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If somebody asked me, “How much hunger have you experienced?” I would recall a day when I refused meals then enjoyed a big dish that day as if I had been starving for the whole week. I was not born with a silver spoon in mouth, but my family has been well-fed. How can a girl like me “have a chance” to be more hungry than that? In my 21 peaceful years so far, I have never tasted the feeling of extreme hunger, and I know neither have many of you. But if someone asks me “How does hunger make you feel?” I will respond, “It hurts.” It hurts neither because of acid in the stomach nor because of any self-pity. It hurts because...
The imagination of hunger in me
History class. The time of 1944-1945. About 2 million people died of hunger in the North of Vietnam. After the Declaration of Independence announced by President Ho Chi Minh on September 2nd 1945, Vietnam faced severe famine as one of the three major “enemies” in the post-war rehabilitation. I found no difficulty in learning that only-one-page history lesson. I understood that two million is a huge number. I also comprehended that the disaster was a grievous point in our history. Unfortunately, what left in my mind was no more than a historical event.
Literature class. There were many works written on the poverty and hunger issues of the Vietnamese farmers, especially about the starvation mentioned above. “The accidental wife” (Vo nhat) is a good example. The story was about a man and a woman becoming wife and husband just by chance, when the dreadful starvation was happening around them. The description was so inspiring and compared to the boring lines in the history book, it drew a clearer picture of hunger in my mind.
Television newsreel. About 10 years ago, the Vietnamese national television channel showed again and again poor children in Somalia. It might be the first time a real image of extreme hunger had come to my eyes. I believe that once any of us see them, it is impossible to forget. The children looked so miserable. Their heads seemed to be too big but actually their bodies were too gaunt. What we saw on TV those days impacted us so much that there was even a popular idiom: “like a Somali” means “looks so thin!”
Gradually I got to know hunger in that way. And the change in me after that, perhaps more generous donations to beggars only. That’s why I considered my understanding of poverty and hunger a kind of “luxury.”
Zooming into a national pain
According to historian Van Tao, ex-director of the Vietnam Institute of History, the 1945 starvation took place in 32 cities and provinces in Vietnam from Quang Tri northwards. From 1990-1995, the Institute, in collaboration with a group of Japanese experts, conducted three comprehensive scientific researches in a wide range of 23 provinces where the starvation was most noticed. The result showed that 15% of civilians in the regions died in the starvation. At that time the population of the 32 cities and provinces were at around 13 million, hence, the number of two million victims was reconfirmed.
As a consequence of the French colonial policies and the inhuman regime of the Japanese fascism, the disaster left a deep cut in Vietnam’s history. I remember someone said: “To any species, there is nothing more painful and disgraceful than to die in hunger....”
Don’t forget to remember
Mrs. Van is a witness of the dire starvation 60 years ago in Vietnam that I know. Like many other people, she does not want to recall those appalling days. Her parents died in the tragedy. It was very fortunate for her and her brother to survive because the famine in their home town Nam Dinh forced them to leave. They did not know where to go, but they had to move in hoping that they could get out of the horrible situation. I don’t know exactly how many witnesses like Mrs. Van now enjoy a normal but happy life. I am truly happy for them and respect their silence about the unforgettable terrible past.
After 60 years, the hurt of the catastrophe might have been relieved but it should never be forgotten. Later generations must know and ensure to prevent its return. The tragic historical story of Vietnam should also be learned by global community. I shiver to notice that perhaps the nightmare in our history is still happening out there.
Don’t forget to remember. Don’t remember to do nothing. It would be a shame if the first generation that can put an end to extreme poverty and hunger around the world misses this opportunity! Actions must be done!
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Pinkie
"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim"
* If - Rudyard Kipling *
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