I'm in Vietnam! (continued)

12 November 2008 @ 04:40 pm

We have so far visited Cu Chi, one of the most heavily bombed places in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, as well as the War Remnants Museum. I’ve learnt a lot about the War. Like how the Northern Vietnamese won the Americans, the Allied Troops and the South Vietnamese! By using their cunning to devise traps and dig underground to create tunnels to hide, and then later pop out of the ground to shoot and kill. They are one heck of a scary people. I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of these people.

I saw numerous photographs of how many people were affected by Agent Orange; their contorted bodies, clawed hands, missing a limb or two, some missing organs even, and other kinds of gross disfigurement. I saw many different kinds of weapons: assault rifles, shotguns, cannons, tanks, grenades, mines… and then I grew angry. What the hell were the Americans thinking in attacking the civilians with such dastardly weapons? Aren’t they the guys who’ve always championed human rights?

But maybe they were trying to end the war quick by forcing the Vietnamese to surrender? In that case, I really admire the Vietnamese’ determination.

But I cannot forgive the action of using Agent Orange, and other kinds of biochemical weapons. What right do people have in taking away the futures of millions of children? They never had anything to do with the foolish politics of adults. Some live in pain, some maybe don’t, but they are, nevertheless, unable to change whatever has been done to them. The saddest thing is that they don’t know what lies in store for them when the get older. At such a young age, most of them don’t know why people weep over them, why some people show anger at the fact that they can only become factory workers or street vendors due to immobility and/or low intelligence.

At least the Americans apologized. I do hope that they didn’t change their version of history like the Japanese did. The last I saw, the Americans gave many statements saying that they regretted their actions. That’s still not too bad.

But some of my friends think it’s meaningless to apologize. It's like slapping someone and then apologizing. Does it make a difference? I don’t know.


Current Location: Nhat ha Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City
Current Mood: Contemplative
Current Music: none