Property Rights in Vietnam

Property rights seem to be an area that is suffering in Vietnam, owing to its general lack of administrative efficiency.  Vietnam is an authoritarian single-party system, and it faces many problems known to plague most developing countries, including the need for capacity building among domestic institutions.

Property rights can be defined as “legal titles given to landowners enabling them freely to buy and sell their plots and other rights to use, gain income from, or sell property” (Todaro and Smith 2009, 835).

While Vietnam has taken definite steps towards the establishment of property rights since its doi moi reforms of 1986, issues like corruption and a general inability to efficiently enforce the laws set by the government hinder the movement toward privatizing property.

Prior to 1986 all property in Vietnam was state owned. However, as part of the general movement toward a more market-oriented system, the National Assembly passed the first Land Law in 1988 to provide for the state allocation of agricultural land from co-operatives to private households. This transformation from collective to individual property rights encouraged agricultural production, and households using land received land title certificates (LTCs). Under the 1986 law, foreign investors were allowed to lease land property for up to 50 years and in some poorer areas up to 70 years.  However, the adoption of this law did not include the creation of a specific land administration system (LAS). Instead, the allocation and registration of land was left to local authorities, and land users did not understand the significance of the LTCs they received. (GIM International 2008). In 1993, the National Assembly adopted a second Land Law that clearly outlined the economic importance of land. For example, the preamble of the 1993 Land Law states:

Land is an extremely valuable national resource, a special production material, the most important part of the environment, and the foundation on which residential areas are distributed, on which economic, cultural, social, security and national defence bases are constructed;

Over many generations, our people have devoted an enormous effort, labour and sacrificed our lives to establish and protect the land as it now is;

Under this law, households with LTCs were given five rights: land exchange, transfer, lease, inheritance, and mortgage. Also, the 1993 Land Law recognized the monetary value attached to land, and defined this. Finally, it established a land titling system, and the Land Administration System (LAS). Under the land law of 1993, households seeking LTCs had to apply to the district-level People's Committee. Before an application was approved the “land in question must be surveyed and the legal description of the household's land allocation that is entered on the application must be consistent with the commune's land registry” (Hare 2008, 345).  Although the official fee for getting one of these certificates for the household was VND 10,000, which is the equivalent of about USD 0.50, in reality the fees were much  larger  because local governments were not given enough financial support from the central government to accomplish the certification process (Hare 2008).

           

The LTC system was also very cumbersome in terms of administration. For example, the total process of approving and giving out LTCs for three villages in one district took 945 labor days. More important, given weaknesses in the judicial system, disputes over who has the right to land take a long time to work out between the parties involved. One village near Hanoi took more than 40 meetings to settle a single land dispute. In addition, the issuance of LTCs is unevenly distributed. For example, in the Mekong Delta, where the land is less separated and has larger plot sizes the process is much faster than in more urban provinces (Hare 2008, 346). Other problems related to the need for capacity building are also apparent.  As the Heritage Foundation’s 2011 Index of Economic Freedom notes, “Corrupt government bogs down the system of property rights, due to low wages for government officials and inadequate means of enforcing accountability on these officials. Therefore, “contracts are weakly enforced and resolution of disputes can take years” (Heritage 2011).

The 1993 Land Law has been updated and revised in recent years to help address these weaknesses. Most recently a third Land Law was adopted by the National Assembly in 2003 to support the development of a comprehensive, transparent and more uniform LAS. Ideally, this law will also increase the ability of local communities to resolve historically complicated land issues, create publicly available land use and management records, and facilitate the development of a property market. (GIM International 2008). The good news is that land prices are rising rapidly in line with the growth of the economy, and the state is now allocating nearly 10 percent of the revenue it generates from land to building up the LAS. Still, there is a need for capacity building for land officers at the local, provincial and national levels and for raising public awareness about the value of property rights.

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Sources

GIM International (2008) “Land Administration in Vietnam: Volume 22, Issue 9

Hare, Denise. (2008) “The Origins and Influence of Land Property Rights in Vietnam. Development Policy Review, 26

Heritage Foundation. 2001 Index of Economic Freedom (http://www.heritage.org/index/country/Vietnam#property-rights accessed 7/26/2011)

Todaro, Michael, and Stephen Smith. (2009) Economic Development. 10^th  edition. Pearson Education, Boston.

