Korean Community Fundraises For VT Victims and Families
Asian Fortune, News Feature, Jennie L. Ilustre , Posted: May 03, 2007
Editor's Note: In response to the shootings at Virginia Tech, Korean Americans have initiated a fund to assist the families of the April 16 tragedy.
FAIRFAX, Virginia -– The Korean American community in the Greater Metropolitan D.C. Area has established a “Virginia Tech Memorial Fund” to help the families of the victims of the April 16 shooting tragedy at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
In a statement announcing the Fund, The Korean American Coalition in DC (KAC-DC) said: “The Korean American community hopes the memorial fund will help the victims’ families recover from this tragedy and begin their healing process. The donations from the memorial fund will go towards helping the victims and their families in whatever way possible.”
Those who would like to donate to the Virginia Tech Memorial Fund can “do so online at www.kascon21.com, or they can send checks to Korean American Coalition/Attn: VA Tech Memorial Fund/1001 Connecticut Ave NW Ste 730/Washington, DC 20036.” Organizations can sign on to the Fund by emailing elliot@kacdc.org
At press time, the following organizations have signed onto the Fund: Korean American Coalition (KAC National); Mirae Foundation Korean American Students Conference (KASCON); Southern California Korean College Student Association (SCKCSA); Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA); Kollaboration, Korean American Talent Show; Network of Korean-American Leaders (NetKAL), Korea Academy for Educators (KAFE); Korean-American Junior Chamber (AJC New York), and Korean-American Democratic Political Action Committee (PAC).
The Asian American community has expressed shock and grief over the news that Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed two professors and 30 students, one of them of Indonesian ancestry, before turning the gun on himself. Many have called what has been described as the nation’s worst campus killing incident “a tragedy.” A news report indicates the tragedy could have been prevented.
ABC News reported on April 19 that in December 2005, a court found that Cho was “mentally ill” and potentially dangerous–then it let him go. It added that “more than a year before Monday's mass shootings–a district court in Montgomery County, in this state ruled that Cho presented ‘an imminent danger to self or others.’ Such a ruling required a detention order, so that Cho, who had been accused of stalking by two female schoolmates, could be evaluated by a state doctor and ordered to undergo outpatient care.”
Candle Light Vigil
On April 17, the day after the shooting spree shocked the nation, the Korean community also held a candle light vigil at the Fairfax County Government Center here in memory of the victims. KAC-DC reported over 500 community members gathered at the Center to mourn the loss of two Virginia Tech professors and 30 students. Several local churches also joined the vigil, leading in prayer and hymns.
(In New York, in response to concerns from community members, John Choe, Chief of Staff at the Office of Council Member John C. Liu, organized a prayer vigil for the victims of the recent Virginia Polytechnic Institute shooting incident. The vigil took place April 18 in the steps of City Hall.)
Among those present at the evening vigil at the Fairfax County Government Center were US Congressman Tom Davis (R,VA-11th District), US Congressman Frank Wolf (VA-10th Dist.), Virginia State Senator Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis, and Ambassador Lee Tae Sik from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Davis and Wolf both expressed their deepest sympathies for the victims, and also offered their condolences to the families of the victims.
Congressman Davis stressed the tragedy must not be tied in ethnically with the Korean American community, focusing on the separation between a community and the actions of one of its members.
He also expressed how proud he was of the Korean American community for its support for the victims. Ambassador Lee expressed his sorrow for the families of the victims, urging the community to embrace the rest of the community in its time of grief.
In related news, Filipino Americans Ed and Mary Anne T. Fadul, who have two sons in Virginia Tech who knew some of the victims, joined Virginia Tech Family across the nation in declaring April 20 as “Orange and Maroon Effect” Day to honor those killed on April 16, as well as to show support for Virginia Tech faculty and students, administrators, staff and alumni. Fadul’s sons, shaken by the tragic shooting, have declined to talk to the media at this point.
In a statement, Alma Q. Kern, National Chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) said, “Virginia Tech has over a hundred Filipino American students, making up half of its Asian Americans students. Many of their families sought comfort and solace from our community on that fateful Monday morning when they heard the shocking news.”
The Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a national civil and human rights organization, and its affiliates–Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), Asian Law Caucus and the Asian American Institute–joined other Asian American advocacy groups nationwide “in offering deepest condolences to the victims and families devastated by the killing spree” on April 16 at the Virginia Tech.
“Our hearts go out to everyone struck by this monumental tragedy,” said AAJC President and Executive Director Karen K. Narasaki. “It is difficult to imagine the degree of sorrow and loss faculty, staff and students are feeling right now.”
NAM editor's note: The full text of President Bush's speech is also available at end of this story on the Asian Fortune website.
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