hiatus, the University of Washington once again welcomes visitors to view its iconic cherry blossoms.
The 29 cherry trees in the Quad usually reach peak bloom during the third week of March. Warmer temperatures and mild weather all factor into when the cherry trees start to blossom and when they reach peak bloom.
Dozens of varieties of blossoming cherry and plum trees can be found across the Seattle area, with blooms visible from early February until, for some species, May.
Plum trees, which often are mistaken for cherry trees, bloom earlier than most cherries and don’t have lenticels on their bark.
Kaur looks to replace state Sen. Das
Kent City Councilmember Satwinder Kaur tossed her hat into the ring to run to replace state Sen. Mona Das, who announced last week that she is not running for re-election.
Das held the 47th District State Senate seat since being elected in 2018, when she defeated incumbent Joe Fain. Her current term expires Dec. 21, 2022.
In a Facebook announcement, Kaur said, “I appreciate Senator Das and all her service to her community. As many of you know, I have been looking to deepen my commitment to public service. This is an exciting opportunity.”
Kaur was elected to the Kent City Council in 2017.
Satwinder Kaur (middle) and her family
Kin On board announces Hsieh as next CEO
The Kin On Board of Directors has appointed Ketty Hsieh as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1, 2022. Hannah Wong, Kin On Board First Vice President and search committee chair, said, “Ketty’s unique combination of proven success in executive leadership roles, considerable experience in the healthcare field, and deep Ketty Hsieh cultural understanding of the Asian community makes her ideally suited to lead Kin On into the future.”
Hsieh has over 25 years of experience in finance, including more than 10 years in the healthcare industry. Most recently, she was the vice president of finance for Western Washington at the Polyclinic and the Everett Clinic. She has also been serving on the Kin On Board since 2021.
Hsieh will work alongside Interim Chief Executive Officer Sam Wan for a transition period until June 1.
“Kin On is a gem in our community, and I hope to build on the strong foundation we already have and grow Kin On to reach and serve even more Asian seniors,” Hsieh said.
A passion for equitable services
By Juliet Fang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
As the current branch manager for Chase Bank in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District (CID), Leslie Holland can be found overseeing the growth of the bank, ensuring her team provides equitable services to the district’s diverse clientele, or grabbing boba from nearby tea shops with her co-workers.
“It’s a very exciting but busy job,” she says, laughing.
But long before she ended up in Seattle, Holland attended first and secondary school in the Philippines, the country where she grew up. She and her family migrated to Los Angeles when she was 16, which proved to be a difficult adjustment for Holland.
“In the Philippines, I grew up quite sheltered,” she says. “I went to an all-girls Catholic school and had a group of close, tight-knit friends. My worldview was definitely very small, so when I moved to the United States and faced so many things that I was unfamiliar with, it was a huge culture shock.
“My only real impression of the United States was the movie 16 Candles, so I was pretty naïve when I moved. All of the sudden, I was different. My world was no longer
Leslie Holland
the same. I remember this being the time in my life that I had my first experience with racism, too. I just had to start from scratch and navigate the high school scene on my own.”
After high school, Holland attended college for Business Management at University of Phoenix. To help pay off school tuition, she worked part-time as a bank teller at Citibank, her first brush with the financial industry, which she would be involved in for the next 25 years.
“I felt it was important for me to work for a company like Citibank that was recognized both in the Philippines and the United States. That really began the rest of my career.”
Holland has since worked at Merrill Lynch, Rainer Investment Management, and, for the past 14 years, JP Morgan Chase. Along with being the manager of Chase’s CID branch, she is heavily involved in a swath of JP Morgan’s Business Resource Groups, such as Asian Pacific Islanders Reaching for Excellence (ASPIRE), of which she is the former co-chair, Adelante, and Black Organization for Leadership Development (BOLD), amongst others. Her involvement in these advocacy organizations is reflective of her passion for equitable employee and client engagement.
“We live in a diverse city with a very diverse community. So, something we’re really focused on tackling is the ‘bamboo ceiling,’ which basically describes the challenges Asian Americans face breaking through to upper management. When different backgrounds and different perspectives converge in a workplace, that’s when, I think, problems are best solved.
