SUFFERING AND SURVIVAL - THE CU CHI TUNNELS
Write up and Videos by Coffee Group: (Melvin, Kaizhi, Kerthana, Lexsana, Wei Zhen & Sinnie…)
[ Air hole Videos ]
During the Vietnam War, when the Vietcong soldiers had to live underground, these soldiers had to find means of breathing underground. Breathing underground was a huge problem for the Vietcong soldiers, especially when the weather is scorching hot and humid, and also because naturally there was just lack of oxygen. But these clever Vietcong soldiers found a way to breathe- through the air holes. Such suffering experienced by the Vietnamese to fight against US, brought out the Nationalist spirit among the Vietnamese.
“SNIP! And SNAP!” These aren’t the typical sounds effects you would hear in your everyday life. These were the sounds you probably would have heard when these booby traps killed the US soldiers. During the Vietnam War, the Vietcongs designed deadly traps consisting many sharp spikes to kill any US soldiers that fell prey to them unsuspectingly. The result was a gruel end for some Americans. The Vietnamese went to great lengths to design such intelligent traps to eliminate the US soldiers and to gain independence for the homeland and also due to their strong sense of patriotism.
[ Underground Tunnel videos 1 ]
[Underground Tunnel videos 2]
Pitch black! That’s all you will ever see in the Cu Chi Tunnel. The tunnel is about 250km long. I can’t imagine myself as a Vietcong member crawling through these narrow and dark tunnels. Worse was the thought that I would never be able to see the light at the end of the tunnels or breathe fresh air ever again. But to the Vietnamese they were willing to go thorough these tough conditions to achieve the independence of the country. The Americans have bombed and killed Vietnamese for too long. The Vietnamese resistance against the Americans was the price the Vietnamese wanted the Americans to pay for resisting the Vietnamese struggle for independence and achieve communism in the country. The Vietnamese may be simple farmers but they had the resilience and will power that the Americans had never had!
PRICE OF FREEDOM - THE CU CHI TUNNELS
Written by Tuk Tuk Group (Khairi, Mustaqim, Jazli, Amirudy)
12 inch by 15 inch Entrance to Cu Chi Tunnel
The small tunnel shows the struggle of the Vietnamese to achieve freedom from colonial rule or outsider’s control. The Vietnamese sacrificed their time to dig holes in the war grounds, using shovels crafted using bomb fragments. For example, the Vietnamese were willing to live underground, despite the claustrophobic surroundings, lack of air, light source, the danger of being harmed by poisonous insects and shoratge of food supplies to win the war and the tunnel was a method to fight off enemies. The Vietcongs used the tunnels to carry out guerrilla tactics, most notably during nighttime. During the night, when darkness resides in Vietnam, the Vietnamese soldiers would creep out of the tunnels via concealed entrances to kill American soldiers discreetly. This is all due to great nationalistic feelings among the Vietnamese where their love for the country was strong and they wanted to free their country from foreign powers and establish a communist country (Vietnam). But freedom comes at a price. During the Vietnam War, 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans were killed during the conflict. Would you do the same thing for Singapore’s freedom?
WE HAVE ARRIVED! - HO CHI MINH AIRPORT
Greetings from Vietnam... Xin Chao (Hello)
