Vietnamese activist places rare national spotlight on Gaza’s suffering

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Earlier this year, Vietnamese societal media was overtaken by a name: Tieu Nguyen Bao Ngoc.

The 28-year-old from Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh, was said to beryllium the archetypal and lone Vietnamese nationalist to person joined the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which sought to interruption Israel’s siege of Gaza by delivering assistance to the territory by sea.

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Two weeks earlier mounting sail crossed the Mediterranean successful May, Bao Ngoc, besides known arsenic Ashley, had announced her information successful the ngo to scope the war-torn enclave wherever Israel has killed much than 73,000 Palestinians.

News of her exploit circulated online among young Vietnamese who began to intimately travel her travel connected societal media.

In a state wherever civilian nine has remained subdued beneath that almighty Vietnamese Communist Party, Bao Ngoc emerged arsenic a uncommon fig to execute nationalist visibility connected a governmental matter: the destiny of Palestinians nether Israel’s occupation.

“As a Vietnamese who has endured the aforesaid sufferings and warfare crimes committed by Western imperialists, particularly the US, I consciousness tremendous sympathy for the Palestinian people,” Bao Ngoc told Indonesia’s Republika Online successful an interrogation from aboard her assistance vas during the voyage to scope Gaza.

Tieu Nguyen Bao Ngoc [Courtesy of Tieu Nguyen Bao Ngoc]

Those words went viral successful Vietnam.

Messages of support, including integer artwork featuring the young activist, flooded societal media platforms arsenic Bao Ngoc’s connection of solidarity with Palestinians struck a chord among young radical successful the country.

But connected May 18, the Gaza flotilla unrecorded tracker, which galore had followed to illustration Bao Ngoc travel towards Gaza, sent an alert that her vas had been intercepted by Israeli forces successful planetary waters westbound of Cyprus.

A prerecorded SOS video connection from Bao Ngoc was released soon afterwards connected the flotilla’s website, and past connected Vietnamese societal media, confirming that she had been abducted by Israeli forces and urging radical to telephone connected the Vietnamese authorities to intervene and get her released.

Her supporters heeded the call, flooding societal media with the request to “release Bao Ngoc!”

With the outpouring of enactment successful Vietnam that Bao Ngoc had inspired, galore expected that the occurrence would marque headlines successful the section media.

But it didn’t.

All large media outlets successful Vietnam remained soundless during Bao Ngoc’s 2 days of detention by Israeli forces.

The unofficial soundlessness from the media, arsenic good arsenic the Vietnamese government, stood successful opposition with that of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, which instantly responded, on with galore different governments, by condemning Israel for the abduction of their citizens portion successful planetary waters aboard the flotilla.

A Malaysian Muslim pistillate wears a look disguise with Palestinian flags during a rally to observe Malaysian Global Sumud Flotilla activists astatine an indoor stadium successful Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, connected October 8, 2025 [Vincent Thian/AP]

Vietnam’s nationalist began to capable the accusation vacuum.

Bao Ngoc’s supporters launched a wide email campaign, sending much than 2,000 petitions to the Vietnamese embassy successful Israel demanding that it instrumentality enactment to guarantee the activist’s information and merchandise from Israeli detention.

Then an unexpected backlash followed.

Pro-government influencers successful Vietnam weighed in, accusing Bao Ngoc and her pro-Palestine activism of harming Vietnam’s national image.

Some questioned the authenticity of her nationality, and when another prerecorded video was posted connected the tract VietForPalestine of Bao Ngoc holding her authoritative Vietnamese passport, different conspiracy mentation circulated that it was AI-generated.

Local pro-Palestine groups successful Vietnam were besides accused of promoting antigovernment sentiments for daring to record a petition to the Vietnamese embassy successful Israel seeking its involution to escaped the activist.

Vu Minh Hoang, a historiographer of diplomacy successful Vietnam, said the accusation of antigovernment enactment was made contempt it being “the basal work of the embassy to support each of its citizens”.

After 2 days, the soundlessness was broken.

Vietnam’s diplomatic ngo to Israel issued a nationalist statement, stating that it had been moving to guarantee the young activist’s information and her merchandise by Israel, on with different Gaza flotilla participants, to Istanbul successful neighbouring Turkiye.

Vu described the incidental arsenic unprecedented successful modern Vietnam.

“I conflict to deliberation of a akin lawsuit erstwhile a Vietnamese national participated successful activism overseas that required authorities intervention,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Activists clasp a ample Palestinian emblem arsenic they await the accomplishment of Greek nationals detained and deported by Israel aft the interception of their Gaza-bound flotilla astatine Athens International airport, successful Athens, Greece, connected May 22, 2026 [Aggelos Nakkas/AFP]

The entreaty of Bao Ngoc’s lawsuit stems from Vietnam’s ain humanities representation and the governmental maturation of younger Vietnamese, said Ly Thuy Nguyen, a student of transnational activism.

Bao Ngoc and her supporters hail from a younger procreation of Vietnamese “which didn’t acquisition warfare firsthand, but whose taste individuality was shaped by the imageries of war”, Ly told Al Jazeera.

Through her actions, Bao Ngoc made the Palestinian conflict and the warfare connected Gaza relatable to mundane Vietnamese people, Ly said.

Bao Ngoc drew “parallels betwixt memories of America’s warfare successful Vietnam and the genocide against Palestinians”, Ly said.

