It was the last day of my stay in Hanoi and I wanted to make the most of it. I did eventually, with the usual Fabulista panache and aplomb. I started off at Hoa Lo Prison (aka the famously nicknamed “Hanoi Hilton” POW-camp during the Vietnam War) before having a break at Highlands Coffee (a local enterprise similar to Starbucks®, complete with wait staff and proper lunch – which unfortunately accepts only cash transactions). I continued with a visit at the Vietnam National History Museum. After that, it was off to visit a few landmarks – the Hanoi Opera House (next to the ACTUAL Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel) and the Sofitel Metropole – a hospitality establishment since the French colonial times.At the Hoa Lo Prison visit, the propaganda was bold and blatant. It recounts the French-Indochine war; the brave revolutionists oppressed by the colonists, suffering under depraved guards and equally harsh conditions. How righteous it was to drive the domineering colonists, who were only interested in the economic gains from the region (true) and how a communistic rule is the only way to an egalitarian and progressive society (questionable, given the country’s and other communist countries’ poverty gap).
It also showcased (yes, I do mean it) the humane and comfortable living conditions set up by the Vietcong for the “arrested” American pilots. Note: the soldiers were never considered Prisoners of War as Vietnam had always claimed that America and Vietnam were not at war. It was always (viewed by the Vietnamese) a case of America coming in to oppress them or something like that. Thus, they claimed, the Geneva Convention (whom they are also a part off) does not apply. How convenient.
"Ahh... the comforts of a straw mat on a metal bed at the end of a *torturous* day..."
Anyway, your question should be, if the conditions of Hoa Lo as a POW-camp (ahem) were really that ideal and comfortable, then why, oh, why did so many captured American pilots, tried to escape? Why are there so many accounts of abuse and unconventional (read: torture) interrogation accounts? Are ALL those veterans under some sort of mass hallucinogen?
What do you think? Strange but true fact? Or strange but true farce? Before you decide, perhaps you might want to read the information and articles published here and here.
It also showcased (yes, I do mean it) the humane and comfortable living conditions set up by the Vietcong for the “arrested” American pilots. Note: the soldiers were never considered Prisoners of War as Vietnam had always claimed that America and Vietnam were not at war. It was always (viewed by the Vietnamese) a case of America coming in to oppress them or something like that. Thus, they claimed, the Geneva Convention (whom they are also a part off) does not apply. How convenient.
"Ahh... the comforts of a straw mat on a metal bed at the end of a *torturous* day..."Anyway, your question should be, if the conditions of Hoa Lo as a POW-camp (ahem) were really that ideal and comfortable, then why, oh, why did so many captured American pilots, tried to escape? Why are there so many accounts of abuse and unconventional (read: torture) interrogation accounts? Are ALL those veterans under some sort of mass hallucinogen?
What do you think? Strange but true fact? Or strange but true farce? Before you decide, perhaps you might want to read the information and articles published here and here.
Hanoi Opera House
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