The following is an edited version of what was exchanged between me and this admirable man.
Giang Nguyen: What was your life like before the accident?
Tran Van Tinh: I used to be a carefree child. Most of my childhood time was spent wandering, playing football or looking for fruits with my friends. Never had I returned home without tattering my shirt or staining my clothes through. I think I would have led a different life if the accident had never occurred. I might well be like my parents and grandparents: growing up, inheriting my parents’ land plot and cultivating it.
GN: So what exactly happened? And how did you overcome such a lifetime challenge?
TVT: Well, like a child plays. We small kids gathered around a production plan. We dared each other to take turns to try our courage. I unknowingly put my right hand into an active rotating machine, and lost it forever. It was really hard: the moment I woke up in the hospital, inquiring my doctor about my right arm, I knew I would for the rest of my life be disabled. The idea of committing suicide had occurred to me more than one time, and for a long period, I just wanted to hide away from everyone. I thought it was all over for me.
TVT: Now looking back, I could not put together exactly what motivated me to overcome such a challenge. It could be my parents, who maintained an open policy and due respect for their children’s independence. My parents never interfered in my decision over the choice of friends, career aspirations or other important decisions, but only gave advice and necessary support. It could be a series of documentaries about an impaired woman who became rich despite her situation. Or it could be my elder brother who, coming home and seeing me in this state, continuously condemned me. He even questioned me to make it clear: whether I would choose to lift myself out of this stagnation, or continue that way. If I chose the latter, and wanted to commit suicide, he offered to buy me the poison.
TVT: And I made my choice. I considered my situation at that stage. I could not become a peasant like my parents who made a living out of sweat work, or pursue a particular career in my countryside. So I turned to studying as the only way out. I tried my best to win a place at the university. I passed the entrance exam into the National University, despite the fact that my studying condition in the countryside was much more disadvantaged.
GN: Sounds like a real triumph over such daunting difficulty. But I guessed there still existed a lot of difficulties ahead, as a disabled student, in a new environment and with little support, spiritually and financially?
TVT: Right. It could be seen as only the start of successive battles over prejudice against the disabled, as well as to maintain self-motivation. I was literally alone at the university. My family could not afford to support my study and living allowances. My brother, who was at that time pursuing a master degree, could not offer much help. I was conspicuously different from all of my friends and always likely to be the centre of unwanted attention. I used to walk purposelessly at night, along the corridor of the hostel where I lived all my student life. During that long track, one idea after another came to my mind. I thought about my current status, about the hardships and hurts I had been through. I sometimes pictured a better future, with lot of expectations and joys. That long track is like a vivid shot of film, perpetual in my mind.
TVT: Luckily I received a scholarship from the Prudential Support Fund. It could not help me lead an affluent life at university, but it was enough to continue my study. Yet, there was another obstacle to get by. Before going to university, I had made it clear to myself as to the possible prejudice and unfavorable response from other people. But expectations could never match reality. I never ever had the idea that I would one day be asked by one of my teachers how an impaired person like me could stay in university. “The disabled”, they said, “are not eligible to learn to be a teacher”. Another incident was when we had a gymnastic lesson. The gymnastic teacher was sensitive enough to send me to deliver orders to my friends. When they had finished, a group of girls inquired why I did not produce applause like other people. They should have known better because I had been in the university for more than a year at that time, and such a public place was not suitable for such a question.
TVT: I gradually built up my own “defense system”. I would not turn away or let people get away easily. Instead, I confronted them with total directness: “Why can’t a disabled person study to become a teacher? Well, I am a disabled one, and I dare you to find ways to rid this university of me”, and, “If you girls could lend me an arm, I would be glad to join the applause”.
TVT: I tried to be more hardened to such comments, and in this regard, actively joined many youth activities at my university. By throwing myself at more public occasions, I believed I would become more confident and communicative. I became a member of the Student Association Panel, and the Committees of Youth Union at my university. Together with a group of students, I set up the monthly award for 10 distinguished impaired students, sponsored by the Prudential Fund. This was the first step towards my growing involvement in social activities.
