Kiepsau Xin Cho Dear V., Buoichieu homnay (ChuNhat 25-2 ngaygio Sydney) thang chau ten la T. cua toi moi tu Sydney ve lai Los Angeles, toi da gui theo cho V. cuon tuyentap nhac "Duyen Tinh Xuan Tien" de nho V. trao lai cho anh M. ... va 2 baiviet (Kiepsau xin cho ...& Trang den ram trangtron...) deu da dangbao Vietngu tai Uc cachnay khoang 8 thang. Chac hai, ba ngay nua V. se nhanduoc. Bai "Kiepsau xin cho..." da gay xonxao tren baochi trong congdong o Uc, keodai ca hon haithang troi. Duoiday la 'version' cua baiviet do, nhung daduoc 'extended', daydu hon la bai toi guicho V., lai co ban viet bang tiengAnh kemtheo de V. docthem chobiet. Don't be upset if you don't agree with me. Cheers. Trinh Nhat.   Lathu gui ban Kiepsau xin cho ... Anh T. thanmen, Van nhanduoc tapsan 'Tu Tuong' deudeu. Lan nay trong bao So 6, dacbiet dei den baiviet 'The nuoc, long dan' cua anh. Qua la mot cainhin lai trong ngaunhien, tinhco hay trong dinhmenh, anbai cua mot chuki 'chin nam motthuo'. Voi toi, von la nguoi dot suhoc, dot chinhtri, dot thoicuoc nen baiviet cua anh lai cang co giatri hon nua. Qua bienco lichsu datnuoc tron mot phan tu theki, nhieu nguoi, nhu mot saongu, van thich duoc goi minh la 'song kiep luuday', van thich 'sat muoi vao vetthuong'. Toi da nghe, da doc Vu ThuHien, Nguyen Gia Kieng, Bui Tin, Duong Thu Huong. Toi da doc Nhat Tien, da nghe Nguyen CaoKy. Toi da nghe duongkim Daisu My tai Vietnam. Toi da nghe chinh toi. Toi thay minh khong khac ho may tren canban 'tutuong' cho mot cai nhin ve quakhu va tuonglai cua Vietnam. Nhinlai nhung 'tro muaroi' truockia khi con trongnuoc, va baygio day khi o ngoainuoc, nhung chiare ve ithuche loithoi Quoc-Cong, nhung kithi phanbiet cucbo BacNamTrung, nhung lansong ngam daoxau, khoirong ho ngancach giua cac tongiao voinhau, toi da co luc channan, thatvong den do phai mouoc duoc: 'Kiepsau xin cho lam nguoi... va cho lam nguoi Vietnam' -- mot mouoc khongchacgi thuchien duoc vi voi toi, toi khong tin rang se co kiepsau. Ong Michael Mann, Daisu Ucdailoi tai Vietnam, moiday da lamcho congdong nguoiViet tai Brisbane motphen batbinh. Khi bi hoi don ve tinhtrang thamnhung cua chinhphu Congsan trongnuoc hiengio, ong da chobiet la thanhtich thamnhung cua chinhphu Vietnam Conghoa truocday con te hon the. Nhieu luc toi tuhoi, neu mienNam khong mat thi chungta, condan nuoc Viet, noichung da duoc nhung gi? Lieu chungta cothe noi la khongco chuyen trathu, thamnhung, doctai, khong chadap nhanquyen, khongco canh conongchaucha hay khong? Ma lamsao cothe duytri nguyentrang hai mien NamBac danhnhau trienmien duoc? Lamsao cothe chiudung noi mot cuocchientranh haomon (war of attrition)? Cauhoi 'dautien'? Moinam baonhieu sinhmang thanhthieu nien va thuongdan ngaytho votoi ca haiben chientuyen phai chet tuctuoi vi sungong, bomdan cua ngoaibang, cua conbuon chunghia chinhtri quocte? Theo thongke, neu toi nho khong lam, cotoi 50.000 quannhan My da bominh tren chientruong Vietnam, cotoi 3.5 trieu nguoi 'maudo davang' da namxuong va khong biet baonhieu trieu nguoi hien dang song trong canh 'quecut duimu'. Neu chientranh Vietnam con tieptuc, giaidat hinh chu S nay se con lai duoc nhung gi? Hay chi con lai "... Nhung conduong khong pho khong nha/Chi thay mat buon emgai doi/ Rungrung nuocmat me gia?" Nhung chuyen gi ma khong chamdut, ma khong co hoi ketcuoc. TrinhNguyen phantranh keodai tatca baonhieu nam? Chungta chi la 'nguoitran matthit', khongphai thanthanh co khanang cu viec khua 'chiec duathan' laxong. Trong hai muoilam nam qua, da co ai, voi mot cainhin khachquan, dam candam vietlen, noilen nhung khiacanh tichcuc cua caigoila 'nuocmat' khong? Quyen tudo ngonluan chungta co ma! Dongbao Vietnam haingoai co baonhieu nguoi hiennay thatsu daukho, khocthan cho thanphan minh? Dongbao trongnuoc co baonhieu nguoi thatsu mongdoi su giaiphong, quangphuc quehuong? Dongbao trong va ngoainuoc co baonhieu nguoi thatsu muon nuoiduong mai moi hanthu? Khi danhgia nhung hoatdong cua congdong nguoiViet tai Uc trong nhung nam qua, chac ta phai