Inspired by the fact that I got pad thai from a local place (Thai Singha) almost every friday in college
We're back to biweekly (no newsletter next week)!
Weβre feeling sad about what's happening in Afghanistan :( especially for the women and girls. Scroll down to read the TIL and our donating matching info <3
Also, we would love it if you could share the newsletter with 1-2 people you think would be interested!!! Ty.
Love,
Jamie & Melinda
News
πΊοΈ New census data dropped. Asian Americans stay being the fastest growing racial group in the US (despite being the least likely to complete the census for concerns over immigration status). Over the past 10 years, the population has grown 35.5%, and with that comes increased political presence and diversity among the "Asian" identifier.
π· According to Bloomberg's weekly tracker, Asians have become "the most vaccinated racial group in more than half of the country." In NYC for example, 77% of Asian American adults are fully vaccinated, which is 20% higher than the rate for white adults.
But this didn't come easy! Jack Cheng, who runs LA Chinatown Service Center says, "If people are looking at these numbers and saying, βAsians are just easier, more compliant, more willing to get vaccinated,β thatβs just not true... Most of our seniors had no resources to do that. It has to be the strong work of community-based organizations.β
π TW: kidnapping, murder. In Atlanta last week, 27-year-old Mariam Abdulrab was coming back from a late night at work, when a man forced her into a car and later killed her.
(This makes me so worried - I've been seeing tips on TikTok on how to avoid being kidnapped. It's so sad how women will never be 100% safe walking around by themselvesβ¦ and if you're a small Asian woman like meβ¦π Tip: your best chance at survival is at Point A, your original location. Once you're captured or brought elsewhere, your chances of survival are very slim. π’)
π’ Maki Kaji, the "godfather of Sudoku," has died at age 69 due to bile duct cancer. Maki, a university dropout, had reworked an American puzzle into what became Sudoku! (I was honestly worse than mediocre with Sudoku...) He later had co-founded a puzzle company called Nikoli, but said he made very little money from Sudoku since he was late to trademarking the puzzle.
Chef's Specials
πΊ God knows I watch a shit ton of TV, and this looks like the perfect, sentimental, second-hand embarrassment filled type of film that I am so so excited for. More like this please!
π₯ If you haven't read about inmate firefighters, it is something you really should look at. Especially in California, where wildfire season is just getting worse, many of the fires are being put out by crews of incarcerated people, who are grossly underpaid (or not paid sometimes) for what is essentially forced labor. This story about an inmate firefighter, Phi Pham, who was detained by ICE instead of being released on parole is particularly worth reading.
π§ Disney Channel is releasing its first original movie with an Indian main character! In "SPIN," 16-year-old Rhea, played by actress Avantika, has a passion for DJing. While working at her family's restaurant, she plays her self-made mix that has "classic Indian tabla blended with contemporary pop music."
π I really liked this NY Times piece by Priya Krishna on the "ethnic" aisle at the grocery store.
TIL...parallels between Afghanistan and Vietnam
Unless you've been living under a literal rock, it's been hard to ignore what's been going on in Afghanistan recently. For us, it's been a really odd experience seeing the US withdraw from a war that has practically been going on since we were toddlers. I don't feel like I know enough about geopolitics or history to talk much on significance of the event, but it is deeply concerning to watch the messy withdraw and the effects on everyday Afghan people - women and girls especially.
One thing that did catch my eye as I was reading was this parallel between the US withdraw from Vietnam decades ago and Afghanistan now. The intention definitely is not to lessen the significance of either event but rather to draw similarities between the US's chaotic actions and the effects they have on the people who helped them (ie. translators, interpreters, and other civilians who aided US efforts but are left behind).
In 1975, many of the Vietnamese - and, in particular, Hmong people - who were targeted for their assistance to the US, and as a result, when Saigon fell, there was a mass exodus of refugees. In the process, many left behind family members and livelihoods.
Many who were present for the Hmong evacuation of Laos at the end of the Vietnam war recall similarities to the images from the tarmac in Kabul earlier this week. (Video)
"Left: Desperate South Vietnamese citizens try to scale the walls of the American Embassy in 1975. Right: Afghans rush to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee Kabul. Photos: (left) Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Images; (right) Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images" - Axios (Source)
"Left: Long lines of people hurry to get exit visas and air tickets out of Vietnam. Right: Afghans crowd at the tarmac of the Kabul airport. Photos: (left) Bettmann via Getty Images; (right) AFP via Getty Images" - Axios (Source)
Our friends at the Yappie wrote a better piece on this than we ever could, so we would highly recommend checking it out.
More importantly, there are also a lot of calls for the US to take in Afghan refugees as they similarly did after Vietnam.
Small Feelings
Feeling a little untethered, but hopefully feelings are temporary and will pass soon.
i get thatβ¦
β¨S P O T L I G H Tβ¨
Donation Matching
Instead of a regular spotlight, we wanted to share some organizations that are looking for donations to continue offering aid to women and girls in Afghanistan.
We'll try to MATCH every dollar π΅ one of you donates (if youβre able) - just email aroundthetablenewsletter@gmail.com or DM us on insta @around_thetable_ with your receipt. We'll update you all on the matching! Anyhow, please look at the below:
1οΈβ£ Women for Afghan Women - donate here
providing women and children shelter, emergency resources, aid
2οΈβ£ Women for Women International - donate here
for safe spaces, support networks, sponsorship
3οΈβ£ Vital Voices - donate here
protecting women change-makers across Afghanistan
4οΈβ£ International Women's Media Foundation - donate here
for women journalists in Afghanistan in-need and attempting to flee
5οΈβ£ CARE - donate here
emergency relief fund to provide aid to families
OUR LINKS
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AAPI Artists Spotify Playlist (it's collaborative again!) :