GN: And …?
TVT: Well, I graduated. After graduation, I was offered a place at Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation - VVAF. Then it was a series of trips to conferences (APEC IT Camp for Youth With Disabilities in Seoul, South Korea August 2002; UNESCAP Decade for the Disabled Persons 1993-2002, October 2002; International Gathering in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, March 2003; Youth, Development & Peace 2004, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina September 5-7, 2004; PAN Asia – Pacific Youth Leadership Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, September 18-22, 2004; International Dialogue on Youth in Lubeck, Germany November 2004). These conferences have brought me a lot of experiences and skills, as well as unforgettable memories. The conference to Bosnia, for example, was most perilous for me. I did not have visa at that time, and was constantly retained at customs checkpoints. We arrived in the country when it still had not recovered from the past civil war, and beggars were everywhere. But that, along with other conferences, was always joyful to me. I felt a “burning fire” within myself, and that fire was rekindled again and again as I went deeper and deeper into social activities.
GN: As far as I gather from your activities, you must have had a lot of interactions with youth. Do you have any comment or suggestions?
TVT: I am currently working as focal point for the United Nations Youth Programme in Vietnam. This position is extremely consuming. I have to do a lot of communications, moving from one place to another and planning a lot of projects. And yes, during my activities, I have had many chances of working with young people. In the Vietnamese context, youth activities are flourishing. The problem is they only reach a small scale and most of their activities are spontaneous across the country. Political and social obstacles are the main reason behind this setback. Generally speaking, all youth activities have to be in line with the government authorities’ permission and that framework could be particularly restrictive. Young people, by comparison with other countries, have more difficulties in, for example, holding an international conference. Part of my activities is to help them overcome such holdbacks.
GN: What do you think of MDGs and youth, given the fact that the Millenium Campaign has received worldwide youth participation and support? Do you have any idea as to the possible effect MDGs have on youth?
TVT: The MDGs and youth is an interesting issue. As far as I am concerned, youth have and will be the main force to drive these goals ahead. MDGs are not compulsorily binding for all countries, and they touch on nearly every aspect of social and political considerations. Such a comprehensive approach, however, could be easily taken over by the youth in their simplest activities. Young people have already had many movements in teaching disadvantaged children, volunteering to help poor people in remote areas, or keeping the city clean… These goals will be a helpful guideline for their contribution to the community. MDGs, on the other hand, have a great influence on youth in return. I myself did not know anything about the MDGs until I attended a conference in Japan. My general perceptions have been much widened since, and they have helped me a lot in maintaining an all-round, yet detailed view in my activities. The MDGs campaign is a golden opportunity for youth to upgrade themselves in all terms, social knowledge, skills or a much needed common platform.
GN: Thanks for the idea. And the fact is, what you have done could be the great example of young people taking the initiative in changing their surroundings. You know, as a disabled person who is supposed to receive help from others, you now turn out to be the one who help young people become more useful. Do you have any specific plan for the future?
TVT: I never think of myself as a superb hero or a bright example for other people to follow. I believe anyone in my situation would have acted like me, and it is natural that I have made such choices and lived in such a way. I still haven’t got any definite plan for my future, but it is likely that I will come back to work for disabled people’s organizations. Many other organizations have offered me places, but I just want to contribute to the still weak movements for the disabled, after, of course, doing something in my current position.
GN: Do you want to say anything to young people…your, say, younger brothers and sisters?
TVT: My last words to the youth are that they should join more social activities. Some may think that volunteer work brings them nothing but hardship and troubles. Some may doubt if their time spent on other activities would be more worthwhile. I don’t want to give any personal comment on that matter. But from my own experience, doing volunteer work will help you become more socially aware, and more skilled in practical regards like doing interviews, or writing a project. It also helps you build up strong relationships which you will never gain easily if you restrict yourself to the four walls of your house or university. To give is to get. I have lost my right arm and could have risked wasting the rest of my life. But I have given a lot, and in doing that, received so many blessed returns.
GN: Thank you.
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