 - Keegan Bailey

Economic Growth and World Heritage at Risk

In a previous blog, Cadet Bailey extolled the virtues of Halong Bay as a tourist destination and a place to celebrate one’s birthday. As he noted, Halong Bay was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994 for its outstanding scenic beauty and great biological and historic interest. This area, which includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forms a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars.

The word “Ha Long” in Vietnamese actually means dragon descending. Legend has it that when Vietnam was threatened with invasion centuries ago, the Jade Emperor sent down a mother dragon and her children to help fight the invaders. As they descended, the dragons spat out numerous pearls, which were changed into jade stone islands. The larger rocky islands where the dragon landed are called “Ha Long,” and the smaller islands are called “Bay Too Long” after the children. It is believed that the long string of islands, called “Long Vi,” was formed when the dragon wriggled its tail.

Okay, modern scientists will probably bore you with long-winded details about how periods of climatic change over millions of years resulted in great undulations in the region, as ancient rivers gauged out pathways across the plain. The result, of course, is the spectacular landform of the Bac Ba Gulf archipelago, with over 1960 stone islands of various sizes rising from an emerald colored bay.

More important, Halong Bay represents a unique ecosystem that includes intertidal wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and diverse varieties of marine life. It is also a case-study of what not to do when it comes to sustainable economic development.

Halong Bay and the part of Quang Ninh Province that surround it together with Hai Phong and Hanoi form a large triangular area of dense population and economic activity that is experiencing rapid growth and development. The main coal mining area of Vietnam, with reserves exceeding 8 billion tons lies immediately beside Halong Bay, and large amounts of limestone, kaolin, clay and sand are extracted from the area to supply construction materials for Vietnam’s burgeoning industry. Large merchant ships cross the Bay each day en route to the two large ports of Hai Phong and Cai Lan. These and five other smaller ports, service Vietnam’s export trade, which is projected to more than quadruple over the next decade.

Halong Bay itself supports a valuable fishing and seafood industry and attracts large numbers of tourists every day. While only a few of these may be celebrating birthdays, the number of visitors to the Bay grew from 120,000 to nearly 2.1 million a year from 1994 to 2007, and current projections suggest that Halong Bay will attract in excess of 3 million domestic and foreign tourists per year by 2020.

However, the expanding commercial activity in the Halong Bay area is placing extreme pressure on its fragile ecosystems, placing the area at serious risk. Unless immediate action is taken to restore and preserve Halong Bay and the surrounding areas, the prospects for continued economic development may come to a screeching halt!

According to the World Bank’s 2002 Vietnam Environment Monitor, rapid economic growth and urbanization are creating a multitude of environmental problems - such as unmanaged landfills, transport-related air pollution, untreated hospital and hazardous waste, and raw sewage flowing into open water ways – throughout the country. But, the area surrounding Halong Bay seems to be particularly at risk. Over the three decades from 1960 to 1995, the Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, where the Halong Bay is located, have suffered the loss of more than 40 thousands hectares of mangrove forest, and today only 15,700 hectares remain in the two provinces. It is estimated that the annual loss in terms of forgone economic benefits (e.g., fishery, forestry, and erosion) could be in the range of USD 10-32 million per year.

Current threats to water quality include land-based pollution sources, fishing with poison (e.g. Cyanide) and dynamite, unregulated tourism, transport and seaport development and heavy metals from coal mining operations  

These factors are also placing 96 percent of Vietnam’s coral reefs at risk. The coral reef decline recorded in several locations, including Halong Bay (Quang Ninh), Cai Ba (Hai Phong), Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa is estimated to be more than75 percent.

Fortunately, one of the nongovernmental organizations we have been assigned to work with, the Center for Sustainable Development Studies plans to come to the rescue.  By forming partnerships with community based agencies and groups in Vietnam as well as organizations in other countries – like perhaps even the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in the United States – the CSDS hopes to put in place sustainable programs to help restore Halong Bay and preserve its riches for future generations.

