VietBlog

Ho Chi Minh is THE Man in Vietnam. His mythical presence is felt in almost every sphere of public life.

Of course, for the Vietnamese people, he is all the U.S. Founding Fathers rolled into one. He’s written books on political philosophy, he was a freedom fighter (though that is still controversial in some corners, but we have to face facts) for Vietnam.

His name means “He who enlightens.” And the younger generation refers to him as “Uncle Ho”.

Uncle Ho is also on each paper bill of Vietnamese dong, from 200 dong to 500,000 dong (exchange rate here).

I think it sends a message to the many workers and businessmen and women in Vietnam. “You’ll never be richer than Uncle Ho.” (But that is just my impression). A common expression in Vietnam for being short on money is to say “I can’t buy it because Uncle Ho won’t let me.”

Posters hang in public parks and buildings depict all show the great Ho blessing the patriotic deeds of the Vietnamese worker, businessman or soldier. It reminds one of the mythical imagery that you even see in the States. Any child can imagine a picture of Uncle Sam asking Americans to be better patriots.

In the classroom or the bookstore, busts of Ho Chi Minh remind the people of his greatness. After all, without him, would there be a Vietnam?

What is striking is not the presence of this man. What is striking is my classmates and I are of a generation without a living memory of the conflict. To us he his a historical fact. For our parents or grandparents this man means something else entirely.

For young Vietnamese he is a patriot saint, a myth, and a father figure. For their parents and grandparents he is their hero, their leader who led them out of imperial control.
And despite the turmoil and violence of the past we are here in Vietnam working to bridge the divisions of our countries. But more of that later.

Here are some of the posters we’ve run into in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and around the country (Sorry no translations… yet):





A huge painting in the General Post Office in Ho Chi Minh

Mr. Bailey stands next to the bust which sits in our classroom at An Giang University

Some more information about Bac Ho (Uncle Ho):

Time Magazine has a profile on the mythical Vietnamese leader.

If you want the more democratic wiki take Wikipedia has something for your addiction.

Finally, sometimes to fully appreciate a communist leader- why not get the Marxist version of the story.

Writings (from Marxists.org) from the Legend:

• Some Considerations on the Colonial Question

• Equality!

• The Imperialist Aggressors Can Never Enslave The Heroic Vietnamese People (An impressive read, I might say…)

A list of Biographies

David Halberstam. 1971. Ho. Rowman & Littlefield.

William J. Duiker. 2000. Ho Chi Minh: A Life.

Jean Lacouture. 1968. Ho Chi Minh: A Political Biography.