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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
April 25, 2006
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| April 10, 2006 |
My Life During the Viet Nam War – My Doan Thi Takasaki |
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| Participants got creative in making My Doan’s poster. |
My Doan Thi Takasaki grew up surrounded by the daily carnage of war. The sounds of bombs and mines detonating filled her daily life. Every time a helicopter flew over her small farming village in Southern Viet Nam, she feared for her life. On the streets, she witnessed US military men accompanied by Vietnamese women forced into prostitution. The sight of a captured Viet Cong dragging behind a US tank haunts her to this day. As a child, she could not comprehend how human beings were capable of inflicting such harm on one another. |
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| My Doan dressed in the traditional Vietnamese Aozai dress for her presentation. |
Today, My Doan is a researcher at the International Peace Research Institute at Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo, Japan. Impassioned by her childhood experience, she works tirelessly for peace and conflict prevention. She advocates on behalf of victims of the Viet Nam War and educates the public about the devastating effects of the chemical herbicide Agent Orange. Joining Peace Boat from Yokohama to Da Nang, My Doan gives a human face to the war in Viet Nam. |
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| No seat was left unfilled during My Doan’s shares. |
Born in Dalat, a rural area comprised of coffee and tea growers, her family supported Ho Chi Min and the National Liberation Front (or the Viet Cong). She said, “The US-backed Republic of Viet Nam could not win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese farmers.” Eager to participate, her two older brothers joined the Viet Cong at the early age of 15 and 17. Though her hometown was spared from the toxic sprays of Agent Orange, mines planted by US troops later killed her brothers. At the age of 11, she and her sisters were sent to live in Catholic boarding school for the remainder the war. When Saigon fell and the war finally ended in 1975, My Doan remembers standing amidst the celebrations feeling bemused: happy that Viet Nam was finally liberated but at the same time feeling terribly sad at loss of her loved ones.
Though she witnessed the degradation of her homeland and people, she never bore any hatred towards the American people. She vividly remembers being comforted by an American GI during a house raid. When she was just seven years old, 12 US soldiers barged into her family’s home in the middle of the night. The soldiers ordered her family to stand in a corner and demanded to know if they were hiding any Viet Cong. Startled by the sudden intrusion, she began to cry. Seeing how terrified she was, a GI caressed her hair and said softly, “Oh my baby, I’m so sorry to wake you up. Go back to sleep. “Perhaps she reminded him of his own daughter thousands of miles away.” She said it was moments like this when she understood that “in war everyone is a victim.” |
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| Participants had so many questions for My Doan that a special discussion was held afterwards. |
In the discussion following My Doan’s talk, a woman stepped forward to share that she and her college friends had been actively involved in the anti-Viet Nam war movement in Japan. She wanted to know if My Doan was aware of the efforts of the Viet Nam Peace League. Though My Doan was fairly young at the time, she remembers watching television and seeing images of Japanese and US demonstrators relentlessly protesting the war. She expressed tremendous gratitude to the participant for taking direct action that helped to end the war. |
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| Many participants were touched by My Doan’s moving personal story. |
A beacon of hope and forgiveness, My Doan has touched the hearts of all those onboard. As Peace Boat makes its way to its first port of call, Da Nang, Viet Nam, My Doan has given the participants a glimpse into the culture and history of Viet Nam. A glimpse that she hopes will help participants forge deeper connections with the Vietnamese people. |
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