Judy’s Diary – Vietnam 2019
July 5, 2019 – Ha Noi Day 1
Hanoi has changed since I was there in 2013; it’s more cosmopolitan & is dotted with huge construction projects, built and financed I believe by Japanese business interests. Picture 1 is a ceremony at Hoa Lo prison where McCain was kept. I and others presented anti-war memorabilia for the prison’s archives. The government goal now, as I picked it up, is peace and reconciliation on all sides. The man in the blue shirt fought at Tet; behind me is a Confucian scholar coming home. Below is our delegation with Ambassador Chien in the yellow shirt, president of the Vietnam USA Society. At our lunch, it was clear to me the Ambassador had absorbed the art of toasting in his long service in Russia. And the USA. The pics at the end are of the infamous Hanoi Hilton and a gentle former pilot, last name Chenowith, who was imprisoned there and is now profoundly anti-war. MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS? Our activism against the war is truly appreciated and honored. Now the Vietnamese seek comprehensive partnerships with other nations to continue their economic expansion. Is this a contradiction? Stay tuned.
July 7, 2019 – Ha Noi Day 3
What a greeting I received today with Do Le Chi Le and his family — especially Chi’s daughter Thu Do. Chi is the youngest son of my dear late friend Do Xuan Oanh (pic is his self portrait). And Oanh’s youngest sister Dzung It was the warmest of family reunions with a family I had never met. Sunday I toured the spectacular river and caves of Ninh Binh, perhaps an hour from a strip mine and Americanized rest stop food sold at Friendship Village which cares for Vietnam’s vets and children disabled by Agent Orange. Such are the contradictions of modernizing Vietnam. There’s more to come.
July 10, 2019
What a greeting I received today with Do Le Chi Le and his family — especially Chi’s daughter Thu Do. Chi is the youngest son of my dear late friend Do Xuan Oanh (pic is his self portrait). And Oanh’s youngest sister Dzung It was the warmest of family reunions with a family I had never met. Sunday I toured the spectacular river and caves of Ninh Binh, perhaps an hour from a strip mine and Americanized rest stop food sold at Friendship Village which cares for Vietnam’s vets and children disabled by Agent Orange. Such are the contradictions of modernizing Vietnam. There’s more to come.
July 12, 2019
After an exquisite lunch today at Home Hanoi. Is Hanoi a new foodie capital in the world? Photo by Karin Aguilar St. John.
July 13, 2019
With Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Vice President of the Vietnam Women’s Union. At the Women’s Museum I am surrounded by children asking questions from a prepared list. How old are you? Very old -76! Where you live? What’s your favorite color? (Red and black) What’s your favorite animal? (Camel) They were practicing English! Followed by photos of the new Hanoi with multi-story apartment and office buildings. Vietnam is changing rapidly from the one I visited in 2013, let alone 1970, and is doing all it can in a period of rapid population growth and industrialization to strengthen its commitment to peace and reconciliation.
July 22, 2019
The culmination of my trip to Hanoi – I and everyone in our delegation – Frank Joyce, Mary Anne Barnett, Alex Hing and Karin Aguilar-San Juan – got awarded the Vietnam/USA Medal for Peace and Friendship Among Nations. For our anti-war activism and for the publication in Vietnamese of “The People Make the Peace” (www.justworldbooks.com). Don’t you just love the Soviet-style design? But where in the world will I wear it? Kidding aside, it really is an honor for which I am very grateful.