 - Dr. Sarah Tenney

Another Day in Paradise

For the past couple of days we have continued working with our first round of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The NGO I’m working with, the Morning Star Center, is a school and rehabilitation center for children with several types of learning disabilities, including primarily autism. I wrote about the Center in depth in my last entry.

Compared with many NGOs in Vietnam, the Morning Star Center has an excellent facility and great potential to make a large, positive impact in its service area. The main challenge faced at the center is the lack of training, or lack of specialized training in educating children with learning disabilities. Mainly due to limited funding, lack of hiring resources, much of the staff gets its training on the job or in fast-track training programs of various qualities.

This brings me to the second step in the process of helping the Morning Star Center, which is the stage where we try to help develop solutions to such problems. In this case, it means to devise sustainable training programs, using qualified volunteer staff from Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV) to supplement Morning Star Center’s staff training resources on an as needed basis. Since I have been here, I have noticed that at any given time VPV usually has a couple of volunteers with teaching qualifications. Usually, these volunteers are assigned to projects that involve teaching English or serving as assistants to other local teachers. However, it should be possible to use these volunteers in another task, i.e., the solution we have been working on. Today, I will be drafting a program proposal that will entail asking volunteers with certifications in special education areas to develop and deliver training programs for the staff at the Morning Star Center.

On a separate note, things in Vietnam are going well. We have been invited by Erik Page, the US Vice Consul in Vietnam, and fellow Citadel bulldog, to visit Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) this weekend, and discuss current topics related to our work here.

Things at VPV Peace House - nicknamed COMA 6 due to its former residence of a construction/supply - are going well. We are surrounded by a diverse, capable, and even fun group of volunteers, many of whom have become very tight knit over the past couple of weeks.  We also have a large, unusually bold and brave contingent of rats that have a knack for performing acrobatics on exposed wires from the ceiling. This is a great feat given their large size.

-Matthew Allen Stewart

Fallen Patriots

            This weekend I spent some time in the beautiful city of Hoi An. It is located about half-way down the country and, compared to Hanoi, it is quiet and peaceful. As I wandered the streets I peaked my head into a local antique shop to see what I could find. Sadly, in this peaceful city I found the reminders of an ugly war-torn past. In a glass cabinet tucked between the Vietnamese war medals and ancient clay pots were six little oval pieces of metal. These were no ordinary antiques. In fact, they were USMC dog-tags. Covered in rust, dented and dirty, these tags had the names of our soldiers, our boys who lost their lives fighting a brutal war decades ago. I was at first shocked, then outraged, as I realized what they were and how they came to be in that shop. I know that when a soldier is lost, one tag is taken from the body to identify him as a casualty. If battlefield conditions do not permit removal of the corpse, the other tag is to remain with the body…usually, not always, in the mouth held in place by the rigor mortis brought by death. Meaning that these tags were almost certainly taken from the boot, or pried from the mouths of our dead boys—our greatest patriots. As I gazed on the tags, I also began to wonder why on earth our country has not retrieved these tokens of death. These men gave their lives fighting for God and country—these men gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and liberty, yet the most personal reminders of their service are being pedaled like cheap smut on street corners. I wonder how they would feel, our boys, knowing what has become of their memory…knowing that after death their only identification was ruthlessly wrenched from their cold bodies. Worst of all, how have these dog-tags remained in the hands of a former enemy for four decades without our government coming to get them? Call me an idealist, but it is my strong opinion that these dog-tags should be brought back home, to where they belong. These tags should be sent to the families or the graves of the fallen, at the very least they should be on American soil, back in the good old US of A. I have talked to other travelers, and I have identified one location in Ho Chi Minh City where there are a large number of rusty old tags for sale. I will be traveling there this weekend with the Citadel group, and I intend to purchase every single tag I find. The only problem: Funding. I’m just a poor college kid who is already broke. Each tag goes for about fifteen dollars apiece, and from what I gathered, there are a few dozen at the location I mentioned in HCM City. So I ask you, I implore you, I beg of you…all who read this, please help me find the funding to bring back what is left of our fallen patriots. Those pieces of metal are symbols of lives lost, symbols of loyalty and patriotism, symbols of bloodshed, not collectable souvenirs for fascinated tourist to buy. My name is Devon Smith, and I intend to fix this travesty…help me, email me at smithd6@citadel.edu. I will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday. Time is of the essence.

