We are no different than you

***This is based on the stories of my old neighborhood in Vietnam. Stories from my dad and his family who suffered through the Vietnam War. Stories from my former babysitter who was a victim of the Việt Công forced labor and gave birth to the children of American soldiers (She never saw them again). Stories of trauma from an American soldier’s brother. And stories from my history professor whose dad fought in the war.***



Today, the world is almost unified, but more than half a decade ago, the civil war against North and South Vietnam, took 58,220 lives of the U.S. soldiers not including the Vietnamese themselves. But in America here, we are the ones to be blamed for the war. The innocents are being glared upon for the numbers of casualties that Americans hold. You look at us like we're different. Like we’re different.

The terror and waking dream of millions of others including some people’s parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and or themselves. The memory of the famine, the gas bomb, seeing the family taken away and never to be seen again. The waking terror that Americans called the deadliest war, was deadlier for us Vietnamese. Like us. Like us, we suffered the loss of our loved ones. Like us, we are no different.

When the sons of families were drafted into the war by the Việt Công—the communists—the families were looking at their ends. Most families weren't communist. More ever, they needed the American’s help to democracy, but we knew Americans also suffered our casualties. Put into battle, they were forced to shoot, kill, and murder. This wasn’t what they wanted. They just want peace. Like you. Like you, we wanted peace and democracy. Like you, we are no different.

Too many were shaken to the bones to be drafted. They hid from the heavy boot footsteps of the soldiers. Through the secret passage of their very own home, they hid. Hid like there was no tomorrow. Many people who had money bribed their ways out through connections. They bribed their ways out by faking their health. Faking their sickness and illness. We are no different. Americans retreated back to the U.S. to get rid of the rising numbers of casualties. Like us. Like us, we want to seek safety away from reality. Like us, we are no different.

Many people seek refuge from the U.S. Many escape to another country just to escape the deadly war and the rise of communism. Why must there be so many deaths? Even through the suffering to escape suffering itself, why must they face the death of misfortune? Escaping through boats, through stealth, through betrayal, they seek freedom. Freedom… until they were caught. Like you. Like you, we seek freedom in our own lives. Like you, we are no different.

Those who were fortunate enough to be spared, or those who stayed in the countries were forced into labor. Those who lived in the countryside were given little to eat and no shelter. Lands were taken away from them. They worked long hours like slaves to produce the crops for the Việt Công. When they tried to escape, they burned all their photos and their own identities. Like us. Like us, we were at the mercy of our enemies. Like us, we are no different.

Those who were caught were killed, murdered, tortured, never to be seen. Ever. Like Americans who had lost their lives fighting the war, why must you talk about the Vietnam War with such hatred towards us innocent Vietnamese? Can’t you see that we suffered too? Can’t you imagine escaping our own country—our home—and seeing our families killed. Like you. Like you, we lost the ones we hold dearest to. Like you, we are no different.

Today, it’s 48 years since the terrific Vietnam War. We now live in an almost unified world. We walk together in the light as we remember the darkest times of our lives. Like you, our fellow American, we had overcome the long lasting war. Like us, we are no different than you.