Day 7 and 8: "Hanoi Hilton"

First, I wanted to say that I've been extremely sick and have been unable to blog. For the last day and a half I've been laid out in my room shivering and sweating a fever that just wouldn't break. Then the vomiting and diarrhea took over and just to add a cherry on top a nasty cough set in. So, I've been pretty much useless. However, I did not miss much so here is the latest and the greatest. 

On day 7 we visited the Hoa Lo Prison. This prison was used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later used by North Vietnam for POW's (Prisinors of War) during the Vietnam war in the 1960's and 1970's. The name "Hanoi Hilton" was sarcastically given to the prison by American POWs. 

During the Vietnam war, Hanoi Hilton was largely used to keep American fighter pilots as prisoners. Although there has been plenty of documentation from former POWs, including former US Senator John McCain who was held prisoner in Hanoi Hilton, about the tortures which took place in the prison during the Vietnam war; the Vietnamese government denies any such events. This was evident by the videos playing throughout the museum which portrayed American POWs happily playing basketball, card games, opening care packages and laughing amongst each other. It is interesting to note that in the museum the only mention of any prisoner mistreatment was from the French toward the Vietnamese. The clear denial of Vietnamese mistreatment toward the Americans leaves one pondering on the concept of national propaganda.  Below you will see photos of veterans touring the museum and the uniform political prisoners would wear. The last picture is where prisoners defecated and urinated. Two small square holes on the ground. 

The next visit was to a historical site called Van Mieu in Vietnamese or Temple of Literature. It was both a Confucion temple and the first university of Vietnam. 

This ancient Confucian sanctuary is currently considered one of Hanoi's finest historical and cultural sites. Parts of the temple date back to the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) and Tran Dynasty (1224-1400). In 1076, Vietnam's first university was established within this temple to educate Vietnam's mandarin class. The university functioned for more than 700 years, during which 2,313 doctors graduated. Below you will see pictures of children making an offering to Buddha, pictures of artifacts inside the temple, decorative incense burners, different Buddha statues, and offerings presented to Buddha. 

It was an enjoyable time to share this Confucian temple experience was the group of Vietnam veterans. Although the culture, traditions, and values displayed in the temple did not conform to the majority of our group's beliefs, it was admirable that they could respect the Vietnamese people's system of beliefs and step outside of their comfort zone. I could appreciate the honesty of one veteran who approached me and said, "look at these satanic rituals!" No sooner had he said that when suddenly he was absorbed into the arms of children who tenderly welcomed him by hugging and climbing all over him so that they could get there pictures taken with him. These were the same children participants of the "satanic" ritual. It's amazing the opportunities we miss out on when we marginalize a situation or even yet a religion or country simply because we do not understand them.