DTLA moves into relegation zone after home loss

Dong Tam Long An (DTLA) were thrashed lost 0-3 at the Long An Stadium by Da Nang in the ninth round of Vietnam’s top-tier V-League football tournament on Sunday.

It might be too early to say the 2005-06 champs will be relegated to the second-tier First Division, but if the dismal form continues, it looks as a distinct possibility.

The absence of a real matchmaker for DTLA was made glaring by the role played by Da Nang midfielder Minh Phuong.

Phuong, who transferred from DTLA to Da Nang before the league kicked off, made neat passes to the visitors’ strikers and Ngoc Thanh scored a brace before Gaston Merlo scored the third.

There was a controversial event in the match when referee Nguyen Duc Vu awarded a goal from a free kick to the home team, but changed his mind and denied it.

While the visitors were leading 1-0, Kassim’s 48^th -minute free kick hit the shoulder of home team striker Thanh Binh while he was in an offside position before going into Da Nang’s net.

The decision let to arguments between the players and coach Simon McMenemy.

DTLA now remain in 13^th position out of 14 teams with just six points while Sunday winners Da Nang, title winners in 2009, retain their third place standing with 17 points.

Meanwhile, Song Lam Nghe An climbed one position to top with 19 points after a 1-0 away win over Navibank Saigon at Ho Chi Minh’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Thursday. Navibank Saigon slid one spot to seventh with 12 points.

Nghe An’s climb was made possible because Dong Thap with 17 points slid from top place to second after a 0-3 away defeat to Thanh Hoa at the Thanh Hoa Stadium on Sunday. Thanh Hoa with 12 points still remained in 12^th spot despite their impressive victory.

Khanh Hoa’s 2-1 home win at Nha Trang Stadium lifted it up one place to fourth with 16 points while their opponents Hoang Anh Gia Lai, 2003-04 champs, fell one position to fifth with 13 points.

Defending champs Hanoi T&T climbed one place to sixth with 13 points while 2007-08 champs Binh Duong slid one spot to ninth with 12 points after both teams fought to a goalless draw Thursday at Binh Duong’s Go Dau Stadium.

Ninh Binh jumped three places to eighth after a 2-0 home victory at home over Hanoi ACB, who remain at the bottom with four points.

Hoa Phat Hanoi and Hai Phong each slid one place to 10^th and 11^th respectively after their 1-1 tie at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium on Sunday. Both teams have 11 points now.

Source: Thanh Nien, VFF 

Saving the Hoan Kiem Turtle is simpler than you think

A giant turtle which is considered a sacred symbol of Vietnam surfaces at Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi on March 7, 2011.

Dear Editor:

The world now knows the plight of Vietnam’s sacred turtle struggling to survive in polluted Hoan Kiem Lake. The turtle’s suffering need not to be the "price of progress" as Hanoi grows. There is a relatively simple and inexpensive solution which can greatly improve the water quality of the lake, while long term solutions to Hanoi’s growing pollution problems are solved.

The process, developed by a Canadian company, BactaPur, involves sprinkling safe, natural enzymes on the water, as well as installing a simple network of compressed air pumps to aerate the water, providing oxygen. The enzymes consume the pollution sludge at the bottom of the lake and the air bubbles provide oxygen to the water, much like in a home aquarium. 

Within weeks the water will clear up and the turtle’s chances of survival will be greatly increased.  When the continuing pollution of the lake from the surrounding area is dealt with, the lake can taken off "life support" and return, once again, to the healthy lake it was for hundreds of years.

Here are the comments of the expert from the company, which studied the lake 12 years ago:

In the various news stories I have read about the problem there, it seems that there was no analysis whatsoever about the water conditions. There is a lot of written information about the “mud” which is being removed – while it is potentially possible that this is actually mud, I doubt it – believe it is more than likely a thick layer of organic wastes – namely what we call sludge.

The US$2 million that is being spent is such a complete and total waste of money – I don’t see how the project could possibly cost that much.

Another point I noted in the news stories I have read is that they are estimating the depth of the lake at 0.4 meters. If this is an accurate measurement, it means that in the past 12 or so years the lake has gone from a then 1.5-meter average depth to a 0.4-meter depth… this is a symptom of eutrification (or europhication – the addition of artificial or natural substances to an aquatic system) and further indication of ever worsening conditions of the water in the lake.  With the coming of summer and increased heat, it can be anticipated that dissolved oxygen in the lake will drop significantly and that this will further reduce the ability for the turtle to survive.