hoi them vai cauhoi nua. Ai da bieutinh ngancan dongbao haingoai gui tien venuoc? Ai da rinhrap dongbao ra phitruong ve que thamnha? Ai da phandoi hanghoa, thucpham nhapcang tu Vietnam? Ai da sosat nhung nguoi di xem cailuong, canhac, muaroi nuoc do nghesi tu Vietnam qua trinhdien? Sau 25 nam nhinlai, thuhoi chungta da datduoc nhung thanhqua gi qua nhung hanhdong neu tren? Toi dochung rang da lai denluc nhung quivi lanhdao chinhtri congdong VietNam phai apdung tutuong 'the nuoc, longdan'. Chungta da tu lau chi engai tiengnoi cua 'nhom thieuso gia mom' (vocal minority) ma quen di 'tiengnoi' cua 'nhom daso thamlang' (silent majority). Chungta denluc nay khongnen coi caigoila Congsan nhu mot con 'ngaoop' nhu khi con o quenha. Chunghia Congsan tren khap thegioi da suysup, da loithoi va tren thucte cung khong con tontai o Vietnam. Tontai chang la mot nhom lanhdao chopbu, conchau cua nhom Congsan chaanh, muon duytri thedung, diavi cho ca-nhan va cho bacon dongho cua minh duoc nhieuchungnao haychungay, lauchungnao totchungay. Dongi la chungta va dongbao trongnuoc phai chonglai nhung hanhdong thieu danchu, hanhvi checho, benhvuc cho bon giano cua ho. Phe benkia ho da thang lon trong cuoc thontinh, xamchiem datdai va chuquyen cua chinhphu mienNam. Khongbiet baonhieu tranggiay da vietra, khongbiet baonhieu nguoi da noilen lido taisao chungta thua. Cu hoi Henry Kissinger thi biet! Nhung khi trach nguoi, dotoi cho nguoi, ta cung phai biet 'thu so den gay'. Toi nghi sau nhieu nam thuchien xong cai goi la 'thongnhat datnuoc', phe benkia ho da taptrung noluc vao nhieu chuyen khac, ma trong so nhung chuyen khac do, chuachacgi ho da engai, sohai tapthe Vietnam tinan o haingoai den do phai dat thanh uutien tranhdau, dua nguoi lenloi vao hangngu, dua nhung nhom vancong tuyentruyen vanhoa de lam lungdoan congdong chungta, roi thu tatca 'chungta ve mot moi'. Chungta da sobong sogio qua nhieu roi! Taisao lai khong nghi la ho cothe nhamtoi viec phobien vanhoa Vietnam cho nhung dantoc trong cac nuoc tren thegioi, keca cac nuoc da mo vongtay lon donnhan nguoi tinan chungta. Taisao lai khong nghi la co nhung canhan o Vietnam cung nhu o Uc, thayvi chinhquyen, muon 'kiem chut chao' qua viec thuongmai nghethuat? Neu 'chuong' nghethuat cua ho 'dem di dam xunguoi' ma tit, thi duongnhien ho se thatbai, chang co ma nao di xem. Ma thucte cho thay dongbao chungta da unun keonhau di bophieu bang chan. Tatnhien co nhung nguoi trong chungta cothe da bao ho la nhung phantu voithuc, daikho, bi roi vao bay cua Congsan, vi da khong biet, khong doc caigoila Quyetdinh 210. Nhung quivi oi, nhung phantu nay la nhung nguoidan muon song binhthuong. Ho da ve Vietnam, da thich di xem cailuong, di xem canhac va ho muon duoc di xem lai tai Uc nhung doanhat, bannhac, casi ma ho menchuong. Giandi thethoi! Ho khong con so moisu hudoa nua! Va neuco so, thi ho chi so nhung phantu quakhich trong Congdong NguoiViet nay ma thoi. Caunoi duoc luanluu trong mot so thanhphan danchung hiengio la 'khong so Congsan, ma chi so Congdong" hoac "tranh Congsan lai gap Congdong" de bayto noilong nganngam nhung phantu ma baochi Vietngu ben Hoaki da goi la 'nhung tay caithau chong Cong'. Du thich hay khong thich, chungta cung dung quen la trong congdong Vietnam haingoai hiennay co itnhat la ba nhom: nhom than chinhphu bennha, nhom hoaivong chinhphu quocgia cu, nhom dunggiua, khong Cong (+) khong Tru (-), muon duoc song trong tudo, trong yenbinh. Day la chua ke mot nhom nguoi Viet yeunuoc thatsu nua. Chungta cole khongnen chophep minh bi amanh nhieu ve cuoc tranhdau Quoc-Cong loithoi de ma nghiki lannhau, lam tritre tientrinh hoanhap cua congdong sactoc minh tren quehuong thuhai nay. Chungta so gi cai chunghia Congsan--cai chunghia ma chinh ongto lanhdao cua ho cung biet la phai dem vut sotrac. Chungta lai cang khong so ho nua, nhatla khi chungta dang song voi tucach la congdan Uc, tren vung dat danchu tudo nay. Hoi nhung nguoi thich gionglen tiengnoi, thich nhacnho nguoikhac la phai 'yeunuoc thuongnoi'! Cac