Saigon

First day in Saigon, I spent touring several museums- The Ho Chi Minh City Museum, which had several interesting artifacts and photos detailing the struggle against French occupation and then the American War. Then the War Remnants Museum - which was pretty gripping, especially the tribute to photojournalists, the area housing photos of victims of agent orange, napalm, mines and the replicas of the "tiger cages" used to jail captured VC's. Torture was systemmatically used by the South Vietnamese military, with the oversight of American advisors. Many of the prisoners did not survive or were left completely paralyzed after the war. The most tragic were the photos of deformed children born with birth defects as a result of dioxin from the US defoliation campaign w/ Agent Orange. This is a continuing problem in Vietnam - millions are still affected with no compensation from the US. We waged war not just on the people but on the environment, leaving younger generations still affected.

I couldn't help but think that history has repeated itself with Iraq. This time, a key difference is the docile, complacent media and subsequently, a complete lack of confrontation by the american public with the realities of war on a people, society, generation. Neoconservatism has replaced the domino theory. I felt nauseous when I read that Kerry recently stated he would still vote for the war if he could do it again. Both parties again differ little in continuing to support the war. I feel even more nauseous when I think of all the futile, inane discussions with colleagues and friends back home who bought the Bush line into the whole adventure hook and sinker.

The shadow of the Vietnam War often looms in the back ground today in the current presidential race, yet there is a complete lack of substantive discussion on the lessons of Vietnam. The lack of acknowledgement of historical imperialism and colonialism by Europe/US is often also consistent - which is key to understanding why the Vietnamese were unbreakable, and goes a long way to explain the insurgency in Iraq.

There's a conservative undercurrent today in the media that what we did in Vietnam was right and honourable, that the peace movement was nothing more than hippies and pinkos. This is even after the publishing of "In Retrospect" by MacNamara which essentially documenting the war as a hugely misguided, tragic mistake.

On a side note, it is also interesting to note that Ho Chi Minh had initial contacts and friendly cooperation with the OSS (precursor to the CIA) in his efforts to counter the Japanese colonialists. He also repeatedly appealed to the US president, and congress for help against the French occupation - obviously to deaf ears as we were essentially in the same game as the French.

After all this heavy history, I went for a swim and a workout at a place recommended in my guidebook - it turned out to be all locals, all friendly. Had an interesting discussion with a local there about Hanoi vs. Saigon. It seems that there are still significant cultural differences and lingering resentments between the north and south. My personal impression about Saigon tells me that people seem freer here, more open.

Ate dinner at the Bodhi Tree, a veggy joint run by a Buddhist nun near my guesthouse. The staff there are poor women, men who are trying to learn a new vocation. The food was excellent.