GSI Guest, Father Nguyen Viet
February 05, 2015
The GSI was honored to welcome Father Nguyen Viet to Shorecrest on Thursday, February 5th. Father Viet, a Roman Catholic priest, was imprisoned in Vietnam because his uncle was an outspoken human rights/democracy advocate. Government policy was to imprison family members as well as the advocates themselves as a way to discourage protests. Father Viet spent over two years in prison during most of which time he was in a 6'x6' cell, often in total darkness. He spoke of his longing for some sort of human contact during the long months of dark solitude and of the corruption within the Vietnamese prison system. He and his sister were eventually released as the result of lobbying on their behalf by over 50 members of the US Congress, including then-Senator Sam Brownback, who were familiar with his uncle's overall situation.
Father Viet noted that conditions have improved somewhat since his imprisonment in 2007, and he credited pressure by other governments and foreign business trading with Vietnam for the change. He misses his homeland and his family, but it isn't safe for him to make a return visit while his uncle remains in jail. Father Viet fielded a number of questions, answering them with humor and candor.
Father Viet noted that conditions have improved somewhat since his imprisonment in 2007, and he credited pressure by other governments and foreign business trading with Vietnam for the change. He misses his homeland and his family, but it isn't safe for him to make a return visit while his uncle remains in jail. Father Viet fielded a number of questions, answering them with humor and candor.