ban hay tuvan lai luongtam, hay thantrong trong viec huydong tuoitre, thoigio, tienbac cungnhu uonnan tuduy cua ho, hong phucvu cho nhung mucdich cua phephai, dangphai, benhom chinhtri cua minh. Con dan Vietnam da hisinh nhieu roi: Ho da chet, da song kiep tuinhuc doaday cho nhung thamvong chinhtri xoithit cua cac ban. Please leave them alone! Let bygones be bygones! Nhavan Vu Thu Hien moiday khi traloi ong Nguyen Van Ba, nguoi chutruong Diendan Viet Lan, da co doan viet nhusau: "Toi tinrang su khong dongy voinhau trong cachnhin mot suviec nay, mot suviec khac la chuyen hetsuc binhthuong. Dieu khongnen co la khoisu tranhcai tren nen cua su doc khong ky, hoac hieu sailech y cua nguoikhac do nhung dinhkien." Toi xin duoc chiase quandiem 'trang-den-ram-trang-tron' cua nhavan nay, va dacbiet nhanmanh den cumtu 'nhung dinhkien' cua ong. Anh T. thanmen, van no 'monan tinhthan' (bao Tutuong), ma 'monno vatchat' (tien bao) cung van chua thanhtoan. Mot nha tutuong phuongTay (La Rochefoucauld) co viet daudo rang: "Su traon voiva la mot su boibac". Anh nghisao? Trinh Nhat Nguoitu luongtam Thang Sau, 2000

Next Life... Please No! Letter to the editor Dear Mr. T., Having received your 'Tutuong' (Thoughts) magazine on a regular basis, in issue No. 6, I specifically took notice of the article entitled 'The nuoc, long dan' (The state of the nation and the will of the people). It seems, indeed, coincidental, or else pre-destined, that a nine-year-cycle of opportunity working for the good of Vietnam, exists. For me, as someone inept in the art of politics and in a knowledge of history, your article is even more valued. Looking back on the history of our country, 25 years since that historical time, there are still many people who consider themselves as 'living in exile', and still wanting to 'rub salt into wounds.' I have read and I have heard Vu Thu Hien, Nguyen Gia Kieng, Bui Tin, Duong Thu Huong. I have read Nhat Tien and I have heard Nguyen Cao Ky. I have also watched and heard the present U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. And I have listened to myself. I find myself not too far different from them, in my view of Vietnam's past and future. Looking back to the 'puppet shows', while I was inside Vietnam and those now that I am living outside Vietnam, I still see the divisions caused by different and outdated ideologies as well as the regional and religious discriminations caused by parochial affinities. It is so annoying I have, at times, become so frustrated to the point that I hope, in the next life, I will not be born a human being, let alone a Vietnamese -- my dream will probably not be realised because I do not believe in life after death. Mr. Michael Mann, the Australian ambassador to Vietnam, recently enraged the Vietnamese community at a meeting in Brisbane. Being cornered by a barrage of questions regarding the corruption of the Communist government in Vietnam, he disclosed that the former South Vietnamese government's record of the same was even worse. Many a time I have asked myself: 'If South Vietnam had not been 'lost', then what would we, as Vietnamese subjects, have achieved? Can we say that there would have been no sights of revenge, corruption, dictatorship, nepotism, cronyism and abuse of human rights? How could we still have retained the status quo of North and South being constantly at loggerheads? How could we have sustained a war of attrition? How many young soldiers and innocent civilians would have been lost on both sides, dying prematurely because of the waging of foreign-based warfare purporting to protect their own particular 'ism'? Statistics indicate, if I am not mistaken, 50,000 American troops were killed in the Vietnam War, and 3.5 million 'yellow skinned, red-blooded' people on both sides also lost their lives. Many Australian families also mourn the deaths of their loved ones. Who knows how many millions of people have become disabled? If the war had continued what would have been left of