You may have seen in the news recently that the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg (along with many other leaders) accused Facebook of 'editing history' after it chose to censor the Pulitzer Prize winning photo of Kim Phuc, more commonly known as 'Napalm Girl'. The image shows Kim and four other local children fleeing after a napalm bomb was dropped on her village in the south of Vietnam. As Kim is naked in the photograph, Facebook removed it in line with their Community Standards. After much debate and criticism, Facebook has now decided to allow the image to be shared, stating that 'Because of its status as an iconic image of historical importance, the value of permitting sharing outweighs the value of protecting the community by removal, so we have decided to reinstate the image on Facebook where we are aware it has been removed."
The photo was taken in 1972 by Nick Ut Cong Huynh and is considered a defining image of the realities and devastation of communities during the Vietnam War. Kim was just 9 years old at the time. Debate still occurs, however, regarding the power of this photo for strengthening the anti-war sentiments on the home front in USA and Australia. A simple Google search will leave you with various articles debating each side.
The ABC's report of the Facebook censorship event (as well as a copy of the image itself) can be found here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-10/facebook-reverses-move-to-censor-napalm-girl-photo/7832894
The photo is also on display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, which is on our itinerary to visit on Day 1. It certainly inspired lots of discussion amongst the Simpson Prize group after our visit there, particularly around the circumstances in which the bomb came to be dropped on her village of Trang Bang, and the impact of the war on locals.
I have since taken to reading about Kim's life since the attack - it is a very fascinating story. She was inspired to study medicine after the treatment she received for her burns, but her plans were halted by the government who wanted to use her as a symbol of the war. In her 20s, she sought asylum in Canada, and has since become a citizen, and now tours the world speaking about her experience. She works with victims who have sustained injuries through means of attack (eg. acid attacks) to help them find forgiveness and confidence. She has also established a foundation to help child victims of war. In 2008, she read her essay "Long Road to Forgiveness" on NPR's "All Things Considered," which can be heard and read here:
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/44965/
- Cendall
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Engaging with the Vietnamese community - a school visit
To find out about the South Australian Premier's School Spirit School Prize go to the South Australian Government website. The prize has been conducted by the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) in collaboration with the Department for Premier and Cabinet since 2007. During that time 76 students and 21 teachers have been involved in the Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize Tour to France (2007-2012 and 2014), Singapore/South Korea (2013) and Gallipoli (2015). In 2016 eight students and two teachers will participate in a study tour to Vietnam from 2 to 13 October. This blog has been developed to support commemoration activities and student learning during the tour.
Since 2007 it is estimated that over 7000 students have participated in the research competition that forms the basis for the selection of the students to participate in the tour. Winning entries can be viewed on the Veterans SA site. It is also important to note that all 431 entries submitted to the judges since 2007 have been integrated into the South Australian RSL Virtual War Memorial - an initiative with a very close relationship with the Premier’s ANZAC Spirit School Prize.
Visiting a village school in Vietnam
As time has gone by
in organising the tour to Vietnam it has been thought it would be a good idea
to engage in some way with the Vietnamese community. To this end, on one of the
early days of our tour we have organised to visit a village school outside of Ho Chi Min City. (see map
below).
The school is called the Tan Phu Village Primary School and is in the Tan Huong village (Tan Huong Ward, Chau Thanh, Tien Giang province). The student ages are from 6-10yrs. When we visit we are hoping to be able to have the opportunity to mix with the students and meet some of the staff.
As expected they are a poor
school and any help we can give them would be greatly appreciated. When we
visit I am hoping to do something practical to support their work and will get
back to you about what we can do when I have a good chat with their teachers
(they are on holidays until 5 September).
I am also planning to do some fund
raising in the office and around the place before we go – I would love them to
be provided with some funds (or maybe a learning resource) to do something to support
their teaching program when we visit. Feel free to do something in your school
or community groups if you want to help out with any fund raising before we
depart. There is no pressure on you to be involved on a personal level but we
thought it would be good to engage with the Vietnamese community and do
something positive in the community when we are there. If you do raise any funds it would be best to
feed the money into what we plan to give. We do not want you to take any money
with you to Vietnam – could be problematic.
When I have more information on
this part of the trip I will get back to you. I have checked out the school and
been assured by the tour group who have dealt with the school in the past that any
money/resources provided will go directly to help the students. Please give me
a ring if you want to discuss this initiative for the tour.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Makes you think!
