22nd February: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
It was a cloudy, warm, and muggy start to the day. A layer of pollution visibly hung in the air as we crossed busy roads to wander down the alleyways. We came across a lovely café to chill for a short while and I decided to try one of the speciality coffees. I started simple with a mango and oat milk coffee, which was not dissimilar to the fruit coffees I had in China, but will try the more adventurous flavours whilst we’re in Vietnam. Kaja had a lemon and chia tea, and we shared an almond coconut pastry. It’s great to be in a land of tasty baked goods once more!
We wandered on past some of the many murals which line the walls of Saigon. On the main streets, most the buildings are super-thin and four to six storeys tall, almost like those found beside canals in Amsterdam although, of course, much more French influenced in style than Dutch. We continued zig-zagging through the incredibly photogenic alleys. For whatever reason, I’ve not felt confident enough to take my camera out much despite this being the best place I’ve ever visited for street photography. It almost feels as if we’re walking through people’s front rooms at times in these little alleys and taking snaps on my phone feels much less invasive.
In one of the alleys, we came across a little vegetarian café full of locals, which seemed like a good sign. We both had a big plate of com tu chon thap cam – rice with lots of veggies and fake meats – for less than £1 each. It also came with a tasty bowl of slightly sour soup with tofu, citrus, herbs and we each had a glass of fresh and zesty pineapple and carrot juice too. Kaja wasn’t able to eat it all but is gradually feeling better and hopefully a good, healthy meal will help.
After our wanderings, we made a beeline for the War Remnants Museum. Like every museum the narrative should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, I do tend to believe the veracity of most of the stories of USian cruelty here, given the overwhelming weight of evidence of similar crimes committed around the world. I won’t outline all of the details of the American War here, but in Vietnam, just as in Taiwan and on the Korean Peninsula, the US propped up a puppet regime in an attempt to prevent the will of the people. The crimes against humanity and war crimes committed could fill an entire book. The torture techniques used by the US – waterboarding, electrocution etc. – are the exact same they used into the 21st century at torture centres such as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Diego Garcia, and no doubt countless others. US troops of course fought and died on the ground too, many forced to do so against their will. As always, it shouldn’t be forgotten that it is always the poor who suffer on both sides and the rich who benefit from imperialist wars.
For many decades, any country whose people have wanted a peaceful life where their needs are met in a humane way without being behest to the US-mafia soon finds itself either ‘having a coup’ or destroyed as a brutal ‘lesson’ to others. This destruction is often at the behest of the military-industrial complex which is effectively enmeshed within US government. Countries and their civilian populations are treated as test subjects for USian weapons, so that these companies can then sell them as ‘battle-tested’. Death equals profit. One infamous example in Vietnam was the use of Agent Orange, developed by one of the most evil companies to have ever existed – Monsanto (along with others). Yep, them of DDT, PCB, and glyphosate infamy. The apparent goal was to spray this and other chemicals over huge swathes of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to defoliate vegetation so that the Viet Cong would have a harder time accessing food and supply routes.
The main active ingredient in Agent Orange is Dioxin, which is potent enough that it is estimated that 85 grams could kill an entire city the size of Ho Chi Minh City – 8 million people. Therefore, the 366 kilograms dropped on Vietnam by the USA between 1961 and 1971 is enough to kill the entire human population of planet Earth 4 times over. It is thought that 3 million Vietnamese people suffer the ongoing consequences of exposure to these chemical weapons, including through birth defects and cancers. US veterans were eventually awarded pitiful compensation for their exposure, but the people of southeast Asia will forever have to live with this inhumane substance tainting their beautiful lands and waters.
One thing which stood out to me was overhearing a USian woman, clearly distraught, telling her partner that “they make us out to be evil”. It’s incredible how shielded many western, especially USian, people are from the atrocities their countries have committed around the world. The vast majority of people in the west don’t realise the constant stream of propaganda they are exposed to. It’s as if that is just something that silly people in other countries fall for!
The other two exhibits which stood out to me were those on anti-war badges and war photography. I’d not studied the anti-war protest badges and art in such detail previously, but it is deeply apparent that it is the single biggest influence on the artistic style of modern protest movements. To me, the exhibits on war photography were deeply moving. Many of these brave people documenting the constant heartbreak of war never returned home to tell the tale. A conflict photojournalist would’ve been my dream job, but it’s not quite possible in the same way today. It’s also very difficult to find somebody to pay you to tell the truth! I’m also fairly sure that I would not be brave enough to see it through.
We walked back through the city, numb to the noise and chaos all around us.