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Water puppetry originated from North Vietnam in 11th century, from the Red River Delta. The art of puppetry flourished mainly in the northern region of Vietnam but it spread all over the country through the years providing entertainment for the people. It is not just a great source of entertainment but also a form of art that needs extreme precision and tremendous practice. Water puppetry is exactly as it sounds - puppets dancing and moving along the water, controlled by the invisible hands of the puppet masters. But the culture of water puppetry is something that is very unique and integral to the Vietnamese people. It also tells the story of people’s solidarity around the world against a powerful nation using war to control a people.Puppetry has existed in many parts of the world for as long as 4000 years. The War Remnants Museum contains immense horrors captured in images, but also tells the story of the people who risked their lives to share the experiences of an oppressed people fighting for their liberation. There was barely enough room to move, prisoners were left out in the weather, and treated in inhumane ways by the invaders. Outside the building are examples of the “tiger cages” created for Vietnamese prisoners of war. Eventually, the war became untenable for the U.S. Shocking images of the war flowed out of Vietnam and entered the international media, helping the peace movement to grow. The stories that those with guns couldn’t tell were told by photographers and filmmakers. The reality of the war entered people’s lives outside of Vietnam through images. A pilot drops a bomb and flies away, while a person becomes another unrecognisable body. The war crimes exhibition shares the loss, grief, pain and suffering the Vietnamese population went through to gain their liberation.Īnother room contains the story of the weapons used in the war and their consequences. There is no sign of Vietnam chest beating or gloating over its victory. To see a modern war documented in a way that highlights its atrocities hits the heart. The next exhibit features a display of war crimes, photographed by various people. Images show babies born with birth defects next to those living through Agent Orange attacks. military during the war to destroy forests and crops–was an agent of death and torture for the living and the unborn. Agent Orange–a herbicide and defoliant chemical deployed by the U.S. The room entitled “Agent Orange Consequences in the American war of aggression in Vietnam” shows the human cost of the war for generations of Vietnamese and Americans. On the first floor, the exhibits are confronting. The entrance to the museum, which houses exhibits from the international anti-war movement. When things got so dark and destructive for the Vietnamese, so many people were on their side, and the number of people who were anti-war kept growing. This exhibit gives off hope and shares positivity. The ground floor tells the story of those around the world who wanted peace in Vietnam: Anti-war posters, images of people protesting and standing in solidarity with the Vietnamese adorn the walls. The people gave all they had to finally gain freedom and independence from foreign powers. invaded Vietnam, the French were doing their best to maintain Indochina as a colony. Absent is any glamourisation.įor the Vietnamese people, it was the War of Resistance Against America, and the museum tells the story of what they went through to achieve victory. The grounds of the museum open with a collection of United States military vehicles–a UH 1 Huey Helicopter, F-5A Fighter plane, M48 Patton Tank, A-1 Skyraider Bomber and a A-37 Dragonfly Bomber–and other tools of war. Standing in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the question arises: Who wrote the history of the Vietnam War we were taught in Australia?
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There’s a saying that “the victor writes history”.