Eyewitness - Vietnam
excerptsVietnam is a bundle of high energy. I was there in January 1975 and returned 20 years later. The country and its people never cease to amaze me… It is a fascinating land that has emerged from being a battlezone to one that it is rapidly catching up after many lost years….
A couple of selected excerpts reveal something of my discoveries….
Our initial contact on arrival in Ho Chi Minh City was a Christian tour guide, who showed us some of the cultural attractions of the city. The streets were alive with 50cc motorcycles and gave the impression of enormous energy and activity. Bookshops indicated a huge interest in learning English – as though Vietnam were trying to desperately make up for the constant drain of the war effort. After a visit to a museum, we went to see water puppetry, where puppets controlled through underwater rods rushed around in a series of unfolding dramas. We later went to see a small war museum, the War Remnants Museum, which is dedicated to the “American War” and is complete with a captured Huey helicopter and displays of statistics, the evils of cluster bombs, Agent Orange and the My Lai massacre. On display also was the last French guillotine to have been used for execution, in 1960. This museum was definitely a propaganda exercise that portrayed the gallantry of the Viet Cong and denounced the evils of the USA.
After two days, we flew to Hanoi…. (p. 175)
After Hanoi, we drove north to beautiful Halong Bay. There we went on a day cruise that took us on a most spectacular sightseeing adventure among the tall limestone karsts that rise vertically out of the sea. It was magical. The tour also included a visit to limestone caves and we enjoyed a picnic lunch of fresh fish on board.
Having worked with Vietnamese colleagues in FEBC for a quarter of a century, it was pure joy to visit their country of birth and experience the charm of their culture and the drive which characterised their approach to work and overcoming difficulties.
One lasting memory which I need to record was of visiting the Protestant Church in Hanoi one Sunday evening. It was said to be under the leadership of a government-appointed pastor and only sparsely attended. Suddenly, during the service, the power went off and the church was plunged into darkness. I had a small torch, which I pulled out of my pocket and turned on. It was one small bulb – one tiny light – in the expansive darkness, but a symbol of hope. A few years later, I heard that the pastor at this church had died and another had taken his place. The church was now full, thanks to the Gospel once again being preached there. (p. 176)
