I’m sorry for my ignorance.
Last weekend my team and I went to the Vietnam War Remnants Museum. I will confess. There were a lot of facts I don’t remember learning in school. On top of the museum, I also talked a lot with my host family who was born and raised in Vietnam in the provinces, and I heard his perspective on what happened. I also went to the Chu Chi tunnels – the land where the Northern Vietnamese fought against the Southern parts and the USA. I am learning a lot more than I thought I knew. See, I learned about the war in high school, but here I am in the land where the war happened only 44 years ago – and I feel sorry that I did not know all the details that occurred during and after the war. There were many times I wanted to cry while walking through the exhibits and reading the horror stories off the displays of the remnants museum. I respect and honor every veteran who served our country. I will never completely understand their experience, but I do understand it is a sacrifice and it takes a heavy toll on their mind, body and soul – especially when fighting in actual war. It doesn’t matter who won, who lost, or if I am choosing a side. I’m not choosing a side. That’s not what matters. What matters is people had to suffer and die at the expense of a disagreement of two siding parties. I hope one day the world can agree that war and destruction never has to be a solution.
Looking at all the weapons, bombs, tools to torture, and every possible way to murder a human and destroy their entire being is just a reminder of how evil a human can become. Seeing the effects of war, murder, torture and suffering supports that evil exists. I want to share what I learned with you all because sometimes it’s not just what we do that makes a difference to the world, but it’s educating ourselves and seeking to understand a culture, history, and someone else’s pain that can make the ultimate impact on the world. Once we understand history, and its impact to today’s world, then we can know how our individual small actions can make a difference to today and the future. On top of that, imagining yourself as a prisoner of war, a soldier or anyone who suffers can help you experience and feel compassion for those suffering. I can only imagine the pain and suffering these men had to endure to fight for their country. The torture was so inhumane.
I learned that the war was more than just a civil war between the Northern and Southern parts of the country and it was more than the USA being an ally to the South to fight communism.
The ways soldiers were imprisoned were awful. The torture techniques soldiers had to endure is something you would think would only be seen in a horror movie. But it was real life. I took many pictures of the displays in the exhibits to share with you the facts that I have learned. Here are some photos:
There were a lot of massacres that occurred in different cities of Vietnam as well. Bombs destroyed community centers, and innocent families were murdered. One of those innocent children could have been the scientist who cured cancer, but she wasn’t given that chance to live to even find out. These children had stories. Their lives mattered.
To believe there is no such thing as good vs. evil is a form of ignorance that we are able to choose not believe. We have the privilege not to believe there is no evil.
For those who did survive, including those who caused the harm: imagine their post traumatic stress disorders? or the emotional trauma they had to live with after? How do you even go back to real life?
Think of the mass destruction these man made machines are capable of.
It just goes to show how evil humans can grow to become when we allow ourselves to. Humans are creative, but we have the potential to use our creativity for evil.
And to think there are still wars going on today as I write this and as you read this.
No matter who did the torturing, the soldiers from the USA or from Vietnam, there are many who actually seemed to enjoy torturing other humans. I saw many photos to support that. Thankfully, this isn’t an issue that’s ongoing because the military has enforced stringent policies into training and warfare that are designed to prevent that kind of thing from happening and to punish the mistreatments of people. But at that time zone, those policies did not exist.
One thing I didn’t know until now was a gas chemical used for defoliant to kill off the plants that the Vietcong were hiding in; called Agent Orange/Dioxin. This gas was dropped by the US in/near communities where people were living in Vietnam, and it negatively impacted people by causing many diseases, cancers, mental illnesses, blindness, deafness, deformities, genetic and chromosome mutations and birth defects up until the 4th generation. This gas chemical wasn’t intentionally meant to harm innocent people, but it did. These results exist because of the destruction and irresponsibility of other humans from the past. Now people in future generations, my generation, have to suffer. To this day, these communities of people who have disabilities are living in many parts of Vietnam. Their lives are harder, and it’s unfair. I saw the pictures, and my heart hurt so hard. However, it was so inspiring to see that they found a way to still live life even if it’s harder. They didn’t give up. I even saw some of the survivors working at the museum selling some art pieces people from the community had made. I ended up buying a bracelet to always be reminded of these strong people whose life was born out of the wreckage of humanity, yet out came a unique beautiful warrior. Their lives are important, and this bracelet will be a reminder to always pray for them and to always be grateful in life. Here are some photos.
When experiencing such pain and witnessing such struggle, it makes you want to believe there is a place to go after we die where there is no injustice or pain. I hope the people who experience unjust treatment and suffering get to experience a place of freedom, no suffering physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. Heaven.
So learning from the past gives us the opportunity to change the present and the future. Educating ourselves and others gives us the tools and resources to make humanity and this world better.
I see hope in Vietnam. I see it in the way the secret persecuted churches are striving to bring justice and love to the people around them. I see it in the way my ministry hosts sacrifices his nights to teach the future generations English. I see it in the children who are eager to learn, receive and do it joyously. By being able to assist my host, his ministry, and helping him teach English, I see how educating the children sets them up for success. I see how it helps them be the change they can be for the future of Vietnam. I see how it gives them the foundation, structure, discipline, guidance, and love they need to be the positive impact of Vietnam’s future needs.
Being around these children gives me a sense of hope. They will be the future generation that can redeem the past and define what it means to be human. If we can do that for all children all over the world, the future and the world will be a better place. Children from all over the world are the same. They are watching us adults. They copy us. They want to be just like us. If we lead by example, give love, guidance, structure, discipline, education and more, then they will be equipped to do the same for their peers and the future.
It has been a joy teaching the preschool day care English in the morning. I can tell our presence made an impact because the children can now say words they haven’t said before: hello, goodbye, how are you, I am good, sad, angry, hungry, great, wonderful, big, small, fast, slow, loud, quiet, peek-a-boo. It has also been a joy working with the older kids in the evening. We work with children from 8 years old all the way through children who are 18 and even a few adults: 23, 24, and 30. I am learning I really enjoy understanding where the disconnection is and seeking a solution for their misunderstanding in the English language. These children are so bright. They live life so care-free, so innocently, and they are in such a safe place to lay that foundation of love, guidance, structure and discipline. When I look at their school, I see a heaven for children. They have a safe place to run free, outside, next to a garden of palm trees and banana trees by the river. There’s a playground, a small soccer field and an indoor class where they can nap, learn, play, learn how to go potty and eat fresh, safe, delicious food. There is so much hope and potential for their future. I see God in our host family, I see God in his passion for them and in the way he pours into who they are and in their future. It has been an honor to be a part of their impact.
We are leaving them this month with a curriculum we made for our host. He has a ton of resources and tools that has been donated to him and that he has learned and researched on his own. However, we also wanted to add to his collection. So we created a curriculum based on the experiences we had in our past of teaching, so that we can leave him with new and more resources and tools he can use to continue teaching them English.
Thank you to all those who supported me to be here. I still have another $4,000 left to fundraise. So far about $400 has been raised since my last blog post. I still believe you will witness a miracle. The total $18,700 will be fully raised by next week. If you would like to be part of the impact, please feel free to make an additional donation. Please keep this ministry in your prayers. We have one week left and then we are off to Cambodia!
Love, Jasmine
