Other states, other lives, other souls

Have you wanted to visit Vietnam?  Have some of your friends already visited Vietnam and commented how beautiful it is?  Yes it is! And more.

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I have visited three times and my husband, five times.  If you are an American and under 60, you may not know how complicated our relationship with Vietnam has been.  If you have been watching the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick PBS series The Vietnam War, you may be getting some background on the War. In Vietnam it’s called the American War.

Before you go to Vietnam, I suggest that you do some homework and learn about this complicated relationship. 1. It will help you decide what to see, beyond the obvious places.  2. It may cause you to pay more attention to the culture and the people and to the many ironies that abound in the 50 years since the war started .  3. It may even cause you to want to contribute something to the rebuilding of the country.

Many American soldiers are doing just that (irony 1): Children’s Library International.  Here are some great books:

1. Fire in the Lake, Frances FitsGerald
2. The Girl in the Picture, Denise Chong
3. A Bright Shining Lie, Neil Sheehan

At the very least, American visitors should be aware of the devastation the American government caused to Vietnam, in pursuit of victory over the National Liberation Front (AKA Viet Cong).  Over one million Vietnamese died and over 58,000 Americans (https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War). The country was defoliated by massive spraying of Agent Orange , and many people, including American soldiers, were poisoned, developed cancer, and died before their time, caused by the primary chemical dioxin. I know one of them. Go to the War Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and see the pictures of deformed children from Agent Orange. Over one million Vietnamese now live in the US, having come originally as refugees and then through family reunification since 1975.  One young refugee I know who came with his father in the Boatlift under Reagan in the 80s has since returned. He now runs a successful furniture-making factory with his cousin, selling furniture for hotels to the British (irony 2).

Should you care, if you were not around during the Vietnam War?  Yes!  The Vietnam War has left an indelible stain on the US.  It has probably contributed much to the polarization in our country today.  We did not all learn the same lessons from losing the war.  When you read someone’s lessons, you might ask yourself:  What interests does this lesson serve?  What differences of opinion are there about those lessons?  Why didn’t we all learn the same lessons?

Today Vietnam is a part of the global capitalist supply chain (irony 3).  Check the tag on your shirt or the country where your shoes are made.  Yes, the Communists and Ho Chi Minh took over all of Vietnam in 1976.  Go there and see whether you notice it is a “communist” country.  Yes, Vietnamese Facebook is officially, but not in reality, blocked. Compare the freedom of its citizens to those of women in Saudi Arabia.  Look at the income distribution in Vietnam vs. the US. Visit the ethnic minority tribes and markets in Lao Cai with a local guide,where US Special Forces (Green Berets) drew from and trained to serve with the Americans.

What would have happened if the US and its corrupt government in South Vietnam had won?  Enjoy the beauty, the food, the historic towns and cities and the ecological diversity. It took Vietnam decades to recover from the American War.

Having spent more time in Vietnam and Cambodia than most tourists, and having lived through the Vietnam/American war, I would have to say:  the war was a horrific waste of time, money and blood, as the victors and the losers are now on the same team. The devastation we wrought on this small country because it was on the wrong side of the Cold War was a travesty.  Producing a generation of homeless Vietnam vets was cruel. Never again!