GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas—Located in a small office inside Asia Times Square, a radio station broadcasting from sunrise to sunset is working toward a philosophy tied with that of Asia Times Square.
Voice of Vietnamese Americans, VVA 1600 AM, is a Vietnamese station that broadcasts news, sports, music, and health and life advice to Vietnamese Americans in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
“We are the gatewave to the Vietnamese community,” VVA Public Relations Manager Peter Dao said. “We were created to preserve our culture and create mutual respect. And we serve the target demographic through a wide range of programs.”
Remembrance of a fallen nation
Because April 30 marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the loss of South Vietnam, Dao’s goal for the station is to teach listeners what Vietnam was like before 1975, when the Communist Party took over.
“All over the country and the world, the Vietnamese communities organize the remembrance of the loss of South Vietnam,” Dao said. “We have a lot of events to commemorate that in this area, also.”
This month, referred to as “Black April” by the Vietnamese who escaped and became refugees, marks a time of mourning. Stories are broadcasted telling the stories of people who fled Vietnam and stories of the cadets who fought against the communist forces. Many stories recall the hardships of leaving their country, which was being taken from them, and the hardships of having to spend weeks or even months in refugee camps before coming to the U.S.
The feeling is something Asia Times Square CEO Matthew Loh is familiar with. Loh and his family escaped Vietnamese communist forces and made it to a refugee camp, Pulau Bidong, which was off the Malaysian coast.
“We were stationed there for over nine months, not knowing where we were gonna go,” Loh said. “We didn’t know where our future was going to be at.”
Working with the community
The station continues to work closely with the community of Arlington, having visited schools in the Arlington school district and holding talks at the University of Texas at Arlington and Tarrant County College campuses. The station has also invited candidates during election season to come and speak to the Vietnamese community, while stressing the importance of voting.
VVA has also been active in raising awareness for people who have been impacted by disasters, such as the Haitian earthquake or the typhoon in the Philippines, along with the people who had just immigrated from Vietnam.
“We were very active in the support and participating in the building of the Vietnam War Memorial at Veterans Park in Arlington,” Dao said. “With the help of the mayor and city council of Arlington, this memorial pays a tribute and remembers the Americans and South Vietnamese soldiers who had fought.”
Aligned Philosophies
As the station works to preserve Vietnamese culture, being stationed at Asia Times Square allows for people of different ethnic backgrounds to come together in one place and celebrate, learn, and accept the many diverse cultures at Asia Times Square.
“We want to be the destination connecting cultures and communities,” Loh said. “Each and every year we have seen an increase in brand and a great increase in non-Asian customers visiting our area.”
While the social climate now can sometimes divide people more than bring them together, the willingness to accept others and the way they live continues to bring people together at Asia Times Square.
“That is something I am extremely proud of to see the inclusiveness and diverse community we have of people getting together and to celebrate one another,” Loh said. “We need to replace ignorance with acceptance.”
To hear an audio story exploring Asia Times Square’s mission and vision, please click here.
