The Voice of Vietnam

A good friend of mine, whom I met in Guinea, is now living and working in Vietnam. She works on health sector issues. We "talk" often, using the Internet in its various forms: e-mail, Skype, Facebook messages and pictures. Because of the time difference, my evening is her morning and vice versa. She gives me many vivid images of living in south east Asia. But most interesting is the insight on Vietnam she gives, of a society that is still slowly moving from its communist past.

I am no expert on the history of Vietnam, but it has a long history of foreign intervention, mainly the French, who left in 1950. Following that, "friendship" with communist China put it on a collision course with the United States through the "Cold War". The two countries went to war in the early 1960s and that conflict ended in 1975. It was a bitter period in the US's modern history and its memory is still alive in Vietnam, which remains a relatively closed society. I have asked my friend to give a taste of life there, little by little . It is still essentially a state-run country.

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The "Voice of Vietnam" is starting on the loudspeaker in the street. It begins with some message of public interest: my little understanding of the Vietnamese language provides me with some understanding. The message is for pregnant women and children, maybe vaccination.

Musical Intermezzo, a popular song all can sing; stand up and build this nation.

The next broadcasts will be between 11am and noon, during lunch time and before resting, then between 5-6 pm. I asked: "Don’t people sometimes cut the cable?" Can you imagine this in a peaceful village in the mountains? Yes they do, of course, but there is always someone there to quickly fix it. One day I should record it! One day it will be history I guess in this country. Only when is what I wonder. Other ways of communicating will have to be reinvented, reassembled.

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