Although not only on Vietnam, I really recommend you have a
look at the Veterans SA fantastic Think Piece series at http://anzaccentenary.sa.gov.au/stories/think-piece-series/
The ‘Think Pieces’ are short discussion articles written by
eminent South Australians, veterans, defence personnel, military historians,
authors, academics, educators, journalists and other specialists who have a
particular interest and/or expertise in the Anzac Centenary and in Australia’s
military history. The objective of the series is to offer different
perspectives on the Anzac Centenary, its significance and meaning. Have a look
at the archive of the excellent articles posted this year. Interestingly the stories in the archives have been classified in accordance with some of the Spirit of Anzac characteristics that we have talked about during this competition.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Update on packing list
Image above: The Simpson Prize - have a look at the blog of their trip to Vietnam at https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2016/08/12/simpson-prize-2016/
The Simpson Prize trip to Vietnam this month
As you know, Cendall has been in Vietnam as one of the teacher chaperones on the
Australian Government Department of Education Simpson Prize tour (http://www.simpsonprize.org/). Just
like our group, the tour comprised 8 students and several teacher chaperones
and they visited many of the sites we are going to visit in Southern Vietnam
(they did not go to Hanoi or Ha Long Bay). As a result of her experiences on the
tour Cendall has put together some information that we should include in our
preparation for the tour – thanks Cendall and welcome back. Regardless of some
of the issues re: Long Tan ceremonies reported in the media over recent weeks,
Cendall said the trip went very smoothly and was a great success.
We are really fortunate that we have had a ‘forward scout’ for the tour! Some of
you may actually like to go to the blog for the Simpson trip on the Australian
War Memorial site at https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2016/08/12/simpson-prize-2016/
. The blog provides a really useful insight into what we will experience on our
trip and certainly is some interesting reading for us all to get an idea of
what awaits us.
Some information for you from the students on the Simpson tour
At
the end of the tour Cendall asked the Simpson students what they thought would
be important to pass along to us, so the following is some information by
teenagers, for teenagers:
Clothes: Modest, breathable and
light clothing. Tank tops and short shorts are not always tolerated by the
locals, but they also don't provide much coverage against mosquitos. Students
on the Simpson Prize generally opted for longer, light pants (such as harem
pants) as they meant that they didn’t have to add huge amounts of Aeroguard to
their skin, which was already feeling the effects of humidity.
Footwear:
Sneakers are
best (100% agreement from the Simpson students)!! Other shoes that may seem
comfortable here in Australia can quickly become uncomfortable due to the
unfamiliar humidity, which can cause feet to sweat and swell. Mosquitos also
like biting feet because they are warm, so sneakers offer better coverage, too.
Liquids: For students who opt to
bring face scrubs, hair care, sunscreen, roll-on deodorant etc, they need to
ensure individual items are 100ml or less. This is not the REMAINING volume in
a bottle, but the entire maximum the bottle can hold. This rule applies only to
liquids being carried in a carry-on bag but in the case of long waits at the
airport students may travel with them to feel refreshed.
Money:
Given that
all of our expenses are covered, a large sum of money isn’t required. One thing
the Simpson group found was that they needed to keep their regular ’school
routine’ of having recess and an afternoon snack to get them between meals, so
we would head to a small supermarket to buy a few snacks to help overcome this.
We also made it a rule to start the day with 3L of water on us (tap water is
not safe to drink) as students were not used to humidity and lost a lot of
fluid without really realising. A 1.5L bottle of water cost the equivalent of
70c, so this was always very cheap. Bringing $50 to convert for these expenses
is very realistic, with a spare $20 note available to change ‘just in case’.
ATM cards are not widely accepted, so cash is best.
**Cendall
has checked the exchange rates on sites such as Travelex, and thinks it would
be best to exchange money once we reach Ho Chi Minh City. You get around 20%
more exchanging it in the city rather than here in Australia. There are many
available in the area of our hotels, so this could easily be done once we
arrive or before we head out for Day 1.**
Hydralyte:
In humid
climates and foreign countries in particular, we lose electrolytes through
sweat and adjusting to local foods. An electrolyte imbalance can cause big
headaches and a general feeling of being unwell. Having Hydrolyte during the
afternoon or a little before bed meant we were waking up feeling rested and
refreshed and ready to go. A tube of dissolvable tablets is the best option
(the liquid version could be subjected to the liquid limits in a carry on
and/or explode in checked baggage). Ensure enough for daily use for the entire
trip.
Camera:
It is really
important to have a strap of some kind to ensure a camera or phone is attached
to your wrist whenever it is out of your bag. Locals are frequently whizzing by
on motorbikes and can quickly snatch devices.
