Most Frictionless Path
Written by K.F. (Vietnam)
Despite becoming a coach for Vietnamese activist groups, my first passion has always been literature. I have a soft spot for writers like Franz Kafka and Thạch Lam who died young. Perhaps I am biased by this biographical information, but those two authors seem to appreciate life in a discreet yet fulsome way, with the pain of someone caught in one-sided love.
Currently, I live in exile: the NGO I work for is considered a terrorist (khủng bố) organization. My daily routine is very solitary, even for a former researcher who spent most of their days enclosed between double monitors. I have other Vietnamese colleagues who are also unable to return to Vietnam. They feel even more isolated here. None of us speaks the local language but at least I can communicate fluently in English.
My colleagues are often impressed by my English and Vietnamese language skills. Although my linguistic abilities are products of my literary passions, I am glad that they serve this job well.
Overall, I enjoy work: it aligns closely enough with my own interests and pays decently. The remote work format provides enough flexibility to diversify my income streams and continue my own writing projects.
However, I do not see activism as a permanent career. Financial aspects of NGO work are notoriously unstable: I nearly did not have a job due to funding constriction under the Trump administration. Furthermore, there can be a repulsive level of self-grandiosity on display at human rights conferences and other such clumsily gaudy events. The contrast between remote-working alone and bumping like an atom between stalls for the purpose of ‘networking’ is too stark.
Even for a very introverted individual, I believe that the solitary routine will be unhealthy long-term. My boss believes that a fellow colleague in exile is experiencing a depressive phase, stating, ‘there have been times that he has shut himself inside for months on end, only going out to buy food or something.’
Building healthy social connections requires one to reach out to different hobby groups and develop measures to preserve one’s physical and political security. One needs a cover story for when new friends inevitably ask about work. It can all be too much effort.
In combination with a language barrier and predisposition to social anxiety, confining social time to the bare minimum -- faceless Zoom calls with colleagues who must also protect their identities -- seems to be the most frictionless path.
ABOUT ACTIVIST DISPATCH: The Activist Dispatch is a series that features current activists on the frontlines of topics featured in Heterodox Academy East Asia seminars. These include but are not limited to academic freedom in different Asian countries, gay professors at Christian universities in South Korea, North Korean educators, Hong Kong students and professors, etc. Please contact Frances An (frances.an@outlook.com) and Joseph Yi (joyichicago@yahoo.com) if you have a personal story that would fit within the broad Heterodox Asians purview. You may submit your piece in any language as long as there is an accompanying English translation.