Privleged

            Privileged? Blessed? How about obscene? The lives we live in our little 1^st world American bubble are so far removed and spoiled from the rest of this world that we all ought to take another look at how we live. I have gone through my life wishing I was rich, wishing I had that nice car, or that big house, or that little band of gold known as “the Ring”—but recently I have realized how perverse those ambitions are. In this country you can’t drink the water; half the time the water doesn’t even run. People in the streets all drive cheap little mopeds or broken old bicycles. The children play soccer in cement courtyards, and the roads are so dirty and dusty that everyone must wear masks to protect their lungs. Most of the markets here are infested with flies and the stench of butchered ducks, fish, and dog…yes dog, and it’s delicious. The houses here are cheap and dirty with hardly anything in most of them, but the strangest thing is that they are full of the happiest people I have ever seen. That’s right, in this poor little developing country the people smile and laugh more than any nation I have ever seen. Of all the things they don’t have, they do have a happy life. As I walk down the streets I see smiles at every corner and a world full of people that seem to get the big picture. Here it is not about the money or the prestige—and that’s more than I can say about where I’m from. The United States of America is the greatest and most powerful nation in history, but our people don’t seem to be happy with the simple things in life.

            I am truly grateful for the things I have seen in the last two weeks. In the morning I visit the Friendship Village, around lunch I work on NGO consulting work, and in the afternoon I teach English to a living room full of nine Vietnamese children. My view of the world and my feelings about my complex and privileged life has forever changed. I wish now, more than ever, for a simpler life. I may be wrong, but it seems that these people here have a pretty tough life: they labor in rice paddies from dawn till dusk; they live in shanties compared to our big American homes, but life is simple and they are happy. We should all take a lesson from these people; we should desire a little less and smile a little more. We should realize that our big schools and beautiful houses are not a given; they are a blessing. I hope that everyone back home can read this and understand that they are living in paradise, because the average person over here makes the average US citizen look like a billionaire. We should strive for happiness not money. Over here the wealth is happiness, and that means the Vietnamese must be the wealthiest people on earth. 

- Devon Smith

Halong Bay

                This last weekend was truly amazing. It was a milestone for me personally, as I celebrated the beginning of another year of my life. Never did I ever expect to spend my 23rd birthday in Vietnam, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

This weekend a group from Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV) traveled to Halong Bay. Hạlong Bay, which literally means Descending Dragon Bay, is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located in Quảng Ninh province,

It took us three hours by bus to get to the bay, where we were picked up by a small boat that took us to a much larger ship where we were to spend the evening. The Vietnamese people believe that during the Chinese invasion of Vietnam thousands of years ago, dragons came to the aid of the people and dropped rubies from the sky onto the Chinese boats, destroying them and turning them into over 2,000 mountainous karst that rise up out of the water.

During the afternoon we went for a Kayaking trip through these karst observing the splendor of Halong Bay. A karst is like a mountain of limestone sticking up from the sea. We followed our guide through the waters and stopped at a cave in one of the karst, called Thien Canh Son.  We made our way though the cave until we saw daylight that opened up into a large circular oasis in the middle of the karst. There was a small pond filled with fish that were jumping all around us as we waded out into the water. After taking time to explore the cave’s corridors, we made our way out and back into the Kayaks. As we paddled our boats, weaving in and out between the huge karst, the sun was setting. We were exhausted, yet amazed by what we had seen.

After dinner, we spent the evening making friends with different people from all over the world. It was a great chance to meet new people and learn about other cultures. It was also rewarding to see how easily we all got along, even though we were from different places around the world.        

