French colonialism

I usually think that physically, I show my Hungarian Jewish lineage. Here, though, I look French. Everyone knows that I'm French before they even know my name. I don't quite know what makes them think that I'm French. So - so much for stereotypes and self-conceptions.

My family lived in Vietnam for about 20 years on my grandfather's side and 40+ years on my grandmother's side. My grandmother was born here. My grandfather was the Administrator of Cholon Province. As a student, my aunt Jacquie boarded with the family of Marguerite Duras who famously wrote the book 'The Lover' that would later be turned into a film by the same name (the movie is scandalously hot). There is family speculation that parts of the book were based on some family history.

My family colonized Vietnam. My mother was born here in 1941. They left behind poverty in rural France and tropical Guadeloupe, where my grandfather's family has been since the 17th century, in the hopes of better lives in Vietnam. Their prosperity came at the cost of Vietnamese lives. I imagine that they must have thought of the Vietnamese as clever and industrious people who were not quite as good as the French; how else has colonization ever been justified?

I haven't brought up my family background in my meetings with people here because I'm not sure that there's any point. It is evident to me that the Vietnamese do not have any love for the French. I've thought a lot about why they don't seem to dislike the Americans in the same way. Part of me wants to ask but I think that I'd be disatisfied with the answers I'm given. I think that the truth is that because the French lived here their crimes were seen as much more personal than those committed by the Americans. For the Vietnamese, the Americans are more easily forgiven because the soldiers were drafted and their crimes weren't institutionalized in the same way. The French were also here for over 100 years; perhaps familiarity really does breed contempt. A cynical part of me also wonders if the Vietnamese are hoping to profit from a closer relationship with America since in spite of its current economic turmoil, the United States remains a super power; a big fish in a small pond.

Hoa Lo prison, which I visited yesterday, shows the vestiges of French colonialism in Vietnam. As of the beginning of the 20th century, the Vietnamese started to organize against French colonial rule. If caught, the resistors were sent to various prison complexes, including Hoa Lo, where they were treated inhumanely, suffering terrible living conditions and torture. The conditions in Hoa Lo were deplorable and nearly 100 prisoners died each year from a slew of diseases. I can't help but wonder how these prison conditions compared to those of Canada and England before prison reform was introduced. Prison reform didn't really begin in the West until the late 19th and early 20th century, thanks in large part to the foundation laid by John Howard and Elizabeth Fry.

I'm glad that my family left in 1946. I think they understood that they had over-stayed their welcome.

Some pictures of Hoa Lo and me in front of a sewer used by prisoners to escape in March 1911.