By Samantha Fodrowski
With tissue paper couture and a little flair, the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) hoped to raise awareness about a form of slavery known as human trafficking at a fashion show Saturday night.
“A Spark of Hope,” held in the Curry Student Center Ballroom, combined Vietnamese and English language to offer students a multi-cultural experience.
“I think that learning about other cultures is a beautiful thing,” said Michelle Dougherty, a sophomore international affairs major and audience member.
The event showcased several aspects of Vietnamese culture, including the Vietnamese national anthem, which kicked off the night’s festivities.
Students were also treated to a performance from women of VSA, presenting the “Hanh Trinh Tren Dat Phu Sa,” a dance accompanied by Vietnamese music symbolizing a journey to Vietnam. The women dancers wore black pants, colorful blouses and traditional Vietnamese conical hats, which are wide-brimmed, covered with dried leaves and framed by thin wooden pieces. The hats are worn in Vietnam for protection from the scorching heat.
But the highlight of the show was, of course, the fashion. Students wore customary Vietnamese garments, including long sleeve, ankle-length dresses over white silk pants for the women and black dress pants with white, long-sleeve, button-downs for the men. VSA got creative with a “tissue paper fashion show” finale that wowed the audience. Girls strode down the runway wearing tops, skirts and dresses made from colorful tissue paper. The pieces were included asymmetrical skirts and corset\-inspired tube tops. The designers were the models themselves, each of whom created their own outfits.
While the fashion stimulated the eyes, the message of the evening against human trafficking was aimed at stimulating action.
“We’d been planning the event since the beginning of the school year,” said VSA president Nhu Nguyet, a middler computer engineering major. “We thought the issue was very important and we wanted to help raise awareness and help the Asia Foundation.”
VSA showed a video from Dateline NBC that followed an undercover reporter in brothels throughout Vietnam. VSA also performed Vietnamese songs and poems.
Two songs were performed by students not in the VSA. One student from the Massachusetts College of Art sang Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me,” and Northeastern student Taylor Rabbitt performed a song written by himself titled “Rebel Girl.” Though VSA offered a multi-sensory experience for the group of 75 students in attendance, some said it was the message they found the most appealing.
“We came to the show tonight because we wanted to show our support against human trafficking,” said Andrea Bocanegra, a sophomore international affairs major. “It’s such a horrible thing.”
Although there are no official numbers regarding the amount of women and children are trafficked in Vietnam, it is certain this epidemic affects tens of thousands. According to www.humantrafficking.org, trafficking generally involves women and children being used as sex slaves for labor exploitation, forced marriage and domestic servitude. The majority of the victims are trafficked to Cambodia and China. Some Vietnamese women have been trafficked to Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States.
To learn more about human trafficking or the Asia Foundation, visit www.asiafoundation.org.