The next day we went to Cast Away Island. Here we spent the afternoon swimming and exploring the area with Kayaks. Across from the island, there was a floating village. It was shocking to learn that many of the people living in the floating villages never leave them from birth until death. They spend their entire lives fishing and working in these villages. During the day we also got the chance to go out on a boat for wake boarding and tubing.

We spent a second evening under a huge hut where we dined and continued getting to know our new friends. After a while we decided that it would be fun to go swimming. I was surprised to find that when I moved my hands through the water it looked as if I  had parted a mass of diamonds that sparkled with the movement.

After a swim, we settled into A-frame huts made of straw and bamboo that sat about three feet above the ground. After climbing under a mosquito net and squeezing in beside Matthew Stewart, I quickly fell asleep.

The next morning the group woke up and boarded our boat back to the mainland. It was a birthday that I will never forget! I have never seen such beautiful place.

 - Keegan Bailey

Morning Star Center

Today we got down to our first interviews with the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) we will be working with.

My first NGO was the Morning Star Center. The Morning Star Center is an educational, daycare, and treatment facility for children with autism, cerebral palsy, and other mental and learning disorders. It also provides education and treatment support for the children’s families.

This is a particularly important service in Vietnam, owing to the perceived increase in the number of children suffering from mental and physical disorders over recent years. It has not been possible to find reliable data on the number of children suffering from disabilities, but the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 6 percent of the Vietnamese population suffers from physical or mental handicaps. Similarly, there is conflicting evidence on contributing factors and causes.

The interview was at 0900, so I got up, got ready, and organized my thoughts before embarking on a morning rush-hour cab ride to the Morning Star Center in the downtown Hanoi area

 I wasn’t really sure about what to expect or how the interview would go, given the language barrier. But, our Volunteers for Peace (VPV) program coordinator, Ms. Mai, came along to fix any scheduling problems and help communicate. Vietnamese is a hard language to learn without an actual speaker to practice with or good learning software. Thus, our group knows only a few elementary phrases.

Well the interview ended up going quite well. The director of the organization was not there, so I interviewed her assistant. She wasn’t able to answer some of my questions, but we covered a lot of the essentials needed to draft a business plan.  The Assistant Director was open, and I felt very welcome to walk around, see what was going on, and so forth. One of the largest problems the Morning Star Center faces is a lack of personnel – teachers and staff - with enough training or the right specialized training needed to help the children. However, the overall ratio of staff to children was fairly decent especially considering Morning Star’s funding comes completely from donations, tuition, and limited grants. It is not directly funded by the Vietnamese government in any way.

Compared with some of the other organizations we are working with in Vietnam, (which frankly seem to be completely going in the wrong direction or are questionable in practice) the Morning Star Center has good infrastructure, a dedicated staff, and is making great strides to accomplish its goals in improving the lives of the children it reaches.

-Matthew Allen Stewart

Pictures from Vietnam

Hoa Lo Prison: Hanoi Hilton?

In English the name Hoa Lo, translates to "fiery furnace" or even "Hell's hole." But, if you visited Hoa Lo Prison today you would find a wall dedicated to pictures of smiling US servicemen decorating a Christmas tree and playing a friendly game of volleyball.  Hoa Lo Prison is widely known as the “Hanoi Hilton” in the United States.  It was home to Senator John McCain and many other US servicemen taken prisoner during the Vietnam War.

The prison was originally established by the French in 1896, when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina.  It takes its name from the concentration of stores that used to sell stoves along the street in pre-colonial times.  Today, it fits neatly into the neighborhood. In fact, it is so unobtrusive, it would be easy to walk right past it.

Inside, the prison has many displays dedicated to the Vietnamese revolutionaries who died in atrocious conditions long before the US action. Displays are captioned in both Vietnamese and English, enabling visitors to view the original cells, complete with leg-irons, and the horrors of life in the prison. There is a memorial for those who perished there. 

 As most Americans know, between 1964 and 1973, the prison’s inmates included several captured US servicemen, such as Senator John McCain and Douglas 'Pete' Peterson, who later became the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. During our visit, we came upon the picture of Richard Tomat, a native of South Carolina who was shot down while serving as an Air Captain in Vietnam.

Two rooms of the prison-museum are devoted to the US servicemen who stayed here.  It is amazing to see the story of their plight told from the Vietnamese perspective.

The Hoa Lo Prison became famous in the United States for the 1987 movie, Hanoi Hilton, which graphically depicted the appalling conditions: prisoners survived on watery soup and bread. They were isolated, starved, beaten, tortured for countless hours, and paraded in anti-American propaganda. While wandering through the dark, damp cells, you cannot help but wonder what went through the minds of those who were imprisoned here.

 Today, the rooms on the US action in Vietnam display US prisoners’ personal effects, along with posters honoring peace demonstrators for their “show of solidarity with the Vietnamese people” against the US government.  There are also pictures showing the Vietnamese people “rescuing” Senator John McCain when his plane went down in water.

According to the Vietnamese account:

The United States government carried out sabotage warfare by air force, and naval force against the north of Vietnam from 5 August 1964 to 15 January 1973.

Thousands of planes were shot down, hundreds of United States pilots were arrested by the North army and people, some of them were imprisoned here.

During the war, the national economy was difficult but Vietnamese government had created the best living conditions to US pilots for they had a stable life during the temporary detention period.  

Some of pictures and objects on these two exhibition show some details of US pilots’ life when they were temporary imprisoned at Hoa Lo Prison.

As we say in US politics, “to the victor belong the spoils” - and the opportunity to write the history?

- Dr. Sarah Tenney

Friendship Village

Today I learned a lesson in life that no school could ever teach: a lesson about how the toll for what they call “the sins of our fathers” must be paid by the children instead of the men and how the innocent suffer for the transgressions of those before them made against mankind. War, in all its glorified destruction, does not always end when the last bullet is fired and the white flag raised.

Today I visited Friendship Village, a small compound where 130 Vietnamese children live together. In this village, there are no parents, only children a small staff of underpaid and overworked individuals who care for them. The children that abide here live in worn down houses with no doors and play with broken toys that are reddened with rust. It is these kids, these innocent and helpless children, who pay the price for a war waged decades ago by their fathers and grandfathers. Some children cannot speak, some cannot hear, other children are missing limbs, or have such severe deformities that it shocks you at first sight. All are so intellectually challenged that they cannot learn.

The children in this village share one thing in common: they were made this way by Agent Orange. Agent Orange was an herbicide used by our country to defoliate the jungles and destroy the food supply of the enemy. This herbicide contains deadly dioxins that became so deeply embedded in the soil and water they will continue to wreak havoc on the bodies of the Vietnamese people for generations to come.

Understanding all this, I had to ask myself if the leaders of our country knew what they were doing when they authorized the use of Agent Orange in Viet Nam—I found the answer is yes. By the early 1960s our government understood what the consequences of this deadly agent would be. But, of course, war is not about saving lives, it is about taking them, and if the children of countless generations must suffer for the failed promotion of democracy then so be it…right? I am not one to be easily upset; tears are not easily coaxed from my eyes. Yet, as I walked through the village and played with the children I felt my stomach churn, and my heart felt as if it were being ripped from my chest—I did not know whether to vomit or cry…knowing we lost the war but managed to defeat the youth of this small nation.

In all of my education, all of the books and lectures, I somehow was not taught about this part of war. What a strange thing to teach students about the Viet Nam war, but fail to mention the 8 million Vietnamese who live today with the effects of Agent Orange. Why do I feel guilty? It wasn’t me who did this to these people. I can’t blame the soldiers, they were just following orders…and after all, they too suffer the consequences. We still lose veterans to Viet Nam. It is not bullets that kill them, but cancer, from a liquid they were told was safe to use by men that knew better. You know why I feel guilty? Why I feel hate for what we did? Because good men did nothing to stop it, and that is all that it takes for evil to prevail—or in this case children to suffer. And now that I know, what can I do? I am just one person, just a number. All I can do is make these kids laugh and be happy even for just a moment, so maybe they can forget that their parents dumped them in a broken down “Friendship Village” and abandoned them for life. In Vietnam, deformity is believed to be a reflection of sin. Thus, these children are seen within their home villages and families as “evil.”

