itrus

September 1, 2014

WHEN COMMUNISTS across the globe went on a 'jihad' against America in Vietnam treating it as a proxy war in Cold war-era, apprehensions were the country's future would be the same as the ‘pariah’ and most secretive state now — North Korea — under the natural “domino effect”. With this preconceived notion, I embarked on a journey to this tiny far-east Asian country for my college summer internship, with endless skepticism, coupled with curiosity.

My notion suffered its first jolt when I saw a big hoarding of a smiling Barack Obama on the roadside!

Wasn’t Vietnam a Communist country and anti-USA? Didn’t the Vietnamese fight a guerrilla war against America for 20 years with country’s death toll around 3.1 million? What I remembered from history was the global cry: Your name? My Name? Vietnam! Vietnam! This phrase was coined by Communists world over in support of North Vietnam, who fought to establish communism in their country. And America supported South Vietnam as a part of a wider containment strategy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. According to the U.S. domino theory, if one state went Communist, other states in the region would follow, and U.S. policy thus held that Communist rule over all of Vietnam was unacceptable. However, the long, tedious war that began in 1955 ended with a North Vietnamese victory over America in 1975. Thus North and South Vietnam were unified under a single Communist government.

But where are the traces of such a haloed war today? Communism is there officially alright, but one look at the Americanized (read Capitalist) city of Hanoi made me realize ‘Communism’ just another word in Vietnam.  

Booming real-estate constructions, luxurious cars on wide roads set against miles of well-maintained gardens and fountains ; prominence of renowned Multi-National Corporations — some of which are even American, excellent public transport service, globalized open economy welcomed me. Albeit being under single Communist party rule, the modernization in Vietnamese socio-economic domain can be witnessed simply by stepping out of the old quarter.

The country is revering Obama and reviling its once ally-turned-enemy, China, in light of the recent dispute over the oil rigs in South China Sea — not to mention setting up a dam in Red River by China which is drying up the crop fields in agriculture-based Vietnam.

Vietnam is now the second happiest country in the world, according to a British survey last year. Political realignment is underway in this country, which had also previously been a major turning point in diplomatic tussle between the Leftists and Capitalists; proving there is no permanent friends or foes in politics.