VHM_0059

Descriptive title
Nail cutter
Initial context
Date
c. 1970s-1980s
Object type(s)
Material(s)
Description

This nail clipper was gifted to Father Nguyễn Hữu Lễ by a fellow prisoner during his 11 years in Northern Vietnamese prisons (1976-1988), including the Quyết Tiến disciplinary camp (“Heaven’s Gate”). He carried this clipper when he escaped by boat in 1989 and during his time in a refugee camp in Thailand. The clipper then came with him as he relocated to New Zealand, under the invitation of Bishop Denis Browne to serve the Auckland Diocese. He became the diocese's parish priest in 1994. Through the 1990s–2000s, Father Lễ traveled widely advocating for democracy, human rights, and religious freedom in Vietnam. He stepped down as parish priest in 2007 to focus on global community work, continuing as Chaplain in Auckland and as a representative of the National Movement to Restore the Name Saigon.

Current location
Rights description

Object donated to the Vietnamese Heritage Museum by Nguyễn Hữu Lễ

Timeline