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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE January 18, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| April 12, 2006 |
Da Nang, Viet Nam – Ky La Village |
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| Ky La in the afternoon. |
“I wanted to experience the real Viet Nam,” said Yusuke Kitagawa, Peace Boat participant. “I’ve been to Viet Nam several times before, but only to the cities. This time I wanted to experience the country side.” He and 29 other participants headed out of Da Nang to the small farming village of Ky La. By staying overnight with a local family, participants hoped to gain first-hand experience of rural Viet Nam.
In past voyages, peace activist Le Ly Haslip has joined Peace Boat to share her experiences during the Viet Nam war. Born and raised in Ky La, Le Ly was able to escape the devastation of the war and start a new life in America. Today, her humanitarian efforts provide housing, schools, and medical clinics for villages in Viet Nam. On this cultural exchange tour, participants had the opportunity to visit her hometown and observe a clinic and vocational training center Le Ly setup. |
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| At the rehabilitation center, participants sing songs to the children affected by Agent Orange. |
The clinic, built in 1995, provides local villagers with basic medical treatment. An additional rehabilitation building, built a few years later, treats children suffering from Agent Orange-related birth defects. Some participants found the visit to the clinic particularly difficult. “I felt so sorry for the kids, but I’m glad we sang songs and made them laugh,” said Peace Boat participant Yuko Nagai. |
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| Participants learn how to weave baskets at the vocational training center. |
After the clinic, participants traveled to a nearby vocational training center. There, young adults learn skills like basket weaving and candle-making. The skills provide them with a means of additional income while still being able to help out at home. Participants bought candles and weaved goods at the vocational center to support the local community. |
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| Dancing around the bonfire, participants share their culture with the local villagers. |
By the time participants arrived at Ky La, they were starving. The locals treated them to a traditional Vietnamese dinner of fried fish, water dumplings, veggies, soup and rice. Later in the evening, participants danced the Japanese traditional dance, obon odori, and sang songs to the children. Initially shy, the children became excited when participants brought out origami and began to show them how to fold cranes. “Even though I couldn’t communicate with words, it was a lot of fun to point at pictures and use gestures to communicate,” said Yuko. |
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| Attempting to communicate without words, participants point at a picture dictionary. |
Sleeping only on straw mats laid across the floor, participants awoke at five in the morning to the loud sounds of a radio being broadcasted through the village. The villagers rose early to tend their rice patties and the children, dressed in uniform, rushed off to school. Participants spent the morning walking around and getting acquainted with the village.
Some participants found their experience in Ky La to be pleasant. “The slow pace of life reminds me of how Japan used to be. “ said Kozaburo Ozawa. He was particularly impressed by how open the houses were, and that friends and neighbors would stop by freely. However, other participants felt different. In a letter home, Hide Koshio wrote, “The living conditions were far worse than I had imagined. The food was overly salty or otherwise bland…. In the living room there was single TV and couch. Not much else.” |
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A few days after departing Ky La, participants attended a special screening of Oliver Stone’s film “Heaven and Earth.” An adaptation of Le Ly Haslip's life during and after the war, the film gave participants the background of Ky La that most were unaware of. After seeing how much the people of the village had suffered, Kozaburo said, “Now, Ky La has an even more special place in my heart.”
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