IFDS Participant Testimonial: Vietnam
Out of our lectures on Vietnamese history, culture, and economics
emerged the twin themes of resistance and renovation.
What was even more enlightening, however, was the emphasis on renewal:
of cities,
of economic performance, and of relations with the
United States.
Vietnam
Last summer, Furman University afforded me the opportunity
to travel to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to
participate in a Faculty Development Seminar conducted under the
joint auspices of
CIEE and The Vietnam-USA Society of Hanoi. Our group
of 20 was geographically, ideologically, and academically diverse.
A few had been to Vietnam
before. The rest of us were neophytes with a variety
of motivations for visiting Vietnam. I was there to learn more
about a country which
plays a prominent role in courses I teach.
Our 11-day program included a very full agenda of lectures, field
trips, and a little free time in and around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City (Saigon). Out of our lectures on Vietnamese history, culture,
and economics emerged the twin themes of resistance and renovation.
What was even more enlightening, however, was the emphasis on renewal:
of cities, of economic performance, and of relations with the United
States. The Hoa Lo Prison, also known as the "Hanoi Hilton," is
symbolic of this thinking. Much of it is being razed to build a high-rise
office complex, one of many going up in Vietnam's capital in these
days of "Doi Moi" (economic restructuring). Only the front
entrance and some of the massive outer walls of the prison remain.
I suspect that the new U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Douglas "Pete" Peterson,
himself a "guest" at the prison, views this development
as a personal and professional blessing.
One of my most memorable experiences was an outing to the Perfume
Pagoda southwest of Hanoi, where we travelled through countryside
colored in a palette of shimmering, vibrating shades of green. There
is a timelessness here -- one can almost feel the ghosts of peasants
and water buffalo moving to the ancient rhythms of planting and harvest.
When we passed a particular rice farmer, however, I was reminded of
the paradoxes of contemporary Vietnam: the young man, standing on
the edge of a paddy dike, was wearing a Boston Celtics T-shirt.
By contrast, Saigon teems with humanity and activity. A constant
refrain among our hosts was that although the official population
figure for the city was 4 million, it was probably closer to 7 or
8 million. And the vast majority of citizens seem to be embracing
economic liberalization. There is a profusion of new restaurants,
shops, construction projects, and traffic. The city amplifies the
contrasts and paradoxes of the country. At the Union of Friendship
Organizations, in the shadow of the former U.S. Embassy, we listened
to a former Vietnamese ambassador to the United Nations speak encouragingly
about the state of Vietnamese-American relations. South of Saigon,
along the Mekong Delta, extremely modest huts on stilts appeared to
be suspended by a forest of lengthy television aerials attached to
the lustrous blue sky.
I felt ghosts in the tunnels of Cu Chi. It is very difficult to imagine
what it must have been like to live, fight, and in many instances,
die underground. It certainly explained why there were so many banners
and posters calling for support for "Lonely Mothers and Martyrs
Day" on July 27 – the very day of our visit to Cu Chi.
It is just as hard to conjure up thoughts of American soldiers on
patrol in the "Iron Triangle," seeking to destroy a city
in the recesses of the earth controlled by the Viet Cong and less
than 35 kilometers from Saigon. The reader will understand, therefore,
our reticence to be photographed with life-sized images of Viet Cong
guerrillas dressed in black pajamas and Ho Chi Minh sandals, and armed
with AK-47s.
We were much less reluctant to descend into the tunnels themselves.
Even in the first of three underground levels, the heat was oppressive.
It was the only time during my stay in Vietnam that the climate weighed
on my thoughts.
For me, 11 days were not enough. Dien Bien Phu and Hue beckon. Da
Nang and Nha Trang whisper, "Come and find out." I must
go back. I must find out.
The above an account by Cleveland Fraser, Ph.D., associate professor
and chair of the Political Science Department at Furman University
in Greenville, S.C. Dr. Fraser participated in Council's IFDS Vietnam
program in July 1997