Youth contributed to a community mural project at the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival held at Mason District Park on May 10, 2025. The purpose of the mural was to help celebrate the diversity of our Northern Virginia communities. This activity was hosted by local grassroots organization Make Us Visible Virginia, a nonprofit advocating for the inclusion of Asian American history in K-12 public schools.

This is signage promoting the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Festival, hosted by Fairfax County Park Authority. The festival was held on Saturday, May 10, from noon to 4 p.m. at Mason District Park in Annandale. This even was free and open to the public. In collaboration with local Asian American non-profit organizations, the festival honored the diverse cultures and contributions of AAPI communities through live performances, art, food and interactive experiences. More information about event here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/park-news/2025/aapi-festival-lineup

Speaker 1: So, you did enter in Chiapas ? Speaker 2: I came in through Chiapas, by way of El Salvador, Honduras... El Salvador, Guatemala. The place is called La Concordia, or something like that. Chiapas to Tuxtla, and from Tuxtla to Veracruz. Speaker 1: Then you entered Nicaragua, Honduras, then Guatemala? Then Chiapas, then Veracruz? On these trips you need the hand of God and luck. Speaker 2 At first, I was held for like nine days. On the second day after I was kidnapped, my family sent the money so they would let me go. But they still kept me for nine days for no reason. I would drink dirty water, because that’s what they give you over there. I was out in the wilderness. Speaker 1 And how many days were you sequestered? 9 days, oh no! Did you stay in a house ? or where, the weeds/mountain ? You were with a group ? How did they take you, the coyotes (the mafia)? Speaker 2 They grabbed me on the bus—on the bus I was riding. They kidnapped every single person on the bus. They didn’t care at all; they took the whole bus and kept us for several days. They left me stranded on the port city, around one in the morning. Speaker 1 So they took all of you from a bus ? Then after 9 days what happened? Speaker 2 They let me get a phone number, because they had taken my phone away. He just said, "Pick a number of someone you can call, and watch what you do.” So, I mean, from one in the morning, I went around trying to find a way or find someone who would let me make a call; but nobody would let me make a call. They would back away from me, probably thinking I was going to rob them, or something. They’d say things like, “I don't have minutes on my phone,” or “My phone is dead.” It went on from around one in the morning to around ten a.m. Speaker 1 Then who helped you ? Speaker 2 Then, thankfully, a person came up and asked me, “Are you from Honduras?” I said, "No, I’m from Nicaragua." And he... he let me make a call. Speaker 1 That’s good (that someone helped you) And then where did you go ? Mexico City Speaker 2 Then, I traveled to Ciudad Valles, and from Ciudad Valles to San Fernando. Speaker 1 Ciudad Valle, San Fernando ? And then what did they do to you when you got to these locations? Speaker 2 And there, in San Fernando, those guys—the Zetas— caught me, my brother. They took me and asked where I was going, who was taking me there. I told them I was traveling alone. Then, they told me I had to pay them. They had to be the ones to get me across, like it or not. But I had to pay them, or else they’d cut off one of my fingers. Speaker 1 How much did you have to pay ? Speaker 2 They charged me 2,800 dollars, and they said it was because I was very close already. And, in that place, even the police hand people over to them. Because a friend was coming behind me, and Immigration caught her, and they handed her over to the cartel. Speaker 1 Then you crossed in Reynosa? Speaker 2 I crossed through Reynosa. I just turned myself in (to US Border Patrol) Speaker 1 Look, the main thing is that you are here now on this side, another new life ok? Forget what happened to you Look we are here (at the airport), you are going to pass by those doors , go the left, you are going to see the signs for United Airlines….show them your information you showed me…they will print out two tickets. They will give you two tickets, one to board the plane here and the other one to board in Houston ok, then you will get to Mississippi. Speaker 2 Are they going to give me two tickets at the counter? So, once I’m over there, do I just go look for the plane? Thank you, I appreciate it. Alright, thank you. Speaker 1 No, no, thank you very much, good luck , yes, yes

Picture from above after the completion of the 2017 Kamehameha Lei Draping at the United States Capitol Visitor Center

My dear children, Today, as I was organizing the shelves, I came across these old tapes, CDs, and books your grandma, my mom, once sent from China. Seeing them again brought a deep wave of emotions I hadn’t expected—memories, gratitude, and a quiet ache of love stretching across generations. These materials may just look like outdated learning tools—children’s songs, animated stories, vocabulary books and dictionaries —but to me, they are something far deeper. They are your grandma’s way of loving you from across the ocean. She hoped that even though you were growing up far from her, you would still hear the rhythms of the Chinese language, learn the characters she grew up writing, and feel, in some small way, the culture and heritage she held close to her heart. Back then, she couldn’t be here to hold your hand or walk you to school. But she sent what she could—songs, stories, words—hoping they could build a bridge between your world and hers. I know today’s language learning tools are very different from what we had twenty years ago. What was once considered cutting-edge—cassette tapes, VCDs, thick printed dictionaries—may now seem outdated or even quaint. But the love and hope behind them are timeless. They were chosen with care, sent with purpose, and kept with devotion. I saved them all these years not just because they were educational, but because they are a piece of our family's story—your story. They remind me of how much your grandma cared, and how much I, too, wanted to pass on that care to you, even when I didn’t always know the best way to do it. If you ever choose to pass these stories on—whether to a child of your own one day, or simply as memories—I hope you’ll feel the love that came with them. You carry more than just a name or a language. You carry the hopes and love of those who came before you. With all my love, Mom