CCDS Vietnam Study Tour Proves Memorable And Educational
by Duncan McFarland
The CCDS Vietnam Study Tour began its visit on Dec. 30, 2008 with a tour of Hanoi's vibrant streets which are jammed with people, shops and motorbikes; the visit ended on Jan. 12 in Ho Chi Minh City with the group watching a Vietnamese report on the study tour on the national network evening news.
The group, hosted by the Vietnam Women's Union, was very impressed with the VWU's extensive grassroots and community network. The VWU is making great efforts especially in rural areas to involve women in the political process. It sponsored Vietnam's new gender equality law and is seeking to increase the number of women in the National Assembly, which is currently 25% of the total. Issues include the principle of equality in performing domestic chores -- discussion of which during a rural site visit drew much laughter among villagers when discussing implementation.
The 16-person CCDS group also met with the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, and visited a village where afflicted children are cared for and learn productive skills. Over three million Vietnamese are victims of the chemical weapons used by the US military during the US (Vietnam) War and terrible birth defects caused by Agent Orange are passed on the newborn infants. The Vietnamese expressed great disappointment that the US government and US based corporations refuse to acknowledge responsibility nor put forward any effort to make amends. The Vietnamese are hoping that American people sympathetic to their cause will help them win a measure of relief and justice.
The group visited a number of sites associated with the Vietnam (US) War which brought back strong memories from many group members: Bach Mai hospital which was bombed in the Christmas 1972 attacks; the huge and rusting airbase at Danang, which now sits aside rapidly constructed resort hotels on China beach; the Soviet and Chinese built tanks which led the charge into the presidential palace in the last moments of the war; the spot in Saigon of the self immolation of the Buddhist monk in 1962 protesting the Diem repression; and the Chu Chi tunnel system northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, a veritable underground city where NLF guerrilla fighters dodged fire and fooled the enemy. One group member, a Vietnam veteran, spoke with three former NLF fighters in a moving encounter. Above all was a stop at the War Remnant (Crimes) Museum with powerful documentation of US atrocities during the war.
Along the way were several presentations and discussions of Vietnam's development strategy, the socialist market economy. It was explained that by 1985, after 10 years of emulating an inappropriate Soviet model, the Vietnamese forged their own way with the Doi Moi policy of combining a state run strategic sector with an expanding market. Thus the state controls the financial sector, oil exports, rice milling and transportation while private enterprise predominates in large numbers of small shops and services, as well as foreign-invested enterprises. The result has been a steadily growing economy and rising standard of living, as well as a bustling, dynamic feel in the cities. There are, however, major problems in a growing income gap, exploitation of low wage labor and environmental pollution. No one can be sure how the Vietnamese development strategy will turn out, but the people we met were hopeful and optimistic.
As well as study and investigation, the CCDS group had fun: visiting beautiful Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site; a stop at the gorgeous national art gallery; enjoying the famous Hanoi water puppets, and cruising the Saigon River; visiting the picturesque 17th century port of Hoian, frequented by Japanese and Europeans alike; informal conversation with students at Danang University, who described how they download jazz, rock and rap music and swap with one another; enjoying the delicious Vietnamese cuisine featuring fish and fruit, and searching for the numerous shopping bargains.
On the final night, Vietnamese television, which had conducted interviews and accompanied the group at the Museum of Ethnology, showed a segment on the nightly news about the CCDS visit. This was a wonderful finale to a memorable tour. CCDS members who are interested in joining the ongoing Vietnam solidarity work should send a message to mcfarland13@gmail.com. There will be opportunities to support the Agent Orange campaign, help to host visiting Vietnamese delegations, organize or join travel groups to Vietnam, and study the Vietnamese socialist market economy.