It is important to first look at the time
around the Vietnam
War to examine the film better.
This time causes the reason for the documentary. The Vietnam War began
in 1959 and ended in 1975. This was one of the most publicly open wars in
American history and thus became extremely unpopular with the American people.
The American public was able to see the war more than any other war before this
time and support for it disappeared. The negative images in the media gave rise
to much opposition by the American public.
The
documentary Daughter from Danang
begins by describing “Operation Babylift.”
This was an initiative done by the US government in 1975 to help to give homes
to the vast amount of orphans in a war stricken Vietnam, many of which were
orphans from Vietnamese mothers and G.I. fathers. President
Gerald Ford sent 30 flights to carry passengers. The first flight
crashed killing almost half of the adults and children on board. More than 3,000
orphans were relocated from Vietnam to various other countries including the
US, England, Australia, and Canada; 2,700 of which were brought to the United
States. Some criticized the move as a
ploy to help improve public opinion about the war. Another problem is that many
of the children were not always orphans. In some cases like that of Heidi in Daughter from Danang were children of a
mother who thought they could provide a better life for their child by sending
them to the US.
Vietnam orphans flying to the United States.
First plane crash killing almost half of the orphans and adults.
Were all the infants and children orphans?
No, Vietnam parents feared for the safety of their children
at the end of the Vietnam War. Heip, also known as Heidi, was an example of a
child that was not an orphan but her mother felt she had no other option for
providing safety for her child. Heidi’s biological mother hoped Heidi would
attempt to find her in Vietnam as an adult.
Heidi and her mother reunited.
Heip was adopted by a southern family. She
grew up an American child in Tennessee. She seemed to have a good experience
despite the reputation of the south to be more intolerant of other races. She
they said she had a very Caucasian appearance.
So she grew up in the United States during the late 70s and 80s. During
this time and the United States was engaged in the Cold War and the fight
against Communism.
Now,
the time the documentary took place was either the late nineties or early two
thousands. The documentary was actually released in 2002. So the current events
around that time, include 9/11 and a time in the 1990s with much financial
prosperity for the United States. Heidi
travels to see her mother in Danang during this time that she hadn’t seen in 22
years. When she arrives in Vietnam she encounters a place much different than
the United States. The town of Danang is
very poor at this time and it is a culture that is very communal. Vietnam
became one country after the war and had a Communist influence due to the
victory of North Vietnam. At the time free speech is just becoming something
that is becoming allowed and was still restricted because of the Communist
party know as the VCP (Vietnam Communist Party).
In
the time of the 1990s and 2000s the United States and Vietnam had been
increasing diplomacy and trade with each other. This was after much unrest
between the two and the desire to not support a unified communist Vietnam by
the U.S. So during this time Vietnam was still poverty stricken but things with
U.S. were improving. The VCP also improved human rights in the country by
allowing more free religious practice and more private business by this time.
Also by this time there were improved workers’ rights in the country of
Vietnam. Some problems that were going
on in Vietnam were and in some cases still are the spread of HIV/Aids
throughout the country as well as a large human trafficking network. The
Vietnamese also had to deal with the destruction many years after the war done
by the dangerous chemical Agent Orange.
For more events during the Vietnam War, follow the link below.
For 2012 current events in Danang, follow the link below.
References
Brigham,
R.K. Hoffman, E.K. Battlefield Vietnam:
A Brief History. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html.
Dolgin,
G. Franco, V. (2002). Daughter from Danang. Retrieved from http://www.daughterfromdanang.com/about/.
Manyin,
M. E. (May 18 2012). U.S.-Vietnam Relations in 2011: Current Issues
and
Implications for U.S. Policy. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40208.pdf.
PBS.
Precious Cargo. The Story. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/itvs/preciouscargo/story.html.
