Op-ed from East Texas Review http://www.easttexasreview.com/story.htm?StoryID=2046 Yes, let’s think back to Vietnam Vietnam is a country, not a war. Our people have survived foreign invasions for thousands of years. With all these charges and counter charges on the Swift Boat Race, let’s have some understanding for the Vietnamese who gave so much for their independence and reunification. We have to examine and reconcile with the past, so all sides can participate in a healing that has only just BEGUN. John Kerry earned my gratitude when he demonstrated compassion for both Vietnamese and Americans in his stand against the injustices of the war 30 years ago. It is a sad reflection on the political process that he should be torn away from important current issues and forced to defend his record. Why is the media extending full-blown coverage to a dispute over war medals precipitated by dirty politics? It is tragic that to this day, most American soldiers know not why they were sent halfway across the world to kill. Americans should care how survivors on BOTH sides are still coping with the damage. Like in the media coverage of the war, the voices and experiences of my native Vietnamese continue not to be heard. Kerry’s critics are selectively using their Vietnam experiences today as they did then, to justify a brutal war that most Americans turned against and prefer to forget. Their false charges are being widely debunked. But who remembers the millions of Vietnamese non-combatants who died? They have become non-persons once again. Their families live in Apocalypse Forever. The Vietnam War’s TV memories are etched in the hearts and minds of millions. Just go to the Memorial in Washington and witness a daily parade of the bereaved. The same is true in Vietnam where I have met and cried with veterans on all sides of the conflict. This includes American vets who returned to Vietnam to help rebuild what their government forced them to destroy. John Kerry was one of these pro-active vets who demonstrated humane concern for my people. I filmed him on three occasions in Vietnam on trips that brought healing and reunification to both sides. One was on an emotional bicycle ride from Hanoi to Saigon with disabled Vietnamese and American vets. Senators Kerry, McCain and Robb invited me to show my film at a Capitol Hill event they hosted for veteran congressmen and senators. What many Americans don’t know is that these two Johns (Kerry and McCain) who fought in Vietnam, turned U.S.-Vietnam relations around for the better. For example, both worked tirelessly to convince President Bill Clinton to lift the trade embargo, thereby preventing future deaths of malnourished babies in need of antibiotics. It took great personal courage for these two senators to debunk the myths that thousands of POWs and MIAs were still alive and to take a stand for reconciliation. Well aware that the Vietnamese still have over one hundred thousand MIAs, they presided over ceremonies bringing American bones back to their loved ones. There is so much more yet to be addressed. Agent Orange research, for one, before it is too late. Vietnam is the laboratory, since we sprayed the toxic chemicals there. I have filmed Vietnamese postwar survivors living among the rubble in post war Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos with serious Agent Orange related illnesses. And innocent children still die every year from landmines – a persistent daily reminder of a war we want to simply forget. Next April 30 marks the 30-year anniversary of the war’s official end. Here we have the opportunity to mark the past in a manner that positively affects future generations. The Swift Boat controversy has brought Vietnam back to the front pages but for the wrong reasons. Yet, this moment presents the opportunity to learn from the past. Look in the mirror, America, before you rewrite history again: Our ghosts are there alongside yours. We are not extras in “The Deer Hunter,” a Hollywood movie showing us in black PJs playing Russian roulette with your innocent young boys. Many of us are Americans now, and with the 80 million Vietnamese, we all share a common bond: We want the truth from our leaders. Tiana (Thi Thanh Nga Transparent Moon) is a filmmaker, actor and performer. She made the critically acclaimed, award-winning film “From Hollywood to Hanoi.” www.indochinafilms.org Distributed by www.minutemanmedia.org
