International Courant
Hanoi, Vietnam – At a non-public location tucked away in a slender alley in Hanoi’s metropolis middle, a bunch of greater than twenty folks listened intently to Saleem Hammad, a charismatic, 30-year-old Palestinian man, as he spoke fluent Vietnamese.
Hammad, who runs a enterprise in Vietnam, shared an incident from his childhood in Jenin within the occupied West Financial institution.
Attendees listened as he shared a vivid reminiscence of waking up one night time as Israeli troopers surrounded and invaded his childhood dwelling.
Earlier, he had informed these current on the dialogue that Vietnam’s historical past of wrestle for liberation towards the USA had impressed Palestinians of their wrestle towards the Israeli occupation of their land.
“The Vietnamese folks, with their painful and superb historical past, have all the time been the supply of inspiration for the Palestinians in our wrestle for justice,” Hammad informed his viewers.
“We all the time look to you as a task mannequin.”
Shocked by Israel’s conflict on Gaza and the rising dying toll, younger Vietnamese specifically have begun to boost their voices in help of the Palestinians. Steadily they uncover the historic ties between Vietnam and Palestine and their shared wrestle for nationwide liberation.
However the decades-old relationship between the 2 nations has been overshadowed by newer promotion of Israeli enterprise tradition amongst a youthful technology of Vietnamese.
Many are centered on reaching success in Vietnam’s fast-growing free-market economic system and are impressed by Israel’s start-up enterprise tradition, whereas figuring out little concerning the darkish facet of Israel’s success when it comes to its lengthy occupation of Palestinian land.
The assembly the place Hammad spoke, organized late final yr by pro-Palestinian activists Trinh* and Vuong*, was impressed by the coed activism the pair encountered whereas finding out within the US.
Trinh and Vuong are a part of a rising grassroots motion amongst Vietnamese youth who’ve been drawn to the Palestinian trigger because the conflict on Gaza started in October.
However Vietnam’s strict coverage towards public conferences and political activism means pro-Palestinian campaigners should discover quiet and inventive methods to prepare occasions with out attracting the undesirable consideration of Vietnamese authorities.
In Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Trinh and a few associates organized discussions about Palestine and drawing lessons with a Palestinian theme. A designer by coaching, Trinh has additionally collaborated with fellow creatives to design pro-Palestinian merchandise, political artwork and fanzines.
Vietnamese youth create artwork in help of Palestine (courtesy of Tu Ly)
In November, underneath the title Movies for Liberation: Palestine Ceaselessly, a screening of documentaries and movies about Palestine, the Nakba and the historical past of the Israeli occupation of Palestine passed off, with the purpose, in line with the organizers, of ‘demonizing descriptions of the Palestinians’ by ‘Western and imperialist’ actors.
Numerous Vietnamese-language fan pages have emerged on social media with translated Palestinian poems, pro-Palestinian paintings and evaluation on the historical past of the battle, whereas the Embassy of Palestine in Vietnam invited former veterans of the conflict towards the US, lecturers, activists and members from the general public to a commemoration for the useless in Gaza.
On November 29, the United Nations-designated Worldwide Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian Individuals, the Vietnamese authorities additionally revealed a message from then-President Vo Van Thuong, during which he spoke of the lengthy historical past of brotherhood between Vietnam and Palestine and “the Vietnamese authorities’. robust help and solidarity with the Palestinians of their wrestle for justice.”
However the relationship between Vietnam and Palestine is not what it as soon as was.
Gaza conflict reminds Vietnam of the liberation wrestle as soon as shared with Palestine | Israeli Struggle on Gaza Information
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