How the Vietnam War still affects people today
One of the presenters, Jada Grandy discusses the effects of the Vietnam War at Bovee University Center March 21.
While many students are taught the history of the Vietnam War and how it affected the United States, some Central Michigan University students felt they did not know much about the aftermath in Vietnam.
The Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority and Multicultural Academic Student Services (MASS) put on an event Tuesday to show how Vietnamese people were affected and what issues still linger from the war that ended in 1975. The event, titled The Vietnam War: Through the Lens of Post-War Citizens was presented in the Bovee University Center, room 302, and was put on in observance of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Grand rapids senior Jada Grandy and Waterford freshman Itzel Neri were the two presenters and started the event by providing background to the Vietnam War and explaining how the United States aligned with the South and fought against the Communist North. The event was not meant to be about the actual war, but rather the effects that it had on Vietnam and its people.
Grandy and Neri focused on three main points. Those being agriculture, government and the citizens.
“It’s a different perspective of what was going on in the Vietnam War because usually as we heard, it was just one side of the story.” Neri said. “But also, this war was fought in Vietnam so people should realize what their citizens had to go through, what their land is now and what they had to escape and flee from because of the communism.”
Grandy said that prior to the war, Vietnam’s land was very fruitful when it came to produce, but because of the explosives and chemicals used in the war, much of the land and water are no longer usable. She also explained how there are land mines buried in parts of Vietnam that still pose a threat to people that either walk on them or try to dig them up.
After that, Neri explained how property in some parts of Vietnam that was taken over by the North was given to the government and how the government would control production in those areas so that they would have complete control over the means of production. Some citizens in those areas were put into camps with poor conditions and forced labor.
This led into Grandy and Neri’s next talking point which was about the citizens of Vietnam. Many people tried to flee by boat during the war to other countries such as Indonesia or other Southeast Asia countries. Grandy said that it was not until the Refugee Act of 1980 that Vietnamese people were brought to the United States, primarily in California, New Jersey, Illinois and New York.
The duo went on to explain how the journey was not always safe, with many refugees dying along the way. Then, when they arrived in a new country, they often times did not have much in terms of money or supplies.
There were two videos played, one consisting of the people that were on the boats fleeing their homeland Vietnam and the other consisting of a South Vietnamese soldier. Both explained how even after escaping Vietnam and after the war ended, struggles continued.
After the presentation, there was a discussion where audience members talked about what they learned or what they thought about the information that was presented. One student talked about how they learned just a version of the Vietnam War from history books but people never see how it still affects people today.
The event concluded with an informal group quiz in the form of a Quizlet where students answered the questions out loud and discussed them with one another.
MASS will be having events throughout the rest of March and the beginning of April to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. More information about upcoming events can be found on Central Michigan University’s website.