“Bao Ngoc transformed specified wide sympathy to a circumstantial committedness – putting her assemblage connected the enactment to bring attraction to the plights of Palestinians – that inspires her generation, and poses the question: What adjacent is to beryllium done?” Ly added.

A pupil of sociology and part-time baker successful Ho Chi Minh City, Bao Ngoc said she ne'er intended to go an activist.

Before her enactment for the Palestinian cause, her lone erstwhile engagement successful activism had been moving a high-school carnal shelter.

It was portion Bao Ngoc was pursuing a master’s grade astatine Nanyang Technological University (NTU) successful Singapore that Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attacks connected confederate Israel.

Israel’s devastating effect to the onslaught changed everything for the Vietnamese student.

“I woke up connected October 8 and was instantly flooded by regret, due to the fact that I had been alert of the Palestinian origin but didn’t bash thing for them,” she told Al Jazeera.

So, she decided to act.

The archetypal happening she did was driblet retired of her master’s programme, dissatisfied with what she saw arsenic NTU’s ties with Israel.

Returning location to Vietnam, she started by organising fundraising cook income and co-founding the solidarity radical VietForPalestine successful aboriginal 2024.

The grassroots radical grew to much than 22,000 followers online and produced acquisition contented connected Palestine and the humanities solidarity betwixt the Vietnamese and Palestinian people.

Initially, Bao Ngoc remained anonymous, wary of the consequences for governmental activism successful strictly monitored Vietnamese society.

But that changed successful precocious 2024 aft Israel bombed the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital successful Gaza.

Footage of a 20-year-old Palestinian diligent burned live portion connected to an IV drip shocked Bao Ngoc into making nationalist statements.

“I couldn’t get that representation retired of my head,” she said. “Words cannot explicit the rage I felt.”

Vietnamese and communist flags bent from balconies crossed streets successful the aged 4th of Hanoi, Vietnam, connected September 1, 2025 [Vincent Thian/AP]

She appeared publically successful VietForPalestine’s archetypal online video, declaring: “Israel has nary close to support itself, nary concern unit does. End the genocide now.”

Her video went viral.

Bao Ngoc’s fiery nationalist admonishments of Israel drew followers and became a counterweight to pro-Israel sentiments successful sections of Vietnam’s media and spiritual and concern communities, wherever Israel has been promoted arsenic a occurrence – a scrappy, astute “Startup Nation”, arsenic the rubric of 1 fashionable Vietnamese-language publication describes the country.

Despite the humanities solidarity betwixt Vietnam and Palestine during the 1960s and 1970s, the existent authorities of Vietnam has been progressively hesitant to uphold that bequest amid expanding subject and economical ties with Israel since 2010, according to Evyn Le Espiritu Gandhi, who has researched Vietnam-Palestine relations from 1967 to 1975.

‘Support for Palestine is natural’

Bao Ngoc is not unsocial successful the Southeast Asia portion successful seeing Gaza and Palestine arsenic a conflict that matters for their generation and for their governments.

Ko Tinmaung, a Rohingya activistic based successful Canada and besides a Southeast Asian subordinate successful the flotilla earlier this year, was calved successful exile successful Bangladesh aft his household fled Myanmar.

Ko became politically progressive successful 2017 pursuing the demolition of hundreds of Rohingya villages and the displacement of 700,000 radical by Myanmar’s subject successful a run of taste cleansing against the Muslim minority.

Ko said “support for Palestine is earthy and unrelenting” among the Rohingya forced from their homes successful Myanmar and into exile camps successful neighbouring Bangladesh.

“They cognize what starvation successful Gaza feels similar due to the fact that they are experiencing akin conditions,” helium told Al Jazeera.

The transportation betwixt Palestinians and the Rohingya is adjacent much direct, fixed that Myanmar’s subject has a traditionally adjacent narration with Israel, and Israeli weapons makers person sold precocious arms to the Myanmar regime, according to rights workers.

“The subject authorities successful Myanmar is not lone an force of the Burmese people, but besides of the Palestinians,” Phil Robertson, manager of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, told Al Jazeera.

A protester delivers a code during a protestation successful solidarity with Indonesian nationals who were arrested aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, successful Bandung, West Java Province, Indonesia, connected May 19, 2026 [Claudio Pramana/Reuters]

Indonesian writer Bambang Noroyono, aka “Aberg”, besides joined the flotilla this year.

According to Aberg, determination is wide enactment for Palestinians among the Indonesian public, but the authorities of President Prabowo Subianto has pursued policies contradictory to the nationalist sentiment.

Indonesia accepted an invitation to articulation US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and had pledged earlier this twelvemonth to nonstop 8,000 troops to beryllium portion of the board’s International Stabilization Force successful Gaza, a determination critics person argued could legitimise the concern of Gaza by overseas forces.

For Robertson, the plight of the Palestinians is besides connected to the aboriginal of rights successful Southeast Asia and beyond.

“If Israel tin get distant with what they bash successful Gaza, different governments volition deliberation they tin get distant with doing the aforesaid happening to their ain people,” helium said.

Bao Ngoc captured that sentiment successful an interrogation with the Rohingya Network activistic level earlier this year.

“Our portion has ever been affluent not lone successful resources, but besides successful our volition to combat for liberation,” she said.

“This is an accidental for america to link the Palestinian and Rohingya struggles to our Southeast Asian individuality and marque it the centre constituent of our fights for liberation.”