“ASPIRE has been especially important to me as a member of the Asian community. Of course, we are all aware of the increase in Asian hate since 2020. One of the projects I put together as co-chair of ASPIRE were town halls to address questions about Chase’s bank leadership and how we could better support our community.”
Another ASPIRE project Holland has worked on is a community cookbook, which showcases recipes and stories from ASPIRE’s members.
“We asked our members to really think about what food means to them, and we realized that, for all of us, food is how we connect with others. It’s the recipes handed down that make us remember our grandmother’s cooking, or the family gatherings we couldn’t have because of the pandemic. Food is so much more than nourishment.”
The cookbook features dishes from across Asian culture, including Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese. Each recipe includes not only detailed instructions and a picture of the dish, but also a description of what that food means to the author of the recipe. Other groups, such as Adelante, JP Morgan’s business group dedicated to “[promoting] professional development and leadership opportunities for Hispanic and Latinx employees,” have done similar community cookbook projects.
All the business groups (Women on the Move, ASPIRE, Adelante, BOLD, to name a few) that Holland has been a part of share a common theme of diversity, inclusion, and promoting career development for individuals underrepresented in upper-level management, such as women, Asian Americans, Blacks, and Hispanic/Latinx individuals. According to JP Morgan, the goal of their 70+ business resource groups is to help the company’s “employees reach their greatest potential.”
“Though the programs are targeted towards different groups, all these groups have the same struggles. We all know what it’s like to be different, which makes us great resources to learn from and support each other.”
Holland has recently stepped down as co-chair of ASPIRE to focus on her duties as branch manager, but she continues to be involved as a member and dedicated ally of many of JP Morgan’s business resource groups.
“I think being an ally means to seek to understand people and experiences you’re not familiar with, to really truly show support and learn from other people, even when you may disagree with them. We all want the same things, and we must be supportive of each other to achieve our goals.”
Juliet can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
Study: 36% of unvaccinated WA resident distrust government
Study: Asian elders are less happy
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions in the U.S. have shown marked signs of improvement. While the Omicron wave brought a massive spike in cases, case counts have declined rapidly since peaking in mid-January, and the latest variant saw milder effects.
In light of these shifts, Washington and other states have moved to relax their remaining public health restrictions.
An accelerated process of developing, testing, manufacturing, and distributing vaccines has allowed more than 250 million Americans to receive at least one dose since vaccines first became available. With greater protection, COVID’s risk to much of the population has been significantly reduced. During the recent Omicron wave, vaccinated individuals showed far lower rates of hospitalization and death than their unvaccinated counterparts.
Public health leaders have made efforts to overcome skepticism and resistance to COVID-19 vaccines, but around one quarter of the total U.S. population still have not received a dose of the vaccine.
A large share of hesitation comes from concerns about the vaccine itself. According to survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 51.3% of those who are unvaccinated named concern about possible side effects as a reason, and 45.6% said they don’t trust COVID-19 vaccines.
A recent study from ChamberOfCommerce.org found that as of the first week of February 2022, 11.5% of Washington residents were unvaccinated. Among the unvaccinated population in Washington, 36% cite government distrust as one of the reasons for not receiving or planning to receive a vaccine.
Here is a summary of the data for Washington: • Share of unvaccinated adults who cited distrust in govt.: 36% • Share of unvaccinated adults who likely won’t get vaccinated: 82.6% • Share of adults who are unvaccinated: 11.5% • Total unvaccinated adults who cited distrust in govt.: 235,755 • Total unvaccinated adults who likely won’t get vaccinated: 561,796 • Total adults who are unvaccinated: 679,988
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, find the original report on chamberofcommerce.org/states-whose-residents-donttrust-the-government.
This health series is made possible by funding from the Washington State Department of Health, which has no editorial input or oversight of this content.
A study published in January in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine reports that several groups of Asian American elders reported significantly lower levels of life satisfaction and receiving social and emotional support, compared to elders of other races.
