Yiss Passport To Vietnam: Day 5 - 14th Jun (LASTday)

END NOTES
by

Souriyasack Sinnie Julie Anne (4E2)

Best Student Participant Award for Humanities Vietnam Study Tour 2011)

History Channel Award

(Best History Student - Humanities Vietnam Study Tour 2011)

Kerthana Subramaniyam (4E3)

Nat Geo Award

(Best Geography Student - Humanities Vietnam Study Tour 2011)

Muhammad Sulaiman (5N1)

Goodbye Vietnam!!!

1880s - FRENCH COLONIALISM, 1970s - AMERICAN DOMINATION 2000s - TOURISTS 'STAMPEDE'

Write up and photos by Yellow Star (Mardiana, Murni, Ivy and Claire)

GOODBYE VIETNAM!

The Group in front of the City Hall

The Girls The Boys

The Teachers and Guides

War Remants Museum and the Post Office - (The American and French Legacies)

The War Remnant Museum

The Museum displays war weapons that the Americans used against the Viet Cong Army during the Cold War period. It is built by the Vietnamese government after the war to show the advanced weaponry due to which the Vietnamese suffered. In our view, it was used to somewhat make the Americans feel guilty about the powerful weapons they used against the Vietnamese that the name of the museum was changed several times to make it “appropriate”. Generally, it intends to call on the public to say “NO!” to war and call for world peace.

In the museum itself, we found pictorial evidence on the effect of the Agent Orange used by the Americans on the people; both the Vietnamese and the Americans suffered. The pictures were so heart-felt and quite depressing. Not only did the Agent Orange affect the soldiers and civilians but also their younger generation. They were born deformed, had damages to vital organs and were even born as conjoint twins. Despite the difficulties they faced in their daily life, they are still happy to live their lifes with their loved ones. Moreover, the Prisoners Of War (POW) were tortured in so many horrible ways. One example was that the Americans electrocuted the female prisoners by connecting phone wires to their sensitive areas to torture them.

What can you infer about the effect of American attack on the Vietnamese?

Why do you think that the prison condition experienced by the North Vietnam War prisoners was recreated in the Museum?

How are the sources different in telling us about the conditions of the North Vietnam Communist and American soldiers during the war?

The Notre Dame Cathedral

It was built by the French and has a unique architecture to it. The French built many colonial buildings so that they are able to spread their culture and religion throughout Vietnam.

Colonial Buildings

Colonial buildings were built to gain and spread French control all over Vietnam. The French not only wanted economic and political control Vietnam but also wanted to spread their culture in Vietnam . The French built opera houses and post office for the Vietnamese to make use and learn the lifestyle and culture of the French. The colonial buildings were also set up for the locals to speak up about problems that they were facing .

General Post Office built by the French

Post Office in French Architecture

The Opera House was also build by the French

What do these colonial buildings tell you about the reasons for French colonization of Vietnam?

They wanted to spread their culture and religion to the people of Vietnam. They wanted to civilize the Vietnamese as they thought that the Vietnamese were barbarians and it was their duty to teach these people. They set up free schools to let locals sent their children to gain knowledge and improve their lives. They wanted to make use of the natural resources that the Vietnam had so that they can compete with the dutch for territories & also to repair their economy after World War I.

What do these buildings tell you about the type of French rule in Vietnam?

It tells us about the direct rule that the French had over Vietnam. The French set up a government and colonial building all over Vietnam and they sent representative to control the smaller districts in Vietnam. These representative changed the lifestyles of the local people .

Vietnam had a violent nationalist struggle against the French. Why do you think these buildings are still preserved?

We think that these buildings are still being preserved to use them as evidences & to teach the younger generation about the importance of nationalistic feeling towards their nation. They are also to remind the Vietnamese about the war that they had gone through .