that band of S-shaped land? What would have been left would have been described thus by a poet friend of mine: "I have travelled the desolate country roads/No more do I see streets or homes/Only the mournful eyes of a young girl waiting/ And the tears welling up in an old mother's eyes." But whatever else happens, things cannot last forever. How long did the war between the two clans, Trinh and Nguyen, last? We are but ordinary people, not fairies with the ability to wave a magic wand and make everything all right. For the past 25 years, has there been anyone who has been objective enough in his or her view, and bold enough to speak up about the positive aspects of the so-called 'lost country'? Bear in mind that we are free to exercise our freedom of speech. At present, how many overseas Vietnamese compatriots feel great suffering and lament about their fate? How many compatriots in Vietnam have really longed for the liberation and restoration of their homeland? Whether inside or outside of Vietnam, how many of them really wish to encourage never-ending hatred? When making an assessment of our Australian Vietnamese community's past activities, I think some questions should be raised. Who has openly protested against overseas Vietnamese sending money home? Who has 'dobbed in' his or her Vietnamese fellow countrymen at airports heading 'home' for a visit? Who has vocally protested about the goods and foodstuffs imported from Vietnam? Who has harassed the theatrical groups from Vietnam and their audiences? After 25 years, let us look back and see what achievements have been accomplished in respect of the above situations. I believe that those who are our community, and political leaders, should ultimately take into account the idea of 'the state of the nation and the will of the people'. All too often, we are concerned with the vocal minority rather than the silent majority. At this point in time we should not regard Communism as the 'big bogey-man' as we once did in South Vietnam. Communism has collapsed throughout the world, has become outdated, and in reality, no longer exists in Vietnam. If it does, it is only among the top echelon of party leaders, who are offspring of the once avant-garde Communists of yesterday. These people would dearly love to retain their status, purely for their own selfish purposes, as long as, and as much as possible. There is no doubt that we and our fellow countrymen back home, should fight against those acts which are undemocratic, and which promote cronyism to its fullest extent. The other side won sovereignty and took over occupation of South Vietnam. Who knows how many things have been written, and how many people have spoken out, as to why the war was lost? Just ask Henry Kissinger, and you may find the answer. But bear in mind, when we put the blame upon others, we should also look unto ourselves. I think after years of achieving so-called 'national unification', the other side's efforts have been concentrated on many things. Among those things it is doubtful that they are worried about the Vietnamese overseas refugees, to the point that they set priorities in fighting, and in infiltrating their people into our ranks, by the sending of cultural and creative propaganda troupes over here to undermine our community, in order to convert us to their cause. We have been so afraid of shadows, and what is blowing in the wind for too long. But why should we not think that they merely would want to draw the attention of all peoples of the world to their outstanding cultural groups, including those countries that have opened their arms to take in refugees from other lands. Why should we not think there are individuals in Vietnam, as well as in Australia, and not just the Vietnamese government, who would like to make 'a fast buck' by commercialising the Arts? If they want to raise their flag in a foreign land to show off their artistic achievements or as the Vietnamese say "To take your bell and strike it in a