Why Vietnam?
After almost a hundred years of France colonization and another 5 years of Japanese invasion during World War II, on September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Minh declared independence for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam before a crowd of 500,000 in Hanoi. In an overture to the Americans, he began his speech by paraphrasing the United States Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal. The creator has given us certain inviolable rights: the right to life, the right to be free, and the right to achieve happiness.”
The Viet Minh, a communist and nationalist liberation movement, emerged under the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, the great Vietnamese leader, who sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the Japanese occupation. Ironically, the US despite their strong preach for freedom couldn’t allow other nations like Vietnam to become independent easily. The US government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. The US army was actively present in Vietnam from 1950-1975.
During 15 years of their lost fight against communism, the US army in representation of the government systematically committed crimes and human rights violations against the Vietnamese people. Vietnam endured years of bombing, chemical attacks, torture, hunger, genocide, and destruction in order to achieve their right to freedom. While we were in Ho Chi Minh City (old Saigon), we couldn’t hold our tears visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum. These two places show the conditions in which Vietnamese people lived, resisted, survived, and conquered their independence after too many years of domination. The resourcefulness, perseverance, and tenacity of these people who were fighting with less guns but more wisdom over their environment and a strong conviction of their right to be free amazed us!
They build tunnel systems that imitated the ones built by rats in the rice fields. These tunnels became safe shelter to survive US army bombing, chemical contamination, and eventually for fighting back. With very little supplies, a lot of recycling from US bombs and even trash, the support from other countries, and more than anything the union of their cause, they won the war.
The long lasting effects of the war are still affecting Vietnam. US chemical attacks with Agent Orange destroyed forest and contaminated many people. Since then, many children have been born with physical deformations and genetically transmitted disorders which significantly impaired their development. US army veterans and their descendants have also experienced similar health problems after being exposed to this terrible substance. A war always hurts people and the soldiers of both sides are just puppets of an insane game where everybody losses their peace of mind sooner or later.
Why Vietnam? We just keep asking ourselves this question after seeing all the pictures in the War Remnants Museum… No logical answer could ever justify the pain they suffered. No political model or government could ever be more valid than the right of all humans to be alive, free, and pursue their happiness. And after so many centuries of countless wars all over the world, we wonder if one day we could eventually reach respect and peace? Could we humans one day live with each other without stepping on each other? Our First World Trip is becoming a real history class for us! Are you still following us?
