Vietnam: the Unheard Voices - Refugee Educators' Network

"TB11ilt a Piry for a Camellia FImm!" 33
the pillars of Viculamcse cultural values persist, their srrengch
proved furthcr by thc awful stresses. American visitors are sometimes
repcllcd hy ccrtai~i practices that t11c.r;. take to be natural to the
1-icrnaniae people. Corruption is one such practice, and though it
should not be condoncd, it is, to a largc extent, one method hg
-
which individuals adjust to the uncert.rainrics nf econnmic Iifc in a
war-torn country. Anorller mu~qtiorl in the socict? is thc fantastic
proliferation of prostitution, of the "bar socicw,'' and of the other
nefarious activities which secm to glut and dcgrade the once fashionable
city streets or areas surromlding foreign military canlp.
Prostituticln is hardly ncw to thc xvnrlrld, and if its rmlpnt prcscnce
sccrns to cheapcn thc country in 11-Lch it thrives, thc motivations
bchind it must be undmtood. If one asks a bar-girl or prtstitute
~vhy she cntcrcd hcr profession, the ansxver is frequently, "To help
mr family," or "1-0 aid my parents in old age," or "To send my little
brothers and sistcrs to school." Thcirs is a pathctic story, bccause
the way thcv havc chosen is not aliravs the most desirable for them.
If their Anlerican military cliens could speak with them in liemamese
and know thc extent of their suffering, and at the samc rime
thc frcqucnt ndiiit). of the desire to help their families, rher rvould
undoubtedly see their bedroom matcs in a diffcrmt light.-Not all
pursue their prufessions wirh such aluuisric intentions, of course,
but the fact is that man!. do.
Parents do not necessarily bok down on their daughters' efforts
to help the family in this way. Thcy u-ish there were bcttcr ways,
perhaps, bur surely none 2. so profitabIe. 'rhcrc is a certain dcsperauon
in she wholc thing, and anlong mme a deep cynicism. One
young schooltc3cher fricnd announced that his rvife was cspccting
thck first baby. "Congramhtions," we mid, adding our hopc tlmt it
xvould 1% a bo)?, for a boy is generally a deshblc first offspring for
the mditionaI reason of wanting to pqctuate the farniIy name.
"Oh no," he replied, only haif-jokingly. "I hope it will be a girl;
then she can hclp the fxnily by working in a bar and making 10s of
money."
Giving oneself up to prostitution in order to help one's own
family is a sacrificc exalted in viernamese litcrzturc. Thc noble and
bmutiful hcroinc of the nineteenth-centur). KInz Vm Kieu, Viet