Protest fever reaches Vietnam

[Skip_In_Boulder]

Run time: 02:02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmUa2uaPi8   Posted on YouTube: February 27, 2011 By YouTube Member: cambell1308 Views on YouTube: 53   Posted on DU: February 28, 2011 By DU Member: Skip_In_Boulder Views on DU: 707

 
Calls for political reform have not been confined to the Arab world.

Al Jazeera has obtained rare footage of a demonstration in Vietnam - a country where political dissent is swiftly put down by the government.

Al Jazeera Steve Chao has an exclusive report.

[pinboy3niner]

1. After fighting and being wounded in the war, I returned 3 times

My visits were all in the '90s, for a month each time, staying with Vietnamese families in Vung Tau (a beach resort) and in Cholon (a very poor district of Saigon). From those bases, I toured the southern half of the country by hired van, accompanied by a dozen Vietnamese friends.

My impressions:

The North Vietnamese victors re-named Saigon as "Ho Chi Minh City" after the war, but all of the local Saigonese continued to call it 'Saigon,'

Saigon had always been a hotbed of entreprenurialism, and it continued to be so after the war. Even the new communist leaders knew they couldn't tame it, and they left it pretty much alone, exempt from some of their oppressive restrictions.

In my touring, I found that the South by that time had recovered well from the war. The people, using manual labor and woven baskets, had even filled in the bomb craters.

Further North, in what we used to call 'I Corps,' prosperity seemed to lag behind what people were experiencing further South, and the war damage--bomb craters--was still evident.

I saw a lot of poverty in the northern portion of what used to be South Vietnam. It hurt to see that, because that was where I fought in the war, and I felt a connection with the people there.

My impression from my visits was that Vietnam was reforming, and inching toward less repression and more democracy.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

2. Thanks for sharing. n/t

[The Wizard]

3. pinboy3niner this is detonate 5 two

My friend's kid just returned from Vietnam. He said the hardest thing to find there is a communist.
I have to find out where he stayed.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Hey, Detonate Five-Two

You must have served there, as I did, after the Army abandoned the old 'six' system in favor of random callsigns. Actually I was on the cusp ('69-'70), and had a couple of the old callsigns early on ('Itchy Klick One-Six' is the one I remember).

Have you considered going back? I recently stumbled on a website for my unit and got in touch with a lot of the guys--and it turns out that a lot of them have gone back, mostly with humanitarian programs like the Vietnam Veterans Restoration Project and Pointman Ministries' Open Hearts and Hands program.

It's well worth going back for those who are open to the idea. But you should know that it's not the same Vietnam we knew--the one filled with GIs and jeeps and deuce-and-a-halfs and choppers. That's all gone, and any soldiers you see will be wearing a gold star on a red tab, the insignia of the Vietnamese Army (just like the NVA).

Returning Vietnam vets are likely to experience a great deal of insecurity at first. The absence of a U.S. military presence is part of it, along with being surrounded by large crowds of Vietnamese in the big cities (which brings back old memories of not knowing who's friendly and who's the "enemy").

Foreigners--especially Americans and other Western visitors--also tend to draw a crowd of beggars when they go to the city markets (though tour guides will shoo them away). It helps to be prepared to experience those feelings of insecurity, but they usually subside after a few days. Going back with a group of vets also makes a big difference.

It's important to note that, despite the insecurities one might feel, the Vietnamese people are very welcoming and friendly to visitors, especially Americans. One of my most memorable experiences going back was sharing a meal, and stories, and laughter, and tears with a group that included Viet Cong, NVA and ARVN vets.

If you've ever thought of going back, I'd say go for it.

Welcome home, brother!

Love & Peace,
pinboy3niner

[The Wizard]

5. 3niner/5two, over

All of our call signs started with a D in the First Infantry. Commanding officers were 6, security was 2, operations 3, supply 4. 5two was artillery fire direction. Detonate was 1/7 Artillery.
I'd go back, but sitting on a plane that long doesn't agree with me.
When I have the occasion to meet a Vietnamese I apologize for wrecking their country. I put a lot of ordinance on targets.
My unofficial job is helping vets get their benefits. Having spent several years fighting with the VA, I've learned how to negotiate the system, although they change criteria from time to time.
Hey, we got lucky. Glad to be home.
5two out.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Things could've been so different if France and Woodrow Wilson had listened to

Ho Chi Minh's request for Vietnam's independence during negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles.

Ho Chi Minh had been inspired by Wilson's speeches and wanted a democratic republic for Vietnam, but he was rebuffed, Wilson; wanted the treaty creating the League of Nations and didn't want to antagonize France, so Vietnam remained a colony.

Kicked and recommended for the people of Vietnam, I hope they can still find a way to a democratic republic in spite of our previous mistakes.

Thanks for the thread, Skip_In_Boulder.

[Kurovski]

7. K&R. (nt)