A novel by Ngo The Vinh
EXTRACTS FROM "THE GREEN BELT" - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NEXT CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER I
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he press card issued by the Information Bureau of the GVN, government of Vietnam, proved of little value; this, I came to see clearly while traveling around the Central Highlands. At a time when the Americans had moved beyond the advisory stage, everyone knew this was their war: a war had developed and was dealt with in the interests of the United States.
Without a MACV press card, it was difficult for one to get through doors. How could the Americans trust a piece of paper not issued by them? When anyone could be viewed as a suspected subversive, there was no reason for me to enjoy greater privilege. With the press being considered an enemy by the government and mistrusted by the people - thus receiving no financial or logistical support - I definitely found myself bogged down and quite in isolation when dealing with the difficulties of my job. A veteran journalist once observed that making a living in journalism in Vietnam would eventually see one forced to become a hack writer and likely a bitter soul. Being also a painter whose way of life was colored by fantasy, I had no great ability to engage with reality; and as a result I continued to maintain an attitude of idealistic optimism.
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In less than a month, I had experienced numerous changes in both my career and the routine affairs of life. It was difficult to believe no great effort had been required to persuade the editor-in-chief to allow me to become a roving reporter, rather than requiring me to continue safe vigil in the press room designing and laying out the paper. Even though he had accepted me in this new role after fulfilling a series of assigned tasks, the editor still made some rather harsh comments on my work. He said my prose was full of imagery and color, but was not in proper journalistic style. In his opinion, my descriptions captured feelings more succinctly than they presented the objective facts of reality, which task was what was required in journalism. This failing on my part was not surprising, he added, to anyone who knew I had previously been a painter. In spite of that judgment, he seemed to have found in me something he liked, for he still gave me encouragement. Somewhere along the line, he even repeated the conventional wisdom that what is truly difficult is to improve and enrich something which is poor and insignificant - and one cannot place too much hope in that; while on the other hand, changing from a flowery style to normal stern prose requires only self-discipline and some effort. I took this to mean that I should realize I had been somewhat careless in my writing and it was now time for me to observe the required principles and cultivate a more serious attitude. NEXT |
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 This war, in and of itself, carries the whole
weight of being an international problem, an adventurous experiment full
of danger, for which the solution cannot depend purely on fire power.
The major impasse lies in the ideological dogmatism long ago developed
by both sides. It's time both become conscious of the fact that war
destroys everything, including the dreams of a people, their future.
So, both sides must try to wake up and find a way out of the deadlock. [The Green Belt, Chapter XIII] |
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