A lesson in forgiveness and an example of humanity at its best.

Image of the Happy Yoga group we joined in with on the streets of Hanoi, chosen by  Matilda Cotton as special to her from the trip.


Matilda writes:

To include us in such a welcoming way

This photo was taken on our morning walk around Hanoi. 16 Australian students and 4 Australian adults were invited in by about 30 elderly North Vietnamese people, to participate in an activity dubbed ‘happy yoga’, in which we laughed and danced and held hands, and just generally had a good time. 

 Only 50 years earlier, the North Vietnamese, possibly some of these very people, or indeed the parents of these lovely kind-hearted people, were fighting a brutal war against the South Vietnamese, Americans and Australians, among other allies; probably not many years older than us in this photo.

I think this photo manages to capture both the resilience that the Vietnamese people had through such hard times and also their unparalleled ability to move on and to forgive their adversaries. And these two things were what was, for me, the qualities highlighted during the entire trip. 

Whilst most of the fighting of the war happened in the middle and south of Vietnam, the city that this photo was taken in, Hanoi, was still very affected by this conflict. Countless young men from this very city were sent down to fight for the communist regime. Many of these soldiers never returning, or returning affected by chemical warfare such as the infamous Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a powerful herbicide used by the Americans and their allies to eliminate forest cover in areas they were fighting in. However, as we learned about in the War Remnants Museum, the effects of this herbicide were disastrous for not only the North Vietnamese but for everyone fighting in the war. The effects of this still continue today, something really hurtful to see when walking the streets of Vietnam.

After having the chance to see and learn about this first-hand, it is hard for me to imagine how it is possible for these Vietnamese people, some of whom may have either fought in the war first-hand or known people who had, or been affected by it in some way, could include us in such a welcoming way to their activities. Us, who are so similar to those they fought against just 50 years ago; they chose to welcome in their yoga session.

This is why I chose this photo. Because for me it highlights not only the sacrifice and harm that the war has done to this country, but it shows the true nature of the Vietnamese people of today, as well as our nature as a younger generation of Australians happy to be invited to join in with them. These people are some of the happiest people I have ever met, content with so little, able to forgive, move on, and enjoy their life. And, more than this, they are willing to invite in and welcome some tourists from one of the same countries they were fighting against into their yoga session, fittingly named ‘Happy Yoga’.  The ability to remain upbeat and happy, and spontaneously welcome us in is a lesson in forgiveness and an example of humanity at its best.