No Longer [unclear: Iaves] of Slaves'

It was decided that the emphasis of the Vietnamese women's visit should be on meeting with women's grassroots organisations in New Zealand, although not ignoring discussion of the current situation in Vietnam with political activists here. Thus on Monday 14 April, when the women were in Wellington, they visited the Willis St. Dental School, Te Kainga and the Aro St. playcentres and then spoke to a lunch meeting of women's groups.

Mrs. Nguyen Linh Quy, a journalist from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam spoke to the meeting:

'The Women's Union was first formed in October 1920. During the 45 years of the Union, it has had three names according to the period of the revolution. In 1930 it was named the Women's Union for Liberation, in 1945, Women for National Salvation and in 1954, the Women's Union, when the North became a socialist country. Throughout, our aim has been the same — how to have full emancipation of women, how to take an equal place and work with men.

In 1945 after nearly 100 years under French domination we stood up and declared independence. However, with the help of the British, the Kuomintang and the Indians, the French invaded again. The Vietnamese women feared to return to the slave life, and knew nothing more precious than independence and freedom. So together with men we stood up and defeated the French at Dien Binh Phu. The lives of those who had worked in the Vietminh against the French were in great harm if they stayed in the South. I had to go, according to the Geneva Agreement, to North Vietnam. Thousands of women stayed in the South, while their husbands had to go North. Many children were born not knowing their father's face.

In 1945 the Americans invaded and ousted the French, because they feared the French would allow a general election to be held. Eisenhower knew that if a general election were held 80% would vote for Ho Chi Minh.

Then the war quietly crept up. From 1945 to 1960 no-one in the world knew Vietnam had a war. In fact they questioned practically every house — Where are your children My parents were questioned, I was in the North, so they were put in jail. My case is not special. I am typical of many thousands of Vietnamese people. Peaceful people in the South grew fewer and fewer and in 1960 they rose up, crying — Where are the revolutionaries? Where is our cannon? Where are the people who led us in Dien Binh Phu? —They are all in the North'. The people in the South were unharmed. They shouted but their voices could not be heard. Children cried 'Where is my father?'. People cried 'Where are the elections to make a unified Vietnam? You cannot cut a body in half and Vietnam is one'.

Even a worm will turn — in 1960 the National Liberation Front was formed. 50% of those fighting were women. They took bamboo sticks and guers, and took part in political struggle. Many classes of people in the South agreed they must fight American imperialism. Buddhists, capitalists, landowners, villagers, peasants came together and formed the Provisional Revolutionary Government.

In the North we were building socialism. That means the land belonged to the tiller, the factory to the worker, the university to the student.

In 1973 the Americans had to come to terms and withdraw. The Americans were isolated in South Vietnam— everyone in the world condemned the American 's dirty war. We implement the Paris Agreement. But we also force the other side to implement it. When Thien invaded territory controlled by the PRG after the signing of the agreement, people cried out 'Where are the armed forces? If they don't fight, we Will'. Now we have pushed them from 16 provinces and 5 cities.

In three generations we have known nothing but war. Women in Vietnam have no time for tears. The enemy do not stop killing you — tears do not help. In the past men were slaves, but women were slaves of slaves. We want to be human beings, we want peace, peace page 9 [unclear: ndence] and freedom. We [unclear: young] wives to be good [unclear: hat] they can send our best [unclear: he] war, sacrifice their hus-

