[jjr69] Re: Vietnam's Women Of War
- From: "Phan, Khai KT" <Khai.T.Phan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 07:57:59 +1100
What has always amazed me was the efficacy of the NVN propaganda so that entire
villages in the North and in the Centre went to war (men, women, children
alike) on the firm belief of a liberation war against the Americans and that
the SVN population was suffering under the American domination ! I do
apologize to all our former SVN soldiers but I felt that we somehow lost the
war because we were never able to effectively control the countryside and that
some of our government policies at the time (or the mis-application of our
policies) might actually helped us lose, in some ways, a significant proportion
of the hearts and minds of the countryside people.
Khai
-----Original Message-----
From: Dat Duthinh [mailto:dduthinh@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 9:13 AM
To: jjr69@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jjr69] Vietnam's Women Of War
Dear Dzung:
Thank you for a most poignant article. It is particularly fitting that
you, a former officer of the ARVN and re-ed camp "student" would choose to
distribute it. We look at the enemy, and they are us. We are all VN, our
heroes, our values are the same. We are all humans, and war is horror for
winners and losers alike.
In reading the story, I kept thinking of the black and white picture of a
young teenage girl, in a broad-brimmed guerilla hat, playing the guitar on
the Ho Chi Minh trail, by a camp fire. I saw this photograph at one of the
photo exhibits in Washington DC last year. She was beautiful, innocent,
full of promise. The caption says that a few days after the photo was
taken, she stepped on a land mine, and there was no piece of her left that
could not fit in the palm of one hand.
The situation in VN is not different from that found in many other
countries. Eritrea fought a war with Ethiopia that lasted several decades
and involved many women fighters. Although women achieved a certain parity
with men in war, when peace came, they had to come back to more traditional
and subservient roles. Another similarity is the black soldiers returning
to the US after WW2 to second class citizenship. In VN, at least
officially, the revolution that these women fought for advocates the
emancipation of women and equality of the sexes.
I did not see any reference to Duong Thu Huong in the article. Also the
ratio of women to men is in fact lower, not higher than normal. Overall,
there are 52 girls born to 48 boys worldwide.
EOM
NOTICE - This message and any attached files may contain information that is
confidential and/or subject of legal privilege intended only for use by the
intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or the person
responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, be advised
that you have received this message in error and that any dissemination,
copying or use of this message or attachment is strictly forbidden, as is the
disclosure of the information therein. If you have received this message in
error please notify the sender immediately and delete the message.
Other related posts:
