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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| June 4, 2005 |
Child of War, Woman of Peace – Interview with Le Ly Hayslip |
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| Le Ly and Alan Hayslip, advocates for peace, during their presentation onboard the Peace Boat |
Do not let Le Ly Hayslip’s diminutive size fool you, as it fails to illustrate how much energy, compassion and dedication she actually holds. Since 1994 Le Ly has been coming aboard Peace Boat as a guest speaker, and on this voyage she was joined by her son Alan Hayslip to talk about their non-profit work with orphanages and schools in Viet Nam and Sri Lanka. A peace activist, Le Ly’s personal memoirs, which chronicle her painful and ultimately triumphant journey from a childhood in war-torn Viet Nam to her new life in the US, were adapted into the film “Heaven and Earth” by Oliver Stone in 1994. |
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| Xiangrun Li from Singapore (left) stands with Alan and Le Ly at the opening of a school in Viet Nam |
As an outspoken critic of war, Le Ly has been honored many times for her charitable service and humanitarian peace efforts. In 1986, Le Ly returned to Viet Nam to visit her aging mother and was stunned by the devastation, poverty and illness left by the war. She organized the East Meets West Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides housing, education and medical care for Vietnamese children and villagers. After accompanying a US trade mission to Viet Nam with Bill and Hillary Clinton in 2000 to sign a historic final trade agreement between the US and Viet Nam, Le Ly expanded her vision to promote peace and harmony among all nations of the world by establishing Global Village Fountain. Through its annual Bridge of Peace Awards event, the Foundation honors individuals and organizations for their humanitarian contributions and peace efforts. Past honorees have included Maya Ling Lin, Oliver Stone and Peace Boat. The foundation’s grassroots efforts provide schools and orphanages to impoverished rural areas, such as the ones Peace Boat participants visited in Viet Nam as well as in a tsunami-devastated area of Sri Lanka. |
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| Peace Boat participants engage in a cultural exchange with students at the new school funded by Le Ly Hayslip’s Global Village Foundation |
Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa, Le Ly aspires to spread her message for peace by talking openly about war and its destruction at venues ranging from universities to the Peace Boat. She remembers watching the broadcasts of the war in Iraq: “When the bombing started in Iraq I immediately felt a connection to the people because they were going through what the Vietnamese people went through 30 years ago. I felt very sad for all humanity.” Aware of possible misconceptions formed about the US people, Le Ly reached out to the Iraqi guests to learn how she could help reconstruct the country and heal the people of Iraq. |
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| A look inside a recently built school in Viet Nam |
Le Ly believes we can build “bridges of peace” together as an alternative to war and violence by educating ourselves about global issues such as civil and inter-state wars, natural disasters and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, as well as being involved with open dialogue about past wounds. In this aspect, sharing experiences provide opportunities for people “to learn from each other and give voices to those with no voice”. For Le Ly, this means beginning with her own story, as well as speaking out for the disadvantaged. Although her deep conviction is beautifully explained in her memoirs, Le Ly hopes that with vision and compassion others will continue towards a “path of insight” to reach out to all the people of the world. |
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