For October 26th
“... it was clear we were in a prison camp. The VC still used the word ‘reeducation’ and prison interchangeably, but this was essentially a prison. The term ‘reeducation’ was only aimed at deceiving people who were too naive to understand the manipulation of the VC. The word ‘revolution’ was used instead of the word ‘communism,’ ‘reeducation’ was used instead of imprisonment, and forced labor was called ‘glorious labor.’ The communists used all kinds of euphemisms in order to sound gentiler and more generous. We got used to the VC’s words, but in the end, we understood their true meaning” (188).
This is arguably the most significant passage of the second half of the book as it describes the VC’s method of masking their human rights violations. Due to the cloaked language, communism and the new Vietnam government does not sound that bad, in fact the diction of the communists is almost convincing that it was good for the Vietnamese people. The euphemisms above also create a sense of national unity or patriotism, rather than reveal the truth that Vietnam was now a totalitarian government. This sense of unity was desperately needed in order for the communist government to function and be implemented around the country. Also, although Tru and other repatriots are promised forgiveness, the new Vietnamese government ensures there is in fact a punishment, thirteen years in a reeducational program to be exact. While there, Tru and other repatriots had to learn over thirty new rules and be subjected to cruel labor, punishment, and starvation, reminiscent of the German concentration camps. It is also important to remember that the communist Vietnamese had to villainize the Americans in order to explain the atrocities of the war and to place the blame on, therefore it is not implausible to understand the need for the establishment of the ‘educational’ camps. This passage is also important to understand how communism and totalitarianism has survived since the reunification of Vietnam.
“It was ironic that the three VC ships couldn’t even keep up with the ship they were supposed to monitor. That was the skill level of the VC Navy! Yet despite their weakness, we were the vanquished. Suddenly, I was gripped with sadness thinking of how many years they RVN military had trained and prepared us. However powerful we were, the VC had destroyed us in an instant. We had run away from an army that had only mediocre abilities and poor technological means” (Tru 156).
ReplyDeleteThroughout the second half of Tru’s memoir, Tru struggles to reunite with his family in Vietnam at the behest of the Viet Cong. He describes them as inferior in military tactics and technology as compared to the RVN Military, ignorant in their belief that the repatriates are pawns in an American attempt of sabotage, and inept in the way they govern Vietnam. All of these beliefs held by Tru help to understand the shame and dishonor that becomes a driving factor in returning to Vietnam to reunite with his family. A major symbol in the memoir is Tru’s uniform. He throws away his military uniform and rejects a captain’s suit as a gift from the Americans as an act to show his shame in abandoning his country, but more importantly to him, his family. The bulk of Tru’s shame comes from his idea of the “superior” RVN forces evacuating to a weaker VC. Tru’s belief of the VC’s inferiority is detailed when the VC ships were unable to keep up with Tru’s ship and his description of a VC naval officer, “He was wearing a yellow uniform, and it was wrinkled. He wore a pith helmet and a worn-out pair of black shoes” (Tru 155). Tru’s judgement of the officer’s uniform reflects his belief that the VC were not at the same military capability as the RVN, so he is ashamed of fleeing an “inferior” force. Tru’s shame of fleeing an “inferior” force, is one determinant that makes him want to return to Vietnam. He left his family and home country (South Vietnam) to the inept communists and returns, knowing the consequences, as an act of atonement to heal his self-consciousness from the shame he feels. While being held under the poor conditions in reeducation camps for twelve years, Tru developed further disgust against the communists, making plans to move to America after being reunited with his family. I believe that his disregard of the VC while in reeducation camps may have also triggered some feelings of regret upon returning to Vietnam. He grew hopeless in waiting and questioned the safety of his family upon his return. To me, this complex idea of Tru’s feelings toward the Viet Cong influenced his decision on wanting to return to Vietnam, but also forged his newly-found disgust of his country under the communists, influencing his final decision to take his family to the United States.
I quickly realized there would be a lot of trouble for me. They had forced me to accept responsibility for crimes I hadn’t committed. I knew there were many ways to torture and coerce a captured person into acknowledging their “crimes.” (Tru 162)
ReplyDeleteI found this passage and Tru’s whole interrogation to be interesting because the VC has forced Tru to admit to crimes he did not commit. This is similar to tactics used by the Soviets during the purges of the early 1950’s. The MGB would capture and interrogate someone and get them to confess to crimes that they did not commit and they were subsequently executed or put into a prison camp. It is known that the Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with weapons and vehicles, but maybe it is possible that someone from the KGB trained Tru’s interrogator?
One thing Tru does very well throughout the novel is create metaphors regarding the sea. There is one point where he says something quite literal about being a sailor but that could also apply to his status as a refugee. On page 122 he says, “Each Sailor had two lives: one on land where he lived with his wife and children, and one at sea.” Tru had lived a life of loyalty to country, rank, faith, prestige etc, but he his refugee status had created another life for him. In his refugee life he describes himself as being “lost,” with “nothing left” and a “vacant sadness” that occupied his soul (page 124). I think this same idea can be applied to the readings and movie for class. The people in the film were portrayed as having fulfilling/happy lives prior to the events that caused them to attempt becoming refugees, but once they take the risk of becoming part of that human “flow,” they are in a stage of uncertainty, like a sailor being lost at sea. For the interviewers we read about, they have separate lives once they become part of this process as well. With their jobs they often must move from place to place. They also trade in lives of positivity and hope in wanting others to lives of psychological turmoil and frustrating realities outside of their control. Taking part in the refugee process is very similar to starting a new life entirely because it is so strikingly different from conditions lived in previously.
ReplyDelete“I don’t know, brothers, but I’m hurtin’ real bad inside.”
ReplyDeleteExpressed by the relatively soft-hearted Big Harold after reflecting with his fellow soldiers, this sentiment echoes throughout the latter half of Oliver Stone’s "Platoon", emphasizing the haunting nature of the Vietnam War: the internal conflict, the putrid living conditions, and the endless - sometimes even senseless - gore. The raids on Vietnamese villages were particularly gruesome; in the film, the infiltration is carried out with a special ferocity. The men share a poisonous power trip in which they maim and murder almost mercilessly - Bunny smashes a man’s skull in for “laughing at them” while Bridges shoots an elderly woman to keep her quiet. Even the relatively cowardly and nonviolent protagonist Chris unleashes his bottled-up rage by shooting at the ground in front of a one-legged man, cursing loudly and profusely before he witnesses Bunny kill him, at which point he breaks down and cries. This scene is crucial; it shows a transformation in Chris’s character and represents a larger issue regarding humanity in war and the struggle to maintain the “possession of one’s soul,” as Chris articulates in the final moments of the film. "Platoon" chews up and spits out the biting, morally ambiguous reality of the Vietnam War, calling upon real accounts of atrocities perpetrated and witnessed by the U.S. Military. Previous readings have explicitly accounted for unthinkable acts of aggression against Vietnamese villages, which were stocked with civilians who were oftentimes innocent but aroused suspicion and derision in American troops nonetheless.