Another point that is mentioned in the articles I have read is the problem of run-off from the streets and areas surrounding the lake. I recall that the area around the lake is slightly elevated when compared to the lake.

So, run-off after rains will also bring not only the water from the rains but also carry hydro-carbons which are on the surface of the streets. This type of pollutant load is of much greater danger to the health of the lake and the turtle than the paper and other things that are “complained” about by the people in charge of the lake protection.

I could not find an email address for Prof. Ha Dinh Duc who is written about as the “protector” of the lake. I would like to write him and ask about the required water parameters for maintaining healthy conditions for the lake…

Treating the lake would be very simple. The best solution is to have an analysis done of the water and sludge that is in the lake. It would be “best” to collect samples for analysis at several points in the lake – taking a sample at the surface, another at the mid-point, and a third from the bottom of the lake at several points. It would be “best” to do this at 10-15 different locations which would provide 30 to 45 samples for analysis. I would start by asking if this was ever done by Professor Ha Dinh Duc – if it was, then a copy of that data would be a great place to start. 

If it wasn’t then that should raise all types of red flags.

If the requested data can be provided, then a full program of treatment can be recommended.

Sincerely,

Tom Miller, President

Green Cities Fund

 

Lake legend spawns mystery creature

Experts pooh-pooh claims of another animal spotted in Hoan Kiem Lake

Members of a rescue team stand around a giant freshwater turtle after successfully capturing it in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake last Sunday (April 3). The state established a team of animal experts, veterinarians and conservation workers to capture the rare turtle and administer treatment.

Controversy has given way to mystery following the capture of the turtle with legendary status in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake last Sunday.

It is said that while they were trying to capture the ailing turtle, workers spotted another giant creature surface several times, but foreign experts have expressed strong skepticism about the possibility, calling it “wishful thinking.”

As medical treatment gets underway for the captured turtle, scientists say the only hope of sustaining the species – and the legend – is to have a male turtle in another lake west of Hanoi be taken to China where it can mate with the only female alive.

Most experts believe the Hoan Kiem turtle belongs to a species called Rafetus swinhoei – of which only four members are believed to be left in the world. One lives in the Dong Mo Lake in the west of Hanoi, while two others are being raised in captivity in China.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Khoi, general director of KAT, a local company hired to capture the Hoan Kiem turtle, told the media this week that his workers had seen another giant creature surfacing at different places.

“Thinking that there is another [giant turtle] in the lake is just wishful thinking,” said Douglas Hendrie, an American technical advisor from Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), the country’s largest conservation group. “Some people may want to believe so badly that there is another… in the lake, that they actually convince themselves there is.”

“If there is another animal there [in Hoan Kiem Lake], my first question is: how did it get in the lake?” said Timothy McCormack, a coordinator with the Asian Turtle Program. McCormack said that the turtle rescued last Sunday has been photographed for a number of years and it is quite easy to distinguish it because of many injuries found on its head, legs, and elsewhere.

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Hoan Kiem Turtle to take its status to the grave Turtle hurdle

“If there is a new animal in there, I find it very hard to believe it has been hiding for ten, twenty or forty years and just shows itself now. It is more likely that [it] was just recently put in the lake.”

Under treatment

Last Sunday, it took at least 50 people, including members of special forces, two hours to net the turtle which was later put in a cage and pulled to a small island in Hoan Kiem Lake. Veterinarians have carried tests to ascertain what is ailing the creature at a makeshift hospital in the lake that was recently expanded and equipped with a small holding tank.

A steering committee has been set up to make decisions about the turtle, believed to be more than a hundred years old, and which weighs around 200kg. The results of the examination are not known.

“Overall, the turtle is doing very well now,” said KAT’s Khoi.

“I think we’ll have to wait and see how serious the injuries are. It looks like a lot of treatment has dealt with the external and visible injuries,” McCormack said. “It would be interesting to know if there are any other internal infections.”

In recent months the giant creature has made both international and local headlines by surfacing almost twice as frequently as in previous years. Injuries and lesions on its carapace, neck, and legs have been photographed and experts have blamed the lingering pollution and illegal fishing at the lake for the turtle’s ailments.

“I really hope that [the treatment] is successful. I hope they will find exactly what is wrong with the turtle,” said McCormack.