The study was based on California survey data in 2018 and consisted of a sample size of nearly 8,200 individuals—all aged 65 years and older, including people of Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese descent. South Asians were not included in the analysis, as their sample size in the study was too small. Compared to 80% of respondents from other races and ethnicities, only 54% of Asian American older adults surveyed said they were satisfied with their lives, Similarly, 56% of Asian American elders reported usually or always receiving needed social and emotional support compared to 80% of people of other groups. Within the AAPI community, Korean elders reported the lowest number at 40%.
The survey was done prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then, social isolation and loneliness among older adults could have led to even lower levels of life satisfaction.
A new report by the Asian American Federation found that 75% of Asian older adults in New York are afraid to leave their homes due to the uptick in anti-Asian hate incidents.
KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON NOTICE TO PROPOSERS
Sealed bids will be received for KC000507, FALL CITY FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION PROJECT; by the King County Procurement and Payables Section, via the E-Procurement system, until 1:30:59pm on 4/21/22. Late bids will not be accepted. The public bid opening will only be conducted on-line following the Bid Close Date and Time; see Invitation to Bid for details.
There is a 15% minimum Apprentice Utilization Requirement on this contract.
King County in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 USC 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises as defined at 49 CFR Part 26 will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or sex in consideration for an award.
Brief Scope: The project includes removal of over 32,000 cubic yards of riprap armoring and levee material of the Snoqualmie River Bank (including the removal of approximately 1,100 feet of the Barfuse Levee and 1,290 feet of the right bank Haffner revetement), setting back over 1,000 feet of Neal Road SE away from the Snoqualmie River, constructing an 880 foot long buried Haffner Setback Rock Revetment adjacent Neal Road SE, excavating over 3,000 feet of new side channel on the right bank floodplain, restoring and enhancing 1,350 feet of the existing left bank side channel, floodplain grading, salvaging felled trees, and construction of engineered log structures to enhance fish habitat.
Estimated contract price: $9,715,074.00
Mandatory Pre-Bid(s): Please see Invitation to Bid section for details.
It is anticipated that this project will be funded in part by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Neither the State of Washington nor any of its departments or employees are, or shall be, a party to any contract or any subcontract resulting from this solicitation for bids.
Prospective bidders can view more details at: https://kingcounty.gov/procurement/ solicitations
Complete Invitation to Bid Documents, including all project details, specifications, and contact information are available on our web page at: https://kingcounty.gov/procurement/ supplierportal
Return to the road for Hill
By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Vancouver-based Ed Hill is happy to be back on the road telling jokes across the U.S. and Canada. His comedy tour visits Seattle on Saturday, April 2 at the Jewelbox Theatre.
During the pandemic, Hill filmed a comedy special, Candy & Smiley. Originally scheduled to be performed in front of a live audience, Hill conformed to shoot the special and did it with a small group of friends and family. He hopes that his next special, which will occur after this current tour, will be in front of a live audience.
As Hill was able to travel to different comedy clubs and bars, he has adjusted to what is the new normal, adjusting to pandemic rules.
“[It’s] a bit of a learning process,” Hill said about conforming to different rules while traveling. “One of the things I noticed about getting back on the road is that things could happen.”
This is in light of cancellations and postponements that have been a common occurrence while areas deal with the rise of positive COVID-19 cases.
“You have to be at peace with whatever the moment brings you,” Hill said.
Hill started back on the road in the fall of 2021 in Canada. There was a break in the schedule due to the Omicron virus, but he returned after restrictions allowed for him to perform. Hill returned to touring in the U.S. in February, starting with shows in Alaska. He now has a schedule which has him crisscrossing the U.S. and Canada through the end of 2022.
Even with masking and social distancing rules loosening, Hill has reflected on the pandemic. While he focuses his comedy on his own personal life, he noted that the backlash toward Asians in light of the coronavirus is enlightening.
“The only people that can destroy your community is yourself,” he said about the attacks against Asians and trying to stay positive. “You are the only person that can actually save and protect your community. Obviously being Asian, there are different things happening.” He added that you have to ask yourself, “Do I want to be the figure of perseverance and resilience for my community?”