[unclear: If] captured an American [unclear: asy] I was a journalist with [unclear: omen] when the planes came. [unclear: me] out of the shelters we [unclear: ome] down. I said 'Hands [unclear: uts] his hands up. I was at [unclear: ference] and asked him, [unclear: u] do that? The pilot said. [unclear: the] button'. They are [unclear: beings], they are killing [unclear: But] we treat them as hum[unclear: we] say they cannot see [unclear: ee]. When they can see us [unclear: ty]. 'Are we a Communist [unclear: we] have horns like an animal? [unclear: my] can kill us we must be [unclear: him] but when we have cap[unclear: e] treat him like a friend. In [unclear: ers] we have often had only [unclear: eat], but our prisoners are [unclear: getables] and meat and [unclear: e] have enough food, in fact [unclear: to] our kin in the South. [unclear: 0%] agricultural. Over 32 [unclear: d] was blasted, and it was [unclear: o] rebuild it. We filled up [unclear: bomb] craters, a danger[unclear: many] got killed by unex[unclear: s]. Food prices are kept [unclear: ause] food is a necessity. [unclear: s] milk powder, butter, for [unclear: first]. Children are those [unclear: the] war. If we don't take [unclear: hildren], this will limit the [unclear: Vietnam]. The Americans had the technology to destroy us all, we women did everything for the next generation. During the bombing we lived under the earth. Our schools, kindergartens, creches, were under the earth and we only brought our children into fresh air at night. The Americans bombed everything that moved, whatever it was.

In the South, many women must sell something to stay alive, so many are prostitutes. This gives many children of mixed parentage. But don't worry, they are our people, they are our children

The Americans have urged a war of genocide against our people, and now they they take the children of Vietnam to be brought up abroad. It is great hypocrisy. As one of millions of mothers. I want our children to be here among our people. The children, they are victims of the war, they are not at fault. Why should we mistreat our people?

The material destruction is bad but nothing compared to the destruction of life which cannot be repaid. But the cruelest is the destruction of the whole Vietnamese culture. When a man is away fighting he longs to be back with his wife and if she is off with another man, he is broken-hearted and cannot fight. That is why Saigon soldiers can never be like our soldiers. Our women are encouraged by society to be of good virtue, to work well while their men are away fighting. The task of the Women's Union is to build a firm rear base.

We work on three fronts — social and political work, family work and production. In the home men share the work, they do the heavy lifting, help clean the house, wash babies' nappies, even when a woman is menstruating he will wash her clothes. There are no washing machines! What technology we had was destroyed in the bombing. We have had 2 years of healing the wounds of war. Our economy is in a difficult time with an expanding population. Article 21 of the Paris Agreement says that the Americans must contribute to the reconstruction of North Vietnam. They dropped many tons of bombs and must repay the same amount. You must demand they pay their bloody debts to our people.

Meanwhile, we rebuild ourselves. Young people today, (not like me — I had seven children 'which is too many) only want to have two children. Young women are educated to practise contraception, so that they can be in better health, to bring up their children better and so they can be economically independent. It is a women's right to work for economic independence and also their duty to take part in production. In a factory where many workers are women, the leaders must be women. Workers get two months paid maternity leave and they are guaranteed their job back again.

Women, because of their production and fighting skills are not in 29% of government positions. In the past we could not read or write, bur now we have doctors of science and thousands of women teachers from primary school to university. 50% of the presidents and chairmen of co-operatives and village committees are women. 80% of the medical doctors are women. We have a number of principles in our health service. They are — decentralisation, which means our service is widely dispersed down to the hamlet level: prevention of disease; the combining of Oriental and Western medical techniques; the growing of medicinal herbs in all gardens; and medical cadres must search out patients instead of waiting for them to ask for help. Our medical service is free.

We must not just chart women's liberation, we must work for it. Women often don't have good attitudes to one another. They must raise their understanding and work together better. 5 million women are in the Union, we are very strong women in the North.

We are not isolated from each other. We go from house to house to visit each other, to help each other relieve anger and fear of speaking. If a husband heats his wife then the women come together and ask him why. We say, 'You are backward'. Men cannot be backward. We do not battle against our men.

we are men and women together. Our men are very happy seeing women liberated, because they want their wives to be happy and fulfilled. Any man who is trying to restrain his wife gets criticised by the Women's Union.

NZ women are better off materially than Vietnamese women, but you do not get much help from your government to raise comprehension. You need help for emancipation. In Vietnam every organisation is concerned about women. This must be of concern to the mass media. In Vietnam, it has been a double revolution for women.

Now it is a time for peace, a time for justice. We will not fail in our fighting as part of the international struggle. The USA may threaten those who are afraid with the atom bomb, but we are not afraid. We stand for peace, democracy and a prosperous society. We want peace, but not peace in the grave. Peace with independence and freedom, that is what we long for'.