Both McCormack and ENV’s Hendrie concurred that the Hoan Kiem turtle, whose sex is yet to be determined, was too sacred for any kind of breeding program. They pointed instead to the male turtle of the same species living in Dong Mo Lake west of Hanoi.

“Looking at the international breeding program, the animal from Dong Mo would be a perfect candidate. It’s quite strong,” said McCormack. “Of course people wouldn’t want the legend to leave the [Hoan Kiem] lake.”

The legend goes that in the 15th century, the turtle handed Emperor Le Loi a magic sword that he used to repel a Chinese invasion. After his victory, Le Loi returned the weapon to the turtle that dived back into the lake with the blade clutched in his mouth. Hoan Kiem literally translates as the “Lake of the Returned Sword.”

“For people of older generations like us, the cultural and historical significance of the Hoan Kiem turtle is irrefutable,” said Le Chuc, a prominent Hanoian actor and stage director. Chuc said since the turtle was captured, he has dropped by the Hoan Kiem Lake between three to four times everyday to check on it.

“I cannot imagine the day the turtle is not there anymore. Hoan Kiem would be just a lake with water,” Chuc said.

“As the world goes through tough times, I pray for the wellbeing of the turtle that is a shining light in this material world.”

Reported by An Dien 

Major quakes, tsunamis unlikely in Vietnam: scientist

A woman holding her child leaves her high-rise apartment in Hanoi as tremors from a Myanmar quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale shook the capital city on Thursday

Vietnamese citizens fearful of earthquakes measuring 7.0 or more on the Richter scale or tsunamis hitting the country can breathe easy, a scientist says.

This is because Vietnam does not lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone where frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, said Tran Van Tan, deputy head of the Vietnam Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources.

“However, aftershocks measuring below 7.0 can happen in northern Vietnam,” Tan said Friday, a day after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit Myanmar, leaving at least 74 people dead and hundreds homeless. Tremors of the quake were felt in Hanoi, sending many people into a panic.

Le Minh Huy, director of the Center of Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning, said though the number of quakes have tended to rise in the country, they have not been not powerful.

Since late 2010, many provinces and cities across the country like Cao Bang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ba Ria – Vung Tau have experienced tremors, he said.

As for tsunamis, scientists of the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology, and Environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said the possibility of tsunami in the country’s coastal areas is very low.

They said Vietnam is protected by its neighboring island and peninsula countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia; therefore, tsunamis originating in the Pacific Ocean are unlikely to reach the country.

Meanwhile, Minh said in case a strong quake strikes Manila in Philippines and causes a tsunami, it would take at least two hours for it to reach Vietnam’s central region.

“We can transmit tsunami warnings 10-20 minutes after the quake occurs [in Philippines]. So, we have more than an hour [which is enough] to evacuate residents,” he said.

In the event of tremors, Minh recommended that people cover their heads with their hands and shelter under nearest tables to avoid falling objects.

He said after the tremors end, they should immediately leave their houses and return only when the situation becomes stable, 30 minutes to one hour later.

For people outdoors, Minh said they should stay away from high-rise buildings and trees at the time of the quake.

In related news, following the recent Hanoi quake and the Japan disaster, the government has ordered the Ministry of Construction to examine buildings across the country and consider demolishing old apartment buildings that cannot withstand earthquakes, newswire VnExpress quoted Le Quang Hung, director of the ministry’s Project Quality Assessment Department as saying.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre 

Tallest skyscraper project scaled down

An artist’s rendition of the PVN Tower in Hanoi

PetroVietnam Construction JSC, a subsidiary of state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, announced on Sunday that it has adjusted the height of its tower project in Hanoi to cut construction costs.

The 102-story PVN Tower, which was slated to become the tallest skyscraper in Vietnam, now has 79 stories only, the Vietnam Economic Times reported.

The adjustment will allow PetroVietnam Construction to cut its investment to US$600 million from the original estimate of $1 billion.

The company said it will not use state funds to finance the project.

PetroVietnam Construction plans to partner with foreign contractors including South Korea’s Hansin and Samsung to develop the project.

The tower will be built on a 25 hectare area in Hanoi’s Tu Liem District. The final design will be announced on March 30.

At 79 stories, PVN Tower will no longer claim title to the tallest building in the country. The record will be passed on to a 100-story five star hotel project that Kinh Bac City Development Corporation has slated for construction in the capital.

