Amanda Nguyen
By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
You wouldn’t think one person could be involved in so many things. Astronaut. Activist. These are not even run-of-the-mill things—they are extraordinary in nature, and so is Amanda Nguyen. Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder and CEO of the civil rights organization, Rise, Nguyen spent March 12 with Town Hall Seattle, discussing her incredible impact so far.
And oh yeah, she’s leaving for space soon with the launch by Blue Origin of a New Shepard rocket. When they lift off, Nguyen can’t say. That’s classified. Nguyen could tell the audience that her love of outer space was not something new, but rather something that had inspired her since childhood. It started with members of her family who came to the U.S. as Vietnamese boat people, and looked to the stars for navigation. At Harvard University, she studied astrophysics until her academic pursuits were interrupted, horribly, by rape. This, the worst day of her life, as Nguyen phrased it, is the reason most people know of her. And the biproduct of that—her role in the passing of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016.
Nguyen came to Seattle to talk about her new book, the memoir titled “Saving Five,” just published on March 4. This evening was at the end of her tour promoting the book, and Nguyen happily stayed after the generously extended talk and Q&A to sign attendees’ book purchases with her autograph. On the cover of “Saving Five,” Nguyen is shown with her long hair full of glitter—or glimmer, what Nguyen explained is the opposite of a trigger. A glimmer, Nguyen said, is something that gives a person joy. Nguyen, who was open about going to therapy, spoke about her efforts to look for glimmers instead of triggers. She shared how she keeps herself going every day after her rape, and she looked to a message she wrote to herself not to give up. Her memoir, she said, is largely dedicated to women, yes. However, there were also important men who have helped her in her journey, such as the one who opened her dorm room door for her the first time she had to step back into that space where the sexual assault happened.
This message to herself will be going with her into space, along with mementoes from Nguyen’s trip to Malaysia to visit the island where her family members spent time in a refugee camp after escaping from Vietnam. While in space, the multi-faceted Nguyen will be conducting two experiments—one to do with plant pathology, in partnership with the Vietnamese National Space Center; and the other to do with wound dressing and menstruation in space. The second is very much tied to Nguyen’s advocacy for women. Her own trip to space—as the first Vietnamese woman ever to do so—is part of seeking justice for the past, when females were not allowed on space missions. The bills that she and Rise seek to pass, too, fight for women.
In particular, the Survivor’s Bill of Rights aims to give sexual assault and its victims equality when held up against other types of crimes. The bill includes the right not to have evidence destroyed before the statute of limitations is up. In what other instance does this happen? Nguyen asked the audience. She suggested that the reason it happens is because of the discrimination against women and the injustice of victim blaming.
“This was one of the biggest points of my fight,” she said, and also pointed out that, again, unlike any other crime, sexual assault victims must pay for their own evidence collection. Nguyen paid in the range of $4,000 when it happened to her. “Why is it that, in this particular crime, the deck is so stacked against survivors?” (Nguyen was careful to mention that males are also victims of sexual assault.)
“Saving Five” is not your run-of-the-mill memoir, just as Nguyen is not run-of-the-mill. It is organized into different sections, which Nguyen planned over a two-year period. The overall subject is Nguyen’s healing journey, which she openly admits is still in progress. The first section talks about the sexual assault and how Nguyen passed her first law (she and Rise are up to around 100 now, in various courts). The next sections are told from the point of view of past versions of herself: at 5 years old, 15 years old, 22 years old, and 30 years old. The book is called “Saving Five” because the other three selves must save the child, who gets sick, Nguyen said. In order to do this, they must go through the stages of grief. And here it gets a little sci-fi. The stages are manifested into physical realms and each realm has a keeper and a test. If they pass the test, Nguyen explained, then they will eventually advance to acceptance and healing.
One of many beneficial reasons to listen to (or read) Nguyen is her wisdom about the legislative process. Nguyen told everyone to stop bothering to call their representatives about a cause they want to promote in Congress. That’s old-fashioned, she said, from when there was no internet and your representative was your best bet to pass on your request. Now, Nguyen advised, getting a bill passed really only comes down to four people: the Senate and House chairs of the bill’s committee; and once the bill makes it to the floor, the Senate majority leader, and the Speaker of the House. Go straight to those four people. That’s what Rise does.
During the Q&A, Nguyen answered questions about diversity, bill passing, and her coping. One attendee asked her about the difficulty of being a Vietnamese person publicly talking about rape. She admitted that her parents were angry when she first decided to become an activist (then she joked that they felt better about it when she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize). Yet being courageous enough to tell her story encouraged others to tell theirs.
“If you are ready to share…it will change the world,” she said.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
Leave a Reply