While comedians tend to chase the laughs, Hill now embraces the quiet moments during his routines. Since coming back to performing live, the silence symbolizes when the audience is listening and highlights to him the connection between the comedian and audience.
“A lot of people find it (silence) daunting. For me, I find a sense of comfort.”
Obviously, Hill wants a show with tons of laughter, but he enjoys the moments in which he feels that he and his audience “are in this together.”
As a comedian, Hill knows how it is for an audience member to be unruly during a show. In response to the stunning incident at the Oscars in which Will Smith walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock, Hill joked, “If somebody is going to slap me, I hope it’s Will Smith.”
He added, “While watching that, I’m 60% comedian, 40% average citizen.” As a comedian, Hill joked that Rock would have “a brand new [comedy] special” based upon the incident. As a citizen, Hill applauded Rock’s ability to remain calm and professional. Hill believed that the joke, while maybe out of line, did not deserve a slap.
Hill recalls that despite having KKK members in the audience while performing in the South and Vagos Motorcycle Club gang members attending shows, the most tense moments he experienced involved a woman at a bachelorette party. She attempted to come on stage during his set until another comedian and the manager at the comedy club kicked her out.
In this latest tour, Hill’s focus will be on the women in his life. The show is a follow up to his comedy special.
“It’s a discussion about strength and fragility and what those concepts mean and also the idea of love.” He added, “It’s a different feel from the special, which was really about family and my relationship with my parents. This one is about the relationship between the women in my life and myself.”
To purchase tickets to his Seattle show, visit strangertickets.com.
For more on Ed Hill, visit kingedhill.com and you can purchase his first special Ed Hill: Candy and Smiley on Amazon.com.
Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
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THRU APRIL 1
3RD ANNUAL MUKAI FARM & GARDEN HAIKU FESTIVAL
Poetry competition for all ages Submission deadline: April 1 Send the three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern to mukaifarmandgarden.org/ haiku-2022
NOW THRU JULY 10
EMBODIED CHANGE: SOUTH ASIAN ART ACROSS TIME
Seattle Asian Art Museum, South Gallery Fri-Sun, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. seattleartmuseum.org
NOW THRU FEB 19, 2023 EXHIBIT, “WE ARE CHANGING THE TIDE: COMMUNITY POWER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE”
The Wing Luke Museum, 719 S. King St., Seattle Thu-Sun, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. wingluke.org/we-are-changingthe-tide
MAR
31
VIRTUAL EVENT: WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON AA & NHPI PACIFIC NORTHWEST ROUNDTABLE
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Register at https://bit.ly/3umo9oC
APR
2
KIN ON VIRTUAL GALA & AUCTION, “FUTURE FORWARD FESTIVAL”
6 p.m. Register at kinon.cbo.io
THE SECOND LITTLE SAIGON CLEANUP EVENT
9:30-11:30 a.m. Sign up at bit.ly/littlesaigoncleanup
7
CLUB MEETING WITH ANNABEL QUINTERO, 9/11 SURVIVOR, AUTHOR, LIFE COACH
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. For Zoom link, contact rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com
8-10
SEATTLE CHERRY BLOSSOM & JAPANESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL
Seattle Center 11 a.m.-4 p.m. cherryblossomfest.org
15-17
SAKURA-CON 2022
Washington State Convention Center, 705 Pike St., Seattle 8 a.m.–5 p.m. sakuracon.org/registration
21
CLUB MEETING WITH STEVE ROWLAND AND AMITI BEY ON EDUCATION IN PRISONS
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. For zoom link, contact rotaryofseattleid@gmail.com
22
AAPISTRONG SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE SERIES: STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN SEATTLE
China Harbor Restaurant, 2040 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle 11:30 a.m. Register at bit.ly/ace_sattle
23
13TH SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL
Seattle Center, Fisher Pavilion 11 a.m.-6 p.m. icffseattle.org
30
LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Seattle’s Chinatown–International District 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
PUBLIC HUMANITIES TALK, “THE SAMURAI CODE: HOW BUSHIDO CHANGES LIVES ON” WITH LORI TSUGAWA WHALEY
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Via Zoom, register at https://bit.ly/3JiHkGb
JUN
4
DENISE LOUIE EDUCATION CENTER 2022 DINNER & AUCTION, “THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT!”
