[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MAN MINH PHAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2007

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a man whose life 
has touched many people in San Rafael, California. Man Minh Phan, known 
as Mr. Man, is receiving the 2007 Citizen of the Year award from the 
city for his outstanding community activism in the Canal neighborhood. 
This area has a large immigrant population, including 500 Vietnamese-
Americans, endeavoring to assimilate into our country's culture.
  Now 73-years-old, Mr. Man is a former South Vietnamese army officer 
who immigrated with his wife to the United States in 1990 after 6 years 
of imprisonment in a communist re-education camp and another 8 years 
waiting for relocation. They joined his son, a graduate of the 
University of California at Berkeley, who had arrived in San Rafael a 
year earlier after escaping Vietnam by boat. Mr. Man also has two 
daughters who live in Vietnam.
  During his 16 years in the Canal area, Mr. Man has been active in 
organizing and teaching classes in citizenship as well as Vietnamese 
(for the children) and English as a Second Language (to help adults). 
He founded the Vietnamese-American Friendship Group, serves on the 
Advisory Board of the local Pickleweed Park Community Center, leads the 
Canal Beautification Project, served on the Marin County Sheriff 
Advisory Board, and helps organize the annual Tet New Year festival.
  But these descriptors do not do justice to the man who is the very 
heart of his neighborhood, a man who works tirelessly and 
enthusiastically for his community. Often referred to as the ``Angel of 
the Canal,'' Mr. Man is everywhere, offering a helping hand to anyone 
who needs it. His neighbors in the Canal understand that his classes 
are a place to bring people together, not just to learn languages. He 
is not paid for his teaching and lives simply, relishing the 
opportunity to give back for the freedom he enjoys here.
  Mr. Man also gives to his homeland. He is known for his habit of 
picking up recycling on the streets, with the proceeds sent to the 
needy in Vietnam, from wartime amputees to orphans--``whoever wrote me 
a letter,'' he says. Others have been inspired to join him in the 
collection to add to the amounts he can provide.
  Madam Speaker, Man Minh Phan's activism and spirit inspire all of us. 
His own words sum up what our country is about: ``I was asked what we 
need, and I said the most important need is freedom. Freedom is the top 
of my life.''

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