Traffic:
This was a
point of concern at our meeting, and something that can certainly be a real
shock on first encounter. The more time we spent in Ho Chi Minh City (the
largest of all the places we went/our trip will go), the more confident we felt
and the less overwhelming it became. It even became fascinating to watch as
drivers merge effortlessly around each other. We always crossed at corners or
designated crossings - but sometimes a little more patience is needed to find
the break in traffic to start moving. Zebra crossings in Australia typically
mean the pedestrian has right of way - this is not the case in Vietnam. But
drivers certainly know to expect pedestrians. Movement was only ever
initiated by an adult, NO EXCEPTIONS. The advice the veterans gave was very
accurate - keep at the one pace at all times. The drivers will adjust and work
around people crossing the street.
SIM
Cards: A few
members of our group got SIM cards while in Vietnam. I didn’t find it hugely
necessary - it was only useful for having data on the road to check emails etc
(sometimes our bus had free wifi, which is pretty common in Vietnam). We generally
had wifi at our hotels, which provided the opportunity for a quick FaceTime or Facebook
message when time was available. SIM cards were arranged by the local guide on
the tour, but they were also available at the airport and many convenience
stores. A SIM will cost around $5 AUD and have around 1GB of data. No one
really bothered using their SIM cards to make calls or text, so the wifi at the
hotels really did make it redundant.
Clothing: It would be nice for people to have some neat casual clothes for night time dinners – but make them as cool as possible because it will be hot and uncomfortable as we need to travel to the dinner locations.
Clothing: It would be nice for people to have some neat casual clothes for night time dinners – but make them as cool as possible because it will be hot and uncomfortable as we need to travel to the dinner locations.
Here are some additions to our packing list suggested by Cendall, based on the Simpson Prize packing
list. It just has a little more detail re: casual clothing
• Light cotton trousers or light jeans (2 pairs)
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 2 skirts/sarongs/dresses if appropriate.
•
2 light long sleeved shirt for visiting temples and to wear over
clothes when eating at dusk for mosquito protection. These are to be
light cotton shirts or polo tops (2) of the type that
are about a half-arm’s length. Asian countries are relatively
conservative nations so it is always advisable to dress appropriately.
For girls it is advisable to avoid midriff tops and short shorts.
Luggage: Bring only 1 main piece of luggage (on wheels) and a small carry-on bag for the travel. This main piece of luggage should
consist of a medium sized suitcase on wheels with a pull up handle is ideal measuring around than 80 x 60 centimetres.
Please do not make the
mistake of bringing too much stuff!
- particularly
clothing and shoes that adds a lot to the weight of your luggage. You
will also be expected to carry your own luggage when travelling (for
only short distances however). Ideally, your luggage
should weigh no more than 14-16 Kilos at the beginning of your trip and
no more than 20 kilos by the time you leave.
Whilst
there will be opportunity for shopping during your trip, please keep in
mind that airlines generally only permit around 20kg of check-in
luggage if you have internal flights, and a small
carry-on bag to be taken with you. Excess luggage can be expensive at
around AU$15-20 per kilogram if you find you have brought or bought too
much extra on your trip.
Most importantly bring a lock. Small combination locks are the best kind (all your luggage must be locked for transfers
and storage).
A cultural update: customs / practices in Asia:
• Please sit on chairs when provided and not on the floor.
•
Always wear footwear when outside, in public places and in hotels.
Local people always wear shoes unless they are too poor to afford them.
• Please do not show displays of affection in public. This is considered weird and is awkward for local people to watch.
• Please abstain from playing the drums at the dinner table with your chopsticks when in restaurants
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The contestability of history
Image above: Police block access to the Long Tan site.
A contestable happening
I am sure that you have seen today that tomorrows commemoration for the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam has been cancelled by the Vietnamese authorities, despite 1000 veterans already being in the country.
History is contestable and what is this all about? Who is correct and can you see both sides of this issue? Have a read of these initial articles on this change of events.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/vietnam-police-block-access-to-long-tan-site/7756984
http://www.news.com.au/national/vietnam-cancels-long-tan-service/news-story/25c26bab525293ff15271975211fb6d9
You will see that the Vietnamese Authorities today have said that groups of 100 at a time may enter the Memorial site but cannot wear medals and speeches cannot be made. This issue raises some interesting questions about the nature of commemoration, dangers of perceived celebration in the land of the former foe and being sensitive to those who also died on the other side. You will read many conflicting points of view over coming days.
Keep watching and reading over the next few days to see what comes out of this - it is certainly relevant to our visit to the Long Tan site on our trip. I cannot see that these events will disrupt our tour in anyway but it certainly is an issue we as historians should think about. As you can appreciate, as I write this blog and we observe these happenings, history is being made.
Monday, August 15, 2016
The commemoration of the Battle of Long Tan
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