Magnuson Park Hangar 30 Seattle 5:30 p.m. In person or via Zoom Register at https://bit.ly/371tvOh
■WORLD NEWS
People wearing face masks view seasonal cherry blossoms at Tokyo’s Sumida Park on March 28.
Japan enjoys cherry blossom season despite COVID-19 worries
By CHISATO TANAKA and MARI YAMAGUCHI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO (AP) — People across Japan are celebrating the peak cherry blossom viewing season one week after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, triggering concerns of a possible virus resurgence.
Trees are in full bloom this week in many parts of Japan. The peak in Tokyo was on March 27, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, attracting many people who had avoided participating in the national tradition for two years because of the pandemic.
At Chidorigafuchi Park, a famous
see CHERRY BLOSSOM on 14
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The only weekly English-language newspaper serving Washington’s Asian community. The NW Asian Weekly has one simple goal: “To empower the Asian community.”
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“PACHINKO” on AppleTV+ is well meaning—perhaps too much
The cast of “Pachinko” at the world premiere.
By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“What if you could create a show where the third generation has at least some kind of thematic dialogue with the first generation? There’s a sacrifice of that first generation and the burden that it becomes on the third generation…I think every family has a Sunja…regardless if you’re Korean, regardless if you’re from an immigrant family. This experience of leaving a homeland to forge a new life somewhere else because you want a better experience for your children.”
The goals of the television adaptationversion of the bestselling novel, “Pachinko,” are grand—as the above spoken by scriptwriter and executive producer, Soo Hugh.
The book by Min-Ho Lee, and the show, tell the saga of three generations of a Korean family, whose matriarch, Sunja (played by two actresses, Minha Kim, as the younger, and Yuh-Jung Youn, as the older), immigrated to Japan during the time of Japanese colonization of Korea. The family is besought by difficulties, which as is suggested in the first “chapter” of the TV show, is due to a curse. As might be expected, there are the trials and tribulations of living in impoverishment under Japanese rule, but more there is the constant and everlasting—into
see PACHINKO on 13
RIZ AHMED IS AN OSCAR WINNER
By JAKE COYLE AP FILM WRITER
NEW YORK (AP) — Pakistani actor, musician, and activist Riz Ahmed won Best Short Film for “The Long Goodbye” at the 2022 Oscars on March 27.
Ahmed co-wrote the 12-minute film and starred in it.
In his acceptance speech Ahmed, 39, said, “In such divided times, we believe that the role of story is to remind us there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’. There’s just ‘us’.
Ahmed was nominated for an Oscar last year for his role as a hearing-impaired drummer in Sound of Metal, losing out to Anthony Hopkins.
“The Long Goodbye” is blisteringly visceral, harrowingly violent and desperately urgent.
Directed by Aneil Karia, the film is initially naturalistic, immersed in the pre-wedding preparations of a South Asian family in suburban England. The concerns are familiar. Where a chair should go. Who wrote “Blinded by the Light.”
But Ahmed’s character spies out the window of unmarked vans of masked white militants arriving outside. Daily life is violently interrupted. They soon begin rounding up people and executing the men. The nightmarish scene culminates in a furious monologue performed while staggering down the street by Ahmed, quoting from his song, “Where You From”—a passionate testimony of cross-cultural identity.
“Now everybody everywhere wants their country back,” Ahmed says into the camera. “If you want me back to where I’m from then, bruv, I need a map.”
To Ahmed, “The Long Goodbye,” which is streaming on YouTube, channels his own fears while drawing from current clashes for immigrants and migrants against rising swells of racism draped in nationalism.
