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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| June 21, 2003 |
Danang, Vietnam – Guest Speaker - Le Ly Hayslip |
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| Le Ly Hayslip telling her incredible story |
From a poor Viet Namese girl to the subject of the Hollywood movie 'Heaven and Earth', the incredible journey of Le Ly Hayslip's life started only a few kilometers from the city of Danang, in a small village near China Beach.
Her early years were spent working the rice paddies with the family water buffalo and taking care of their ducks and chickens. It was a simple life, and she dreamt only of marrying a local boy and having a family of her own before being buried next to her ancestors.
She now lives in a five bedroom home in California, and is the author of several books as well as being a world travelling peace activist and the lady who accompanied the former US president Bill Clinton on a visit to Viet Nam.
Le Ly was born in 1949 as the conflict with the French was concluding, and although she grew up with the horror stories of war, she says they were happy times.
Describing herself as a typical Viet Namese villager who wanted to live true to the Buddhist values of ancestor worship and harmony with the land, she told the Peace Boat audience how she became a member of the Viet Cong after the arrival of US troops in 1963. After Viet Nam's successes against the Chinese, Japanese and French, it was easy for her to support the army of Ho Chi Minh - the freedom fighters she believed would protect her family and land from the foreign invaders. |
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As a child member of the Viet Cong, Le Ly stole weapons, helped the wounded, sang songs, cooked their food and signalled when enemy soldiers were in the area. All this was under the guise of being allied with the South Viet Namese government while secretly working for the North. She was captured and tortured by the South three times before her sister bribed officials for her release. After being raped by two Viet Cong soldiers from her village she fled to the city to work as a servant for a wealthy family before falling for the master of the house and becoming pregnant.
Homeless and with a child, she sold goods on the black market to US soldiers before meeting her first husband, an American civil contractor building roads. In 1970 she flew to the United States with a husband who was over thirty years older than her and two children - now with a second son.
The culture shock of suburban life in the US was almost as testing as the war. The estrangement from her new family and racism of many of the US people she encountered made life hard. News of the war and ignorance to the true facts of what was actually occurring in Viet Nam made her despair and angry at the same time. After a few turbulent years of making a place for herself in the world again, being twice widowed and financially crippled, she decided it was time to return to Viet Nam and help rebuild her war ravaged country. |
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The years of embargoes against Viet Nam had brought the country to its knees. When Le Ly returned in 1986, after months of bureaucratic wrangling with the state department, - the CIA wanted her to spy for them but she refused - she found the country she loved like a "ghost town".
The people of Viet Nam were starving, and the infrastructure of the government was in disarray. Due to the red tape of the US and Viet Namese governments, she realized that the easiest way to help her people would be to form an non-governmental organization (NGO). The 'East meets West Foundation' was born, and Le Ly raised money to build hospitals and schools whilst leading tours to Viet Nam of US veterans who wanted to return and see the real damage the war had done.
Apart from the social problems of illiteracy, the unwanted children of fathers who had died or returned to the US, and the mental health of ex-military and civilians involved in the war, there were still thousands of unexploded bombs and mines littering the country. During the US air campaign, more bombs were dropped on Viet Nam than during World Wars I and II combined.
The spraying of the herbicide Agent Orange contaminated villages and land, with people still suffering today from health problems caused by the long-term effects of this powerful pollutant. In 1994 the embargoes ended, and although this change injected much needed foreign investment into a "dust poor" country, Le Ly continued fundraising to build more schools, training centers and health clinics by forming another NGO called the 'Global Village Foundation'. |
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Ky La Homestay
Over 40 members of Peace Boat visited a health clinic and vocational training center funded by money raised through the Global Village Foundation. Le Ly took the group to her village of Ky La where they homestayed for the night in local family's homes. Before eating traditional Viet Namese food with their hosts, the visitors had been entertained by festival of singing, dancing and theatre. The guests then took their turn on the stage, performing the Japanese 'Dojosukui' dance.
After a night sleeping on reed mats beneath mosquito nets, communicating with gestures and smiles only, many members rose early to help with the gardening or play with the excited local children. Despite the troubled history of Ky La, the people live according to the values that Le Ly spoke of when she was just a small girl riding a water buffalo and caring for her ducks and chickens.
The traditional lifestyle is in balance with nature and the unspoiled land. Food is homegrown and natural, and the importance of ancestor worship is apparent in the many shrines and burning of incense. Through the charity of Le Ly's foundations, the people of Ky La can live with vital healthcare, training, schooling and peace.
Danang Youth Exchange
Wearing traditional Viet Namese reed hats, the Danang Youth Group welcomed Peace Boat into port by performing an eye-catching dance on the side of the wharf. The 200members of the youth cultural exchange tour disembarked to be greeted by the beaming smiles of the Viet Namese students they would be partnered with for the next two days. Before boarding the buses that would take everyone to the festival in Danang, the dancing students presented their conical hats to Peace Boat participants.
On the trip through the dusty streets of the city, students and Peace Boat participants made friends while learning how to sing 'Ho Chi Minh' in Vietnamese. The falling and rising tones of the language, combined with a tune unknown to most of the participants, made for some original versions of the national song.
At the school in Danang, over 400 of the exchange participants divided into teams to take part in a rice shelling and cooking competition, working together to see who could prepare the most rice in the quickest time. Once the winners had been announced, the teams went inside to eat a delicious array of traditional and spicy Viet Namese foods - including spring rolls, noodles, rolled rice and juicy lychees.
The evening's entertainment burst into life with a pumping show of dancing and singing from both the Viet Namese students and the Peace Boat participants. Many talented acts took the stage, with a balloon dance performance from a group of Viet Namese children and the Peace Boat ensemble at the finale most memorable. Though time was now getting late, the night was still young as the group moved on to a nearby beach to watch the spectacular Viet Namese fire dance.
Over 100 dancers dressed in red passed flaming torches along a snaking line, lighting up the dark with a burning, mythical story of creation and Viet Nam. The torches were tossed into the fire to finish the legendary tale, and the Peace Boat audience joined the dancers in circling the flames to end the night's festivities. New friends chatted under the stars, sitting on the sand or paddling in the sea, before sleeping the night in tents on the beach.
The next morning was spent with Peace Boat participants and their partners touring the city, visiting some of the colourful and lively markets, the Ho Chi Minh war museum or just walking the streets and taking in the sights and sounds of a vibrant Danang. The action packed, 24 hours were almost finished, and for the Peace Boat members it was time to return to the ship. The Peace Boat pulled away from the port in a rainbow of multi-coloured streamers and waving hands, after emotional farewells and email addresses had been exchanged on the dock, along with hundreds of unforgettable memories and promises to return again one day. |
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Le Ly's farewell - A Viet Namese Wedding
The final part of Le Ly Hayslip's voyage was the performance of a traditional Viet Namese wedding. The Peace Boat participants, who volunteered to take part in the elegant ceremony, dressed in 'Ao zai' (traditional dress) and rehearsed the correct etiquette and formalities before the service. Once the matrimonial rights had been given, Le Ly gave the audience goose bumps with a stirring rendition of a time-honoured wedding song. She then went on to thank Peace Boat for supporting her foundations and work in Viet Nam, giving a big thank you to the 1000 dollars that had been donated by Peace Boat participants while onboard.
Le Ly stressed the importance of Peace Boat's role in the campaign against war, telling the audience that "We must all learn to live together and improve relations between different countries", and that "It takes many grains of sand to make a beautiful beach." Those who heard her inspiring story will never forget it. |
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