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From: "phuxuan700@gmail.com" <phuxuan700@gmail.com>
Subject: [Vsg] From 4.30.75 to 11.08.16
Date: April 30, 2017 at 10:01:59 AM PDT
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Dear All,
There are a lot of discussions, books, or articles about the dates 4.30.75 and 11.08.16 among Americans, Vietnamese and others.
However, it seems no analogy has been made about the truth behind these two dates.
In 50 years, the war that caused the deaths of more than 2 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans was called the "liberation war" by the winning side. The war was said to be run by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap due to Ho's utmost desire for "national independence and unification".
Several recent well-researched work have told a different story, as seen in:
Lien-Hang T. Nguyen's "Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam" (2012)
Pierre Asselin's "Hanoi's Road to the Vietnam War" (2014)
Zachary Shore's “Provoking America: Le Duan and the Origins of the Vietnam War” (2015)
Facts show Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap were removed from VCP's decision-making positions since 1964 and 1967 respectively. The so-called "liberation war" could have been labeled as "Le Duan's war" without any loss of accuracy.
Months leading to the 2016 elections, American voters were introduced to the phrase, "Make America Great Again". More than 62 million people voted for the candidate under this banner.
"To make America great again" takes more than a sound slogan and empty words. To avoid wasting your time and bandwidth, I'd like to share the only following article:
David A. Fahrenthold's "Trump promised millions to charity. We found less than $10,000 over 7 years" (2016)
What could the analogy between 4.30.75 and 11.08.16 be ?
With a complete disregard for human lives or human impact, the winning sides achieved their goals through mainly lies and deceptions, with some more obvious than others!
Last but not the least is Nguyen Thi Hau's status:
"Bao giờ có một ngày tháng Tư mọi người Việt Nam cùng chung một phút tưởng niệm những người đã ngã xuống trong chiến tranh, đã chết sau cuộc chiến vì “vượt biên”, vì bom mìn còn gài lại, vì chất độc hóa học ngấm sâu vào cơ thể…? Từ giây phút tưởng niệm chung như thế có mở ra những ngày Tháng Tư hòa giải hòa hợp của chúng ta?"
https://www.facebook.com/haukhaoco/posts/1699521203396727
For the truth to prevail, on this very special day, let us no longer call 4.30.75, "Liberation Day" or "Unification Day".
Let us call 4.30.75, "Day of Remembrance", "Ngày Tưởng Niệm".
Calvin Thai
On Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 10:25 AM, Chuck Searcy <chuckusvn@gmail.com> wrote:
There may be some discussion of the premises offered by Calvin Thai which lead to his recommendation that the Vietnamese should rename 4.30.75 "Day of Remembrance" or Ngày Tưởng Niêm.
However, that suggestion -- or similar words that embrace reflection and remembrance -- is a wise one, in my opinion.
A Vietnamese friend today, in a conversation about the national holiday, suggested that April 30th be called "Thinking Day" because we all should use the occasion to think deeply about the war, the suffering experienced by so many, and the events that have marked -- with a couple of notable exceptions -- the long period of peace which Viet Nam so dearly earned.
This conversation has actually been underway for a while, though I'm not sure how much traction it has.
Chuck Searcy
========================
CHUCK SEARCY
International Advisor, Project RENEW
Vice President, VFP Chapter 160
Co-chair, Agent Orange Working Group
On May 3, 2017, at 4:18 PM, Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com> wrote:
No single term is free of problems, including the proposed "Day of Remembrance." But to go back to "Liberation Day" and "Unification Day," I think there's a large difference between them.
The former is a lot more problematic. To quote the title of a song written in the postwar diaspora, Anh giải phóng tôi hay tôi giải phóng anh? Have you liberated me, or have I liberated you? The inescapable irony.
A better case is Ngày Thống Nhất, at least when taken at a literal level. During 1945-1975, there was a lot of anguish over national division among Vietnamese. Then the outcome of the war was joy for some and pain for others. But it's indisputable that the DRV did unify north and south into one geographical national entity.
(I am of course aware that both the DRV and RVN claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the war: not dissimilar to the ROC and PRC. Was it the case with divided Germany? Or is it still the case with Korea?)
Tuan Hoang
Pepperdine University
On Fri, May 5, 2017 at 3:43 PM, Mike High <mike.high@earthlink.net> wrote:
Agreed, there is a significant difference between “Liberation Day” and “Unification Day,” with the latter being more neutral. (Leaving aside the detail that the north and the south were not officially unified until July 1976)
For southerners who experienced hardships as a result of unification—particularly those who had family members imprisoned or who lost their possessions and even homes because of their “blood debt” to the country—the term Ngày hòa bình (Peace Day) is sometimes used.
One can also use the minimalist Ba Mươi thing Tư. In this respect, I understand that one might refer to the holiday as “Lễ Ba Mươi tháng Tư” (as opposed to the historical day in 1975, Ngày Ba Mươi tháng Tư).
In Perfume Dreams, Andrew Lam gives a classic example of the original 4.30.1975 dichotomy. When going through immigration in 1994 at the Hanoi airport, the agent asked him “Brother, when did you leave Vietnam?” He responded, without thinking, “Two days before National Defeat Day.” (Perhaps Ngày Quốc Nhục or Ngày Quốc Hận.) The agent took it all in stride, suggesting with a smile, “Brother, don’t you mean National Liberation Day?”
:: Mike High
Nhà Văn
Great Falls, Virginia
USA
From: "phuxuan700@gmail.com" <phuxuan700@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Vsg] From 4.30.75 to 11.08.16
Date: May 9, 2017 at 7:37:59 PM PDT
To: Mike High <mike.high@earthlink.net>
Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>, Tuan Hoang <tuannyriver@gmail.com>
Thank you for the comments, on-list and off-list.
Agreed that no single term is free of problems and "Unification Day" is much more neutral than "Liberation Day". Two other terms were brought up in discussions, "National Day of Resentment" and "National Day of Shame".
In 2005, Vietnam's former Prime Minister and VCP Politburo member said about 4.30.75:
“Một sự kiện liên quan đến chiến tranh khi nhắc lại, có hàng triệu người vui, mà cũng có hàng triệu người buồn. Đó là vết thương chung của dân tộc, cần được giữ lành thay vì lại tiếp tục làm cho nó thêm rỉ máu”.
http://plo.vn/xa-hoi/so-phan-bai-bao-trieu-nguoi-vui-trieu-nguoi-buon-282023.html
http://plo.vn/xa-hoi/trieu-nguoi-vui-trieu-nguoi-buon-65156.html
Vo Van Kiet's bold statement indicates that Vietnam went through a war whose outcome did not justify the human cost involved. After all, Vietnam was not the only country divided after WWII.
With respect to the proposed term, there were a few "negative" responses from both sides of the war, winning and not winning, inside and outside of Vietnam.
These reactions, due to personal loss, personal experience, are understandable.
However, the number of comments in favor of "Day of Remembrance" are encouraging.
Since the 50th anniversary of the event is less than 10 years away, whatever to be used on 4.30.25, instead of division, the term should unite people, it should bring people together, as a closure.
Calvin Thai
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