“In post-Brexit Britain, we were feeling this rising drumbeat of xenophobia all around. And it’s starting to feel a little bit deafening. You get to the point where you’ve got to grab someone and say, ‘Do you hear this? Are you feeling this? Am I having a panic attack?”’ Ahmed said in a recent interview from London. “Aneil and I wanted to urgently tell a story about this, to spill our feelings, to unearth our nightmares and put them out into the world.”
The scenes that play out in “The Long Goodbye” appear more like those that might occur in more remote global corners. But to Ahmed, the film reflects both the day-to-day emotional reality of diverse peoples in increasingly divisive Western democracies, and the on-the-ground actuality in other places.
“Really, where this story takes place is within our psyches. But it also takes place within our ancestral memories,” says Ahmed. “It takes place in Ukraine right now. It takes place in India, with the pogroms last year. It takes place in Myanmar. It’s taken place in the United States. It’s taken place in Bosnia.”
“The Long Goodbye” isn’t the only Oscar nominee to wrestle with these issues—or the only one Ahmed is connected with. Ahmed is also an executive producer on “Flee,” the animated documentary about an Afghanistan migrant’s twisting path to a new life in Denmark and, ultimately, to self-acceptance. “Flee” is the first movie ever nominated for best documentary, best animated film and best foreign language film.
“‘The Long Goodbye’ is about identity, home and belonging. And ‘Flee’ is about identity, home and belonging,” says Ahmed. “The conversation of our times seems to be about identity, home and who belongs where.”
Ahmed made history last year as the first Muslim nominated for lead actor, for “The Sound of Metal,” in which he played a drummer losing his hearing. This year, the short categories are among the eight awards that were handed out an hour before the telecast began. While the academy pledged to honor each winner during the broadcast, the decision was heavily criticized by some in the industry. Ahmed says regardless of whether he had a film nominated in one of the eight categories, he wished they were presented live during the telecast.
“The (Oscar) community is about recognizing the elders and also uplifting the newcomers,” says Ahmed. “So often the shorts category is where the new talent cuts their teeth. Aneil Karia is a name that will ring out for years to come.”
The 39-year-old Ahmed, who was born in Wembley outside London to Pakistani parents, has often rapped about his complex feelings around identity and about making his way “in this business of Britishness.” “Maybe I’m from everywhere and nowhere,” he raps in “Where You From.”
Ahmed has worked with USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative researchers to highlight how Muslims are often marginalized or stereotyped in film and television. Out of 8,965 speaking characters identified across 200 top-grossing films released between 2017 and 2019, just 1.6% were Muslim, but 30% were perpetuators of violence.
Though its second half turns abruptly violent, the fleeting family scenes early in “The Long Goodbye” are enough to constitute something rarely captured in mainstream film—a Muslim family simply existing. While Ahmed grants “The Long Goodbye” and “Flee” are very tied to the current moment, he also sees them as reflecting an eternal struggle—one that can also be heard in the Lin-Manuel Mirandapenned “Dos Oruguitas,“ the “Encanto” ballad and immigration parable up for best song at the Oscars.
“Stories about refugees, stories about intolerance, films like ‘The Long Goodbye,’ films like ‘Flee,’ are confronting us with questions that on some level, no matter who we are, are always asking ourselves,” says Ahmed. “That’s why I think these are timeless stories. You look at the Aeneid. Aeneas is kicked out of Troy. It’s ransacked and he’s a refugee.
“He went on to found Rome, by the way. Not bad for a refugee,” adds Ahmed, chuckling. “Maybe up there with Apple and Steve Jobs, a Syrian refugee.”
But if “The Long Goodbye” seems grim,
Riz Ahmed in a scene from the Oscar-winning short “The Long Goodbye.”
it’s also stirring in its clarion defiance, sounded straight at the camera. In its radical shifts, Karia’s film, itself, breaks free of convention.
“When you tell your story, you’re sharing your experience with someone,” says Ahmed. “You’re putting yourself out there to connect. And when other people connect with that experience, man, that is hope. Hope is connection.”
