From Hanoi, With Love
"Vietnam was different. It didn't beg, and it wasn't for
sale."
— David Lamb
A simple, black granite bearing a sea of
names of the American lives lost in the war, draws a slew of tourists,
former vets, and their families who pay homage to their dead and try
to make sense of the conflict that still tugs at the hearts and minds
of so many. There is a hushed silence as throngs of visitors surround
the wall, and quietly read off one name after another. The Vietnam
Veteran's Memorial in Washington, DC.
More than 25 years after
Saigon fell to the Communists, Vietnam still serves as a misunderstood
and troubling period in American history. So much happened.
Essentially, the war served as a backdrop for the turbulent '60s which
brought about the civil rights struggle, womens rights, free love,
anti-war demonstrations, and changing societal mores. As the war waged
in a far-off corner of the world, Americans were awakening to the dawn
of a different America, where political and social codes that had long
been accepted, were now argued.
"Why did America do this to us?"
a Vietnamese person poses to David Lamb, the author of
Vietnam, Now: A Reporter Returns. The question itself
seems to bring about so many answers which in turn lead to further
questions.
What happened and why? Lamb, a foreign correspondent
for the Los Angeles Times, covered the war, then returned to
Vietnam in recent years, attempts to explain by stripping the shroud
of mystery surrounding Vietnam. In the process, he explains the
how's and why's of the war -- and more important, its aftermath -- the
effect of the war on the Vietnamese -- an understanding of which
should serve to grasp a picture of the future of this important
Southeast Asian nation.
Lamb explains: What the United States went
to war against was communism. It was never about Vietnam and its
people, so much as it was about the Cold War and the free worlds fears
of the rising spread and power of communism. The costs, however,
emotionally and financially were tremendous. What resulted, on the
American side, was a nation pitted against itself, either approving
the U.S. involvement, or on the flip side, angrily voicing its antiwar
ethos. But more important, the war spelled defeat, and the return of
thousands of veterans who were essentially ignored and forgotten by
their fellow Americans.
As Lamb writes:
[Antiwar
activist] Tom Hayden had cheered the fall of Saigon, saying it would
lead to the rise of Indochina. Huh? A thousand University of
California students marched through Berkeley on April 30 in
celebration. But in celebration of themselves or the Vietnamese? Where
was Jane Fonda after the war was over?
As is often
the case, the issue is always self-interest. What happened to the
Vietnamese was irrelevant.
What Lamb manages brilliantly is to
show us what happened to Vietnam after the American War (as it is
referred to by the Vietnamese). They, too, dealt with millions (in
their case) of dead bodies, 300,000 MIAs, bereaved families who had
been divided between the Northern (communist) and Southern causes, and
the devastating effects of war which had left a crippled, penniless
country desperate to survive.
Lamb offers a portrait of a nation
that suffered 90 years of foreign interference, finally being allowed
to assert itself in 1975. What has emerged slowly is a nation ripe
with potential, a tiger which has drawn the interests of Western
entrepreneurs who are rapidly populating its major cities, Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).Lamb, in a recent
reading/lecture in Washington DC, explained that this is the first
generation of Vietnamese with hope of prosperity. They are the first
generation who do not have to deal with the shots of war.
Lamb finds it ironic that Bill Clinton, who allegedly
"dodged the draft", was the president who finally paved the way for
U.S.-Vietnamese reconciliation.
Though ruled by the Party, Vietnam, beginning in the '80s, opened itself up to a free market economy, entrepreneurial ventures, and a more lax media. Before, whereas owning a bicycle established one as a member of the middle class, many Vietnamese are now enjoying commodities such as television sets, motor scooters, and other amenities. Vietnamese youths, which comprise the majority of the population of 80 million, are thirsty for knowledge, education, and travel. According to Lamb, this is a renaissance period for Vietnam. Given the numerous changes that are taking place, however, doesnt dispel the fact that, as Lamb mentioned, the average income is still $1 per day.
Everywhere he went, Lamb was treated with genuine heartfelt respect
and kindness by the same people who served as enemies only a distant
memory ago, which brought up the question (a theme which dominates the
book) as to how did the Vietnamese manage to heal so much more quickly
than the Americans. As Lamb writes: The Vietnamese liked
Americans. They had forgiven, if not forgotten. They had lost 3
million citizens, been pummeled with 15 million tons of munitions.Yet
they had put the war behind them in a way that America hadn't.
Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that they have been accustomed to
continuous conflict. Therefore, the war between the North and South
served only as a mere drop in the bucket. In addition, as Lamb points
out, they (the North, at least) had won the war, and had taken the
step to reunite with their southern brothers and sisters.
In his
journeys around the country, Lamb offers glimpses of the characters of
the Vietnamese: patient, eager to learn, forgiving, and kind. He
recounts touching stories of visiting with families who lost their
sons in the war, to meeting the man who was responsible for saving
Sen. John McCain -- a former pilot in the war who would also become a
POW, to the waiter in his favorite café who is eagerly learning
English, to a Vietnamese-Australian attorney who is valiantly
attempting to gain visas to the West for the slew of Vietnamese boat
people who made it as far as, say, the Philippines, cant return home
and are desperately trying to gain access to the West.
In a
memorable chapter, Lamb recounts his meeting, along with a few former
American vets, with former Viet Cong: the enemy. What do you say when
you meet a man whom thirty years ago you would have shot dead on the
spot? In the midst of awkward introductions, gradual sharing of life
stories and photographs of loved ones and families, however, what
really matters most is that They had names. They had faces. They had
families. They had their dreams and they had their sorrows. They were
human.
Vietnam, Now reads as part travelogue, part
historical/political essay which achieves the remarkable task of
depicting the gradual transformation of Vietnam from a war-torn,
ravaged nation to an economically prosperous force to be reckoned
with. Lambs prose is lucid, prolific, and truly captivating, and the
tone is that of a master whose sole purpose is to simply serve as a
raconteur, not as an apologist for either side.
As a Vietnamese
reporter explained to Lamb, in the end,
The big mistake
the Americans made was not understanding the Vietnameses history,
culture, mentality. They were so sure military strength would win the
war, they never bothered to learn who they were fighting.
The who refers to the basis for Vietnam, Now, which delves
into the rich, history, culture, and character of Vietnam and its
people.
More important, the importance of understanding Vietnam
will help soothe those who were angry and baffled by the war, and help
future generations to understand the mistakes of history and, perhaps,
serve to prevent them in the future.
Lamb sums this up best when
he writes: Americans and Vietnamese share an almost inexplicable bond.
-- It is a bond woven in tragedy and suffering. -- The war changed the
U.S. as much as it did Vietnam.
— 7 August 2002
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