The lesson I learned today, is something that can never be untaught, and I feel it will weigh over my head and heart for the rest of my days.

 -Devon C. Smith

Traffic

Looking back, it’s hard to believe I’ve been in Vietnam for four days. Only last Friday, we were flying at about 3600 feet above Taiwan exhausted and with another 6 hours to go before I would set foot in Vietnam. The wait to get here seemed to last forever. Now, I am amazed at how much has been packed into such a short time in country, not even one fourth of our time here.

As soon as we landed, we were off to a fast pace, beginning with one of the most interesting and/or crazy taxi rides I have ever had. You would be surprised what a good cure for jetlag Hanoi traffic can be.  There were motor scooters, cars, carts, trucks, and you name it flying at us from all directions. Vietnam seems to be without any clear method of traffic procedures, lanes, or rules of any kind. Needless to say, within a couple of minutes of leaving the airport I was fully awake!

We soon arrived at the volunteer center, where we ran into a great and diverse group of people. Some of the volunteers had been there for months, while others like us had just arrived. We made friends quickly and joined several of the volunteers from Australia, Germany, and Switzerland for one crazy weekend excursion.

Bright and early Monday morning we got to work, starting with our orientation. After lunch, the Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV) program coordinator met with us to discussion the project.  Our task will be serving as liaisons between VPV and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the Hanoi area. Our first job will be to help the NGOs draft business plans. The VPV coordinator gave us a list of 14 organizations involved in various areas related to economic development.  Since she needed a couple of days to set up our initial appointments with the NGOs, we got to work doing background research on the NGOs and their functions. We spent yesterday and today using the Internet and talking with other volunteers to research the NGOS to identify the demand for their services, the possible challenges they face, and how they might be helped through the use of volunteers. 

- Matthew Allen Stewart

Independence Day – July 4, 2011

Obviously, we have had the day off to celebrate. As I sit here typing, our new friends from all over the world are sitting on the front steps outside the Volunteer barracks waiting to join us in celebration of our independence. 

We arrived on Friday evening and never got even a moment’s rest before we were packing up our book bags to go downtown to see Hanoi for the weekend.  The first thing that shocked me was the way the Vietnamese people drive! There are mopeds everywhere and no such thing as traffic laws.  You cross the streets by walking, not running, so that the mopeds can drive around you. Traffic NEVER stops!

We stayed at a hostel in Hanoi for only $6 a night. Everything here is extremely cheap compared with prices in America. One American dollar is the equivalent of a little over 20,000 Vietnamese dong (VND). People bargain for just about everything here, which can be fun if you learn a few tricks.

Saturday morning we left the hostel and went to have our first meal in Vietnam. It consisted of a bowl of noodles with diced pork (I presumed it was pork) and mint leaves. It was not very filling but hopefully I will get used to it, seeing that I’ll be here for four weeks. After lunch, we went on a city tour and checked out the shops and observed the way of life in Hanoi. The people’s living arrangements are very simplistic. People live in their shops, and I didn’t see many air conditioning units at all. The average temperature this time of year is 98 degrees. We had dinner - which consisted of noodles and pork again - across the street from the hostel that night.

The next morning we woke up and met up with our friends from the volunteer barracks for a long day of touring that consisted of a tour of an old king’s temple, a seven-mile bike ride, and a river trip.  The king’s temple was very old and had been around sense the 1600s. It had shrines set up on the inside that were quite interesting. The doors were made about knee high, so that you had to step up to enter into the temple in a bowing manner to show respect. Had there been anyone worshipping we were instructed to take our shoes off to show respect as well.

After leaving the temple, we crossed the street and began our seven-mile bike ride through the countryside. We saw the homes that people lived in along the roads during the ride. There was rice set out on the road to dry everywhere, so we literally were forced to weave around the rice sections. We then left the main road and began going through the villages on pathways covered in hay. Just when we thought that we’d never see cold water or food again, we suddenly stopped at a small store. A tiny old Vietnamese lady greeted us with large bottles of water that cost about 10,000 VND each. Our guide purchased some fruit called lychee, which is like a large grape but it is covered with a rubbery shell you have to peel off. It was great!

