Atrocities Museum

One of the things that affects me greatly was the war that went on between the Americans and Vietnamese. In Vietnam it is called the American War. Not Vietnam War as Vietnam has had numerous wars since the beginning of time. Not a very peaceful country. No one will ever understand how greatly a war destroys lives till they see first hand the after effects of it. I went to the Atrocities Museum in Saigon 10yrs ago. I remember being very affected by it. Its not as cool as what you watch on the Cinema screens. Yea, its cool to enjoy it but effects aside, you come to realise that all you are watching is real and it happened to many people.

Its not like the movies where it ends and we walk out of the cinema all happy to a safe world. Sometimes we forget that people suffer in war. It doesn't really hit us till you walk into a Museum like this and see how the people suffered. Real people having to die when they didn't wanna die. People struggling to survive day by day never really knowing when's their last moment. People just trying to survive it. What about those who live with the after effects of war. It doesn't just end cause the war has ended. After effects of bombs on lives. Things like the orange bomb causes so much damage that the 3rd or 4th generation are still affected. People not being able to find their loved ones who have gone MIA. Never ever knowing for certain what happened to them.

It brought home the painful truth of war when I walked into the museum. Both countries suffered great casualties but it has always been a one sided affair. The Big screens always brag about the US soldiers and how they suffered. No one really heard the sufferings of the Vietnamese people. I still stand with Ho Chi Minh. I Stand for the Vietnamese people. The Americans were not supposed to be there but you know how it is. I do not have an issue with them now but it so pains my heart to see how much the country suffered. If there wasn't a war, I would most probably have been born in Vietnam. Haha. ;-)

Well, I found this trip back very enlightening. I got to know the country better, its people, and my history as well. Its good to know where you come from. To me my history is very important. Cause it makes me who I am. And I can understand why my dad's so patriotic to Vietnam. ;-)

My second trip to the Museum still affected me as much as the first time I stepped in. There were more to see this time round. It still pains my heart to see the suffering of the people. How lucky I am to not be in that position I tell myself. I just hope that peace continue to rein in Vietnam. And that in time, the pain of the land will heal. May God' s blessing be on them.

Below are some pics that I took while walking around. Pictures of the war on the people.



















































Effects of the Orange Bomb used to clear the forest to find and stop the Ho Chi Minh Trails.






































Sufferings of the people. Pictures taken before some of them were killed. Like the picture below of the woman in red.







































Some of the weapons used. Kept to show us.

























The Diem Regime. Keeping prisoners and torturing them for information.






























A Gullotine. A real one. The blade was so rusty.





























Bombs from the war.

























I ended up walking by myself cause I was trying to read most of whats on the boards. Which was good as I could go at a pace I was comfortable with. This was the place which hit me most in Saigon. I hate wars and what they do to people's lives. I can never understand the need for wars. Why do some men just love war and get all excited about them.