strange land" and it is of poor quality, then no one will come to watch. But reality shows that the people vote with their feet, and literally swarm around to patronise these cultural and creative troupes. Of course, there are those amongst us who might refer to those patrons as being naïve, out of their mind, and falling into the Communist trap, because they are unaware of, or have not read about the 'so-called' Decision 210. But ladies and gentlemen, these patrons represent ordinary citizens who want to lead a normal life. They have made return visits to Vietnam, where they love to see traditional theatrical troupes, bands and singers, so they want to see these entertainers performing in their adopted country. It's as simple as that, and that's all there is to it! They are no longer scared of threats! If they felt threatened they would have been frightened by the extremist elements of the Free Vietnamese Community Association. Popular sayings amongst some members of our community at present are: "Not scared of the Communists but scared of the Community" or "When we fled from the Communists, we ran into the Community". They say this in order to express their disillusionment and frustration towards, what the Vietnamese press in the United States referred to as, "Red Guards" and "contractors of anti-Communism". Whether we like it or not, we should not forget that, at present, the Vietnamese community overseas consists of at least three groups: That which is pro the present government in Vietnam, that, longing for the former South Vietnamese government, and lastly the 'middle-of-the-road' group that couldn't care less and want to live in peace and freedom. This does not include the group of true Vietnamese patriots. Perhaps we should not allow ourselves to become overly obsessed with the outdated Nationalist versus Communist conflict, in such a way that we become suspicious of each other, thus causing a slowing-down of the integration process of our Vietnamese community within our adopted country. Why bother about feeling threatened by the Communist ideology--the 'ism' that their living ancestors feel, all too acutely, should be relegated to the rubbish bin? We have even more reason not to be fearful of Communism, particularly when we are living as Australian citizens in a free and democratic land. To those people who like to call themselves 'true patriots' and who profess 'their love for their country and people', may I say this to them: please think twice about what you are doing, heed your conscience and be more prudent in the way you motivate youth to use their time and money, as well as in moulding their thinking to solely serve your own particular purpose. Vietnamese people have already sacrificed themselves too much: they have lost their lives, they have lived humiliating and wretched lives, and served as fodder for dirty political opportunism. Please leave them alone! Let bygones be bygones! The writer Vu Thu Hien, in a recent response to Mr. Nguyen Van Ba, the publisher of Dien Dan Viet Lan (Viet Lan Forum) wrote as follows: "I believe the disagreements we have in regards the way each of us views one thing or another, is something that is really very normal. The very thing we should not do is to initiate discussions on the basis of not carefully reading, and wrongly understanding the other person's viewpoint as a result of having pre-conceived ideas." I share this writer's viewpoint, which I believe to be a mature one, and I would particularly like to draw attention to his expression 'pre-conceived ideas'. Dear Mr. Thanh, I am still indebted to you for the spiritual dish of 'Tu Tuong' (Thoughts) and the materialistic debt of 'subscription fees' which I have as yet been unable to pay. A Western thinker La Rochefoucauld once wrote: "The hurried return of gratitude for a favour is really a sign of ingratitude." What do you think? Frank Trinh A prisoner of conscience June, 2000

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