After riding another 3.5 miles though rice patty fields, we arrived at a restaurant where we had lunch. Following our meal we went on a three-hour boat ride. There was rice growing along a large majority of the river and we went under several mountains through caves. Our boat was a small metal boat very similar to a John boat that a Vietnamese woman paddled with her feet.

It was an incredible first three days here in Vietnam. I already feel as if I’ve been here for weeks. I cannot wait to see what comes in the next four weeks.  Getting used to the food and the heat here is already well worth the experience of being in this country.

From Hanoi,

Keegan Bailey O ‘12

Volunteers for Peace Barracks

It is 5:30 am and already hot. I am sweating so much it would be useless to put on makeup.  Needless to say, there is little – or no – air conditioning in the Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV) barracks.

Even as I whine quietly into my cà phê, I feel humbled by the extent which Americans truly are “rich and spoiled.” We wake up every morning and simply expect to have running water. This is not the case for the rest of the globe. This is not the case for the VPV barracks!

In America, we expect everyone who comes to our country to speak English. I find that when we visit other people’s countries, we still expect everyone to speak English.  If you don’t believe me, try shopping for a bath towel in Tay Mo.

For days, the cadets and I have been sending our family members and friends instructions for using a Vietnamese standard bathroom. We forget how lucky we are, even in the outskirts of Hanoi, to have one.

Actually, the cadets have adjusted amazing well. Perhaps they see our accommodations here as only a small step down from Stephen’s Barracks. They are not even using the mosquito nets that should go on their beds. In fact, they are having so much fun, they are only slowing coming to realize our “home” here would be a big step up for many Vietnamese.

We all agree the food is good, although we are not entirely sure what it is. It is impressive the way the cook here, named Mrs. Cuc, manages to pull together a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes to suit the tastes and satisfy the appetites of 40-some young volunteers twice each day.

Despite the heat and the relative hardship, everyone here, volunteers and VPV staff alike, seem to pull together as a team in a joint effort to make a difference.

-Dr. Sarah Tenney

Service-Learning Pioneers

On Wednesday, June 29, three Citadel cadets, Keegan Bailey, Devon Smith and Matthew Stewart headed to Hanoi, Vietnam to launch the Citadel’s first service-learning program devoted to international politics and military affairs. 

As a teaching method, service-learning falls into the category of experiential education, as it combines meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the overall learning process. According to the National Service-Learning Clearing House, service-learning programs teach not only the subject matter at hand, but also civic responsibility and the tools of lifelong civic engagement.

During the month-long service-learning Vietnam program, the three seniors will undertake course work in economic development, particularly  in Southeast Asia while serving as volunteers in a variety of nongovernmental organizations actively engaged in furthering development and well-being in Vietnam. 

Keegan Bailey, a native of Florence, SC and a graduating senior from Oscar Company, says he was initially attracted to the program because he had never traveled outside of the United States before coming to The Citadel. As a major in international politics and military affairs he was keen to witness some of the challenges involved in economic development first hand.  Agreeing with Bailey, Matthew Stewart, of Simpsonville, SC, added that he was enthusiastic about the program the minute he learned the School of Humanities and Social Sciences was considering it. In fact, Stewart, a rising senior from Oscar Company, helped promote the program among his classmates.  Devon Smith, a native of Eagle Idaho, added, “Many students travel to Europe as part of the undergraduate experience, but the Vietnam program offers a truly unique opportunity to do something really valuable for the people we meet.”

Sarah Tenney, an Assistant Professor in the Political Science and Criminal Justice Department, says she first got the idea for the program after attending a college-wide faculty meeting on the value of service learning.  “When I came away from the meeting, I was really excited to find a way to offer this type of experience to students majoring in international politics. Clearly, that was likely to take our groups beyond Charleston.  The Vietnam program, working with local nongovernmental organizations will give the cadets an opportunity to relate the theoretical concepts involved in economic development with the practical experience they gain on the ground. Moreover, it will encourage them to hone and practice critical communication skills while reflecting on their personal and career interests.

-Dr. Sarah Tenney