I am a reporter currently in Vietnam. I work for a newspaper in New Jersey, and would like to hear more about what the Vietnamese think of Americans and the American war. More tourists are visiting, but some still fear being hated by the VN people. Also, am pursuing a story on Agent Orange and its effects today. Any info would be helpful! I am here through Jan. 12th, in Da Nang to Jan. 10 then going to Hanoi.

Thank you!

-- Jill Schensul (jschensul@aol.com), January 08, 2005

Answers

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Sir, may I ask :

What Newspaper U work for, name it ?

What American war (Civil war of USA)

Or Vietnam war Iraq war, Afghan war ????

-- Chibua my adopted son of a bitch, come and see your new gang :)))) (ChuyenTriHOINACH@aol.com), January 08, 2005.

I understood they call it the American War -- what Americans call the Vietnam War of 65...

I work for The Record, a large daily paper in northern NJ. The name is so generic, I didn't think it would mean much...

-- jill schensul (jschensul@aol.com), January 08, 2005.

Dear Ms Schensul,

I'm kind of a skeptic that you are really Jill Schensul, so please answer the following question to prove to me that you are really her.

Can you tell me when did you write "I'm sorry, but no apologies"

Why is it some people simply find it impossible to apologize? You'd see toads fly out of their mouth before they'd let anything like "I'm sorry" issue forth.

Thank you,

-- Thomas c. Moore (Thudo@vietnam.com), January 08, 2005.

I understood they call it the American War -- what Americans call the Vietnam War of 65...

To: jill schensul

First time in my life that the American War is the Vietnam war. Only by you. You are terribly wrong.

Are you joking or you are wanting some Informations regarding to the Agent Orange????

I can help you if you are serious about the matters

-- Kẻ Sĩ Bắc Hà (ke_si_bac_ha@yahoo.com), January 08, 2005.

Yes Mam, I just checked about you, confirmed that you are a comlumnist of the North Jersy Media Group. Sorry, in the first place I thought you are just kidding.

I can help you whatever you want to know regarding Vietnam. Looking forward to hear from you.

Best Regards,

-- Kẻ Sĩ Bắc Hà (ke_si_bac_ha@yahoo.com), January 08, 2005.

Hello there Jill,

-I do not think you will have any trouble with Vietnamese people there.

-You are in central Vietnam in one of the hottest month of the year. Dress up in the way that make you feel comfortable, drink a lot of bottle of water, not tap water please.

-For Agent Orange Victim : Go to South Vietnam in Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Long, Phuoc Long Provinces you will see the impact of Agent Orange, you need to find a guide to take you there safely. Bring your own foods, water, provisions, First AID items.

I hope you have good time there

Good Luck

-- (Hong Ha @ Yen Phu.Net), January 08, 2005.

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QUOTE:

I am a reporter currently in Vietnam -- Jill Schensul (jschensul@aol.com) =====

Why U raised a quest into VAS board out here ???

Ask Vietnamese rite in VN

PS: AO is bad "medicine" but Hano story is more faked to dig $$$

-- Dont be a slave for NO WHERE :))) (ChuyenTriHOINACH@aol.com), January 08, 2005.

Hi Jill,

Welcome to Vietnam!

I'm Viet Cuong live in Hanoi, a member of this forum. If you need any assistance or just someone to talk, I'm happy to be helpful. You can leave your hotel address for me in this thread, I will come to invite you for coffee.

One thing fore sure: you are safe here. All Americans are welcome in Vietnam. Hope you enjoy the trip.

Kind regards

Viet Cuong

-- Viet Cuong (wilson_beng@yahoo.com), January 08, 2005.

Dear Jill, You can read this article from Internet may be catalyst for change in Vietnam to sketch out what the Vietnamese Youth thinking about their government.

Internet may be catalyst for change in Vietnam

By Victoria Brown | Special to the Sentinel
Posted January 3, 2005

HANOI, Vietnam -- My experiences with the Internet here remind me of how far Vietnam, one of the world's few remaining communist regimes, has come in recent years -- and how far it still has to go.

Seven years after opening its first portal, Vietnam has seen millions of information-starved people flock to the Internet. An estimated 2.5 million to 5 million of this country's 81 million people regularly use the Web, mainly in the 5,000 or so cyber cafes.

Most of those users are young, between the ages of 14 and 24, well- educated and eager to succeed. They eventually could serve as a powerful catalyst for change.

Unfortunately, the government's approach to managing the Internet is arbitrary and ineffective. Despite recognizing the Web's potential for economic development, Vietnamese officials are eager to keep it from eroding central authority. They invoke the pretext of national security to stifle personal rights, thwart political dissidents, monitor e-mail, and control access to "reactionary" sites that criticize communism and government policies.

Is the heavy-handedness working?

Yes and no.

While conducting research for this trip late in the spring of 2004, I found many disturbing articles about Vietnam's Internet restrictions and their effect on vocal dissidents. The articles warned personal identification would be required, activity would be tracked online in cafes, and cafe operators regularly would update software to limit users' access.

However, as I have traveled through the country and visited dozens of Internet cafes, I have seen a very different reality. Actually, most of the cyber cafes I have used have been family operations on the ground floors of homes, making regulation difficult at best. I have not had to register my name, and no one has watched over my shoulder as I have accessed foreign, political and religious sites.

Surprisingly, my experiences have not been isolated. Many young Vietnamese have shared similar experiences in conversations with me.

Although I believe claims of relative freedom are true in a sense -- because the government has difficulty enforcing the controls on many sites with existing technology --they do not tell the entire story.

In cafes, nearly all of the Vietnamese I have observed have been "chatting," not testing government blacklists. According to a Vietnamese government survey, only 10 percent of users actually review sites; as a group, they could be experiencing a disproportionate number of problems.

But on the Internet, as in the greater Vietnamese society -- where people now can practice their own religion, open a business and suggest administrative reform -- a gradual awakening is occurring.

In fact, according to Le Nhu Ba, a 28-year-old environmental journalist, the past two years -- and especially recent months -- have witnessed accelerating changes. Ba says criticism, especially of government corruption, has become more commonplace. Yes, dissenters must sometimes disguise their critiques as "jokes," changing words to convey critical meaning without openly defying the government, but they're making progress.

I eagerly anticipate how the young people of this country -- who do not remember war, foreign occupations or the beginnings of communism -- will apply the power and possibilities of the Internet as they persist in calling for reductions in government censorship and control.

Young people's growing appetite for information presents Vietnamese officials with a monumental challenge involving a choice between technology and ideology. Will they persist in their arbitrary, ineffective policing of the Internet, or will they permit the Web to become a stimulus for much-needed reform?

Victoria Brown, a resident of Apopka and 2004 graduate of Georgetown University, is on a six-month travel and research tour in Asia. She wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel.

-- Kẻ Sĩ Bắc Hà (ke_si_bac_ha@yahoo.com), January 09, 2005.