■COMMUNITY NEWS Pham’s ‘7 Forms of Respect’
made possible by community support
By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
In her community-building work, Julie Pham has seen her share of friction between people.
One situation that sticks out in the Seattle-area resident’s mind is when she was working with an engineer and labor organizer. The engineer was asking the organizer a lot of questions, which made the latter feel disrespected. In reality, Pham said they just weren’t communicating.
Miscommunication can be caused by differences ranging from cultural to functional— people in different job roles and industries have different work and communication styles. It was situations like the one between the engineer and organizer that led Pham to write “7 Forms of Respect: A Guide to Transforming your Communication and Relationships at Work,” which will be available in April. The book focuses on how people can “articulate how [they] want to receive respect and determine how others want to be shown respect,” according to its website.
While researching for her book, Pham held focus groups asking people how they wanted to be treated at work. A term that was used often was “respect.” As she began asking what respect looked like, she expanded her research. In the end, Pham and her team talked to about 400 people through workshops and interviews. Most people were from the Seattle area and covered a range of cultures and work industries. It wasn’t all straightforward research either— some of the book’s content is based on Pham’s observations as well.
STORIES BEHIND THE ‘‘WHY’
While “7 Forms of Respect” can help people gain self awareness to learn the types of respect that are important to them, as well as what’s important to their colleagues, Pham said that’s just surface level. The real point of her book is to start conversations. Why does someone prioritize one type of respect over another? What are the stories behind those reasons? People might assume someone has good intentions, but Pham said they rarely ask what those intentions are.
“A lot of times, people don’t ask questions,” she said, adding that she often saw this in her community-building work.
For example, Pham said, someone might view receiving clear and detailed instructions as micromanaging, but for the person giving instructions, it could be that they grew up translating for their parents and always had to be clear and detailed. Learning their stories makes it easier to understand another person’s intentions—stories are also easier to remember.
EVEN RUBBER BANDS BREAK
In addition, Pham said her book can help people recognize if a company’s culture is the right fit. A company that values candor and unsolicited feedback would not be the best place for someone who does not like this. They would be constantly “flexing” or “code switching” to adjust. Being flexible like a rubber band and able to adapt may be helpful in some situations, but it’s not sustainable.
“Rubber bands break if we stretch too much,” Pham said, adding that if you’re constantly trying to adapt to your workplace, “you’re going to feel exhausted all the time.”
She stressed that a bad culture fit doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with a company. It’s just not right for the individual.
This being said, Pham’s book can’t help a toxic workplace. She said she can’t help people who believe that other people are the problem and that they themselves don’t need to learn anything new.
THE SUPPORT OF HER COMMUNITY
Pham’s name may be on the book, but it was made possible by her community.
She self-published “7 Forms of Respect” and raised the funds through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Her goal was $10,500, which she reached in 18 hours. In the end, she raised more than $23,000 with more than 300 backers—for a nonfiction, professional development book, she noted.
“This is my community and they believed in my book,” she said, adding that she feels like the community gave her her advance.
To thank them, Pham uses some of the names of her Indiegogo supporters in the book as a fun surprise. She uses their names in workplace scenario examples to illustrate her points.
Pham admits to some previously held internal elitist views, thinking a self-published book is not a “real book.” But that changed after she self published her first book, “Their War: The Perspectives of the South Vietnamese Military in the Words of Veteran-Émigrés” and her father held a reception in her and the book’s honor. About 300 people attended the event and 75 % were Vietnamese. Pham saw the impact that book had and that led to her rethinking traditional publishing, who gets to decide what is commercially viable and how she doesn’t need to be validated by a traditional publisher. She credits her ability to adapt and go the untraditional route to her parents.
“As an immigrant, I saw my parents make their own way,” Pham said.
DR. JULIE PHAM
For more information about “7 Forms of Respect,” visit formsofrespect.com/book.
Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
CID happenings
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1. Clear of garbage after a cleanup near 8th and Jackson 2. A Starbucks union organizer gathering signatures in the CID 3.Several crews from the city gathered on March 25 to pick up trash and clean up the area near 10th and Dearborn
Photo by Tony Au
