The Importance Of Communism In Vietnam

Register to read the introduction… Even though life in South Vietnam was settled and getting on its feet, North Vietnam was going through hardship and totalitarianism. Unlike in America where you have rights as a citizen, including the freedom of speech, it was unacceptable in North Vietnam to voice your opinion. Anyone that opposed their legislation would be punished in unfathomable ways. The opinions of the people had no importance and lead to punishment if expressed out loud. The worst punishment that could be bestowed upon the citizens was shipment to one of their labor camps. Labor camps were a place for delinquents and opposers to be punished. “In North Vietnam during the 1950s, political opposition groups were suppressed; those publicly opposing the government were imprisoned in hard labor camps.” (“In North Vietnam”). These camps were called ‘re-education camps’ by some prisoners because when you acted out of line it was unacceptable in their eyes and needed to be corrected. “Prisoners were abused and beaten atop of labor-intensive work forced upon them. Many died of exhaustion, starvation, illness (who often died without any medical attention), or assault by prison guards.” (“Prisoner were abused). In the years the labor camps were in business an estimate of 120,000 deaths were reported. Camp Mauthausen was located near Linz and was famous for its size. It was claimed to be one of the …show more content…
Although the religions in Vietnam coexisted peacefully since around the first century, religion did play a role in the Vietnam War. The three main religions of Vietnam are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, with the exception of Catholicism, which was introduced by the South Vietnamese regime. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, “the Vietnamese people did have the freedom to study a selection of faiths during the Vietnam War era, however, they were not free to express their beliefs publicly or protest public opinion by way of religious organization” (Religions of Vietnam). This seemingly insignificant restriction proved to be a stepping stone that lead to political protest in certain parts of the region. Not many religious protests occurred in the North, but a few protests in the South had such a devastating impact on the global community that they lead to turmoil on both sides of the war. As stated by correspondent Malcolm W. Browne, the one responsible for capturing the famous image of the burning monk, when a “Buddhist monk immolated himself in a public intersection in protest of the South Vietnamese government, the image was felt around the world, by everyone” (Browne). Religion became a tool for protest, giving the people an outlet for their frustration. Ultimately, religions in Vietnam continued to coexist peacefully, remaining