Source: Thanh Nien 

Time running out on US MIAs in Vietnam

A US soldier carries a wooden box containing what is believed to be remains of US soldier killed during the Vietnam War during a MIA repatriation ceremony held at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang City in June, 2009

With increasingly few of their families left alive and acidic soil eating into their buried remains, time is running out to find the last Americans listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War.

But for the head of a relatives’ group, giving up is not an option.

"We need to act now," said Ann Mills-Griffiths, executive director of the National League of POW/MIA Families, whose brother has been missing since September 1966 when his navy aircraft disappeared over north Vietnam.

Almost four decades after the end of US combat involvement in the Southeast Asian nation, few parents of about 1,700 missing soldiers and airmen are still alive and siblings are often in their 60s.

Witnesses are also ageing, their fading physical and mental abilities limiting their ability to assist in investigations.

Mills-Griffiths, 69, was in Hanoi for talks that ended at the weekend with Vietnamese officials about a "renewed effort" to open up archival records which could provide vital clues as to what happened in some of the cases.

She was optimistic that the records would be made available, with "very good commitment" from the Vietnamese during the talks.

"But we’re running out of time," warned Mills-Griffiths, who has made about 30 trips to Vietnam as head of the families’ group.

The US and Vietnam have cooperated on investigations into missing American servicemen since 1985 – "the bridge," she says, which led to a normalization of diplomatic relations 10 years later.

While Vietnamese authorities have been very helpful in individual cases, Mills-Griffiths said the US would like broader access to archives related to areas along the Laotian border "where we have many, many losses."

"We know their record-keeping was almost of a scientific nature," said Richard Childress, a Vietnam veteran who is senior policy adviser to Mills-Griffiths.

Investigations are handled by the Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which conducts research, witness interviews and field analysis at sites in Vietnam where remains of missing servicemen are suspected to be.

The Americans work alongside a Vietnamese liaison team and when they have enough evidence, separate JPAC crews are called in to dig and try to find the remains which is where time is also against them.

"There’s a lot of acidic soil in this area. In fact, it has eaten away at the remains and there are smaller and smaller pieces to recover," said Mills-Griffiths.

At the same time, scientific advances mean that, particularly with dental remains, there is a very high chance of individual identification, she told AFP.

Hanoi says about 300,000 of its own soldiers are still listed as missing from the war. Of the American MIAs (Missing in Action), about 1,300 cases are in Vietnam. Most of the rest, in Cambodia and Laos, were in areas under Vietnamese control, Mills-Griffiths said.

Two years ago Hanoi proposed stepping up the pace and scope of searches but budget delays in US Congress have limited the US ability to respond, Mills-Griffiths said.

If eventually approved, the fiscal year 2012 budget includes "a significant increase" for JPAC that would allow it to deploy more teams, she said.

This year JPAC plans four month-long missions for investigation and excavation, with one under way now.

The remains of some servicemen will never be found but Mills-Griffiths said her league seeks the "fullest possible" accounting, so family members know all efforts have been made to clarify the fate of loved ones.

Mills-Griffiths estimates the US has spent "countless millions" of dollars on the effort.

"I’m sure some people might think that it’s like an exercise in looking at the past," she said, but "if I become captive or missing I want to know somebody is there to return me to my family and to the country that I served."

Mills-Griffiths said that because of her position she has never discussed the case of her brother, Lieutenant Commander James Mills, with the Vietnamese.

"What has kept me involved all this time is not the fact that I have a brother who’s missing. What’s kept me involved is the principles of it, and knowing it’s the right thing to do, for a nation to do."

Source: AFP  

The Boys are in town

(L to R) A. J. McLean, Nick Carter, and Howie Dorough – three members of US boysband Backstreet Boys at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City Wednesday

Nick Carter and Howie Dorough, two members of the world-famous American band Backstreet Boys, arrived in HCMC Monday for the short Vietnam leg of their This Is Us world tour.

The band is doing two shows in Vietnam: at Military Zone 7 Stadium in HCMC on Thursday and My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on Saturday.

The Backstreet Boys are the biggest selling boy band of all time and have been nominated for seven Grammy Awards in their long career together.

Many fans turned up at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat Airport to give the ‘boys’ a warm welcome when they arrived after 36 to 47 hours in the air.

“I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Backstreet Boys for months. And I just must go to Hanoi to see them,” exclaimed university student Thanh Xuan.

At Wednesday’s morning press conference at the Park Hyatt Hotel, which only lasted for 25 minutes, including the photo op, Thanh Nien Weekly asked the band what they expected out of their visit to Vietnam.

“We expect to give back what we get. We’ve had a great time for 18 years and gained lots of experience. We want to give back the energy and hope they (the audience) have a great time and enjoy our music,” Nick Carter replied.

Ahead of their Thursday show, the Backstreet Boys traveled around HCMC and visited the war museum, Ben Thanh Market and the Cu Chi Tunnels.

“This trip has definitely opened our eyes and taught us things we didn’t know. We had a lot of fun getting out on our first day here. We visited the countryside and spent six hours relaxing by small ponds amid the rice fields,” Carter said.

Also at the press conference, the band announced that they would be touring with New Kids On The Block.

“They’ve done well in the past. It’s a joint venture for us. We’re trying to do something different, create something special. It is the beginning of many new things,” Carter said.

Their world tour, which began in Europe in 2009, is said to be renewing and refreshing one of the most famous boy bands in the world.

A.J McLean said they had been thinking about the band’s direction for a month and decided to go back to what they were best at: pop music. He also said they were thinking of getting a new producer.

This Is Us – Vietnam

PARIS HILTON IN VIETNAM?

An exclusive source has informed Thanh Nien that playgirl Paris Hilton could attend the VIP party held to welcome the Backstreet Boys’ show in Hanoi. The party could take place at the Hilton Hanoi Opera, a property that belongs to the corporation founded by Hilton’s grandfather. Paris is also known as one of the Backstreet Boys’s ex-girlfriend.

Do Hoai Nam, president of Water Buffalo Productions, the promoter who has brought the Backstreet Boys to Vietnam, spoke with Thanh Nien Weekly about signing up the band.

“It took us a year of talks and emails back and forth. Finally, relying on the advice of international lawyers, we signed a very long and detailed contract. The Backstreet Boys made a thousand enquiries about things like the lighting and sound systems, stage design and their accommodation here,” Nam said.

“From the outset we didn’t anticipate making any profit from these concerts. Few international acts come to Vietnam, unlike in nearby countries like Thailand. We want to invite more international bands to Vietnam so that local fans can experience international music and culture. However we don’t hand out free tickets as it would kill our business,” he said.

“Some Vietnamese people spend two to five million dong a week at the discotheques,” he added.

He also told Thanh Nien Weekly about the habits and preferences of the Backstreet Boys. “A.J loves fast food, and Howie D really likes Vietnamese food, especially Bong thien ly xao toi (a vegetable flower fried with garlic) while Nick Carter can spend a whole day with a Play-station. Howie also feasts on parties. On their first day in Vietnam, Howie and his wife escaped from their bodyguards’ phone calls and went out all day,” Nam said.

In their concerts here, the Backstreet Boys will be using the latest Meyer sound system like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Britney Spears.

Ahead of the first concert, the stadium was already teeming with hundreds of bodyguards.    

Nguyen Van Nam of the International Security and Protection Company, which is looking after the Backstreet Boys while they are in Vietnam, said that the huge number of fans could create problems.

“The guys have lots of local fans. “We have to arrange for 20 to 30 bodyguards to be present at every stage of the tour. Their four personal bodyguards are coordinating with us well. There’ll be around 300 security personnel for the concerts in HCMC and Hanoi, checking the fans and protecting the band members,” Nguyen Van Nam said.

These will be the first shows in Vietnam to use a special detector to check the bar-coded tickets and spot any fakes, he said.

Ticket prices range from 500,000 to two million dong. To book tickets and have them delivered, call 1900 6604 in Hanoi or 1900 6608 in HCMC.

Reported by To Van Nga – KIM  

Hoan Kiem Turtle to take its status to the grave

Experts still divided on ways to treat turtle too old and special for conservation efforts

The badly injured giant soft-shell turtle living in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, pictured here on February 8, is said to be one of four remaining Rafetus swinhoei specimens in the world. The photograph has initiated a new round of talks on ways to treat its injuries and improve its habitat.

As local and international experts scratch their heads on ways to save an extremely rare and injured giant soft-shell turtle in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, it looks set to take its unique cultural and legendary status to its grave sometime over the next decade