My mom once asked my dad why there are so many sad songs in Vietnam and his response was something to the extent of “try living under colonization and war for so many years and you’ll have a sad song to sing too.” To quote Elton John (which I promise not to do often), “Sad songs, they say so much.” I cannot imagine living (or fighting for that matter) in 4 wars (French, Japan (WWII), American, Khmer Rouge) but Hoi The,
who is now a medical doctor, can and he was a colonel for 3 of them. Hoi The is also
the Vice President of Tuyen Quang Chapter of Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange / Dioxin (VAVA) and he is still a leader in fighting against US aggression as he works with 4,933 people in his province have been exposed to Agent Orange (half directly exposed, and others indirectly exposed through the 2nd generation births).
Hoi The and I in front of a rendition of Ho Chi Minh’s thatchet house.
Tuyen Quang is such a beautiful place. I’ve mentioned it before! It’s like when you fall in love with someone and you can’t stop dropping their name into every conversation. It is where Ho Chi Minh stayed in a thatchet house and many important decisions were made including the 1st National Congress after independence from the French. The mosquitos ate me alive when I was near where Ho Chi Minh stayed. Maybe they are still protecting that area. Okay enough romantic reminiscing! Let’s talk about the hard stuff. . .
The highlands, Tuyen Quang province very near where Ho Chi Minh stayed.
What Do You Know About Weapons of Mass Destruction?
On my first working day here I met with Professor Nhan Trong Nguyen the Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange / Dioxin (VAVA).
Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military. According to a Columbia University Study (Nature, April 2003) from 1961 to 1971 the US forces sprayed about 80 million liters of defoliants and herbicides half of which was Agent Orange) containing about 336 kg of dioxin (some other scientists estimate about 500 to 600 kg. This chemical not only destroyed the environment in several areas in South Vietnam (forests and agricultural lands) but also left a legacy of severe diseases and continues in generations of children living with birth defects.
Professor Nhan Trong Nguyen and I at the VAVA headquarters.
Professor Nguyen who is documenting the terror of agent orange and seen many people die from it’s affects including the former president of VAVA, Mr. Hiep, and 2 victims who recently went on a speaking tour in the United States and two weeks later passed away. However, he still remains positive about cooperating with the United States for compensation for the victims.
“We are ready to put aside the past in order to look to the future,” says Nguyen. And it seems that Vietnam has been very giving in this respect. They have helped the use to find US soldiers missing in action (MIA), and prisoners of war. “We are very sorry that the US does not respond equally.”
There is an on-going campaign to get compensation in particular from the companies who developed agent orange /dioxin and sold it to the United States for military use. The campaign included a lawsuit but US judges dismissed the case. VAVA and their allies will try to file again under the Alien Tort Claims Act.
Children playing a game at the Agent Orange Friendship Village.
In all of the provinces I have visited I can see the effects of Agent Orange, particularly on women and children. Women who are raising families on their own and carrying for the victims have a double the work to do. The Agent Orange Friendship Village with the support of veterans and the international community helps to support young children, the second generation born with birth defects with a collective school environment where they receive education, physical rehabilitation and medical treatment. Tuyen Van Dinh, Deputy Director or the Friendship Village said, “. . . [At the Friendship Village] they have collectivity and can share with others their experience.”
Classroom at the Agent Orange Friendship Village.
These lasting affects of war paired with the death of so many fighters was the reason that for Ming Y Nguyen the fall of Saigon, though a great feat, was not a celebratory time. “We were more meditative then. We were remembering those who had died.” said Nguyen.
From left to right Tuyen Van Dinh and Y Ming Nguyen at the Agent Orange Friendship Village.
For example in Thay Binh province 51,000 soldiers died in the war, 32,000 wounded, 14,000 are victims of Agent Orange. The resistance was particularly strong in Thay Binh with 3,000 members of the Association of Volunteer Youth who volunteered to join the resistance effort. 70% of the volunteers were women. One young women who I had the opportunity to meet, was below the age requirement and wanted so badly to join the resistance that she wrote her letter requesting to join in blood. She said, “We always kept in mind that nothing is more precious than freedom. That is why we devoted our youth [adolescent years] for the nation to protect our freedom.”
Members of the Association of Volunteer Youth in Thay Binh province.
I also met with a family where both husband and wife Mr. Naan Trung Nhan and Ms Yen Thi Haang were volunteer youth in 1965. Ms. Haang’s main task was to open roads by finding and detonate bombs. She now has many medical difficulties and cannot speak very well. Still, the feeling in Thay Binh is that the cause was a worthy one. “We strongly believe that socialism can bring happiness and prosperity,” said Nhan.
Giving a gift for Ms. Yen Thi Haang far right.
Ah, Didja Ya Forget Somethin’?? You Can Take Your Poverty With You Too!
But even before the end of the US war on Vietnam there is a legacy of oppression that Vietnam has to contend with. The trade union movement for example began well before the formation of the Communist Party in Vietnam in 1929 under French occupation. Mr Mr. Binh Nhat Chau the Deputy Director for the International Department for the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) explains, “The French rule, the colonization was barbarious. . . After they leave they took away everything except poverty.”
After winning independence against the French, the US waged war on Vietnam at a time when they had a serious lack of infrastructure. The very long US war on Vietnam of course also deepened the degree of problems of infrastructure. I think that right-wing Vietnamese people (and sometimes even progressives), do not look at the economic crisis or the phenomenon of the “boat people” within a historical context. We cannot make a fair comparison between the economic situation of the US with Vietnam because the US has not had war waged on its land in the same way that it has on Vietnam. The damages of course our huge.
Including the human cost of war - - 3 million killed, 4 million wounded, the impact of agent orange, 3,000 people missing, the war and occupation divided the nation pushing people against each other right down to the family level. For example, Mr. Loi Dac Tran, Executive Vice-President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, his father was on the side of the VietMinh and his brother fought for the Saigon army leading to divisions among his relatives.
Of course there are many impacts on the economy. Vietnam being an agricultural society the environmental destruction directly links to the economic impact. As mentioned before, many areas still have not recovered from the spraying of chemicals by the US. 45 percent of the land in Vietnam cannot be cultivated due to land mines and bombs.
Also the US embargo on Vietnam, which ended only in 1994 further prevented development. This in addition to the much forgotten war waged on Vietnam by the Khmer Rouge up until 1990. “The process of reconstruction of the country happened very slowly and takes a longer time and after today we continue to work for them,” said Tran reflecting on these challenges.
War and occupation then maybe compared to the abusive boyfriend in the cycle of violence - - taking your money, pulling you away from your resources, beating you up and even when you have the strength to leave the abuse or fight back still you are left with a broken heart. Not necessarily a broken heart for the abuser but for humanity in general. If Iraq then is another Vietnam, as some say, then there be decades of on going destruction to contend with.
Given all of the challenges that come after the war, Hoa My Troung, Vietnam's former Vice President states, “Although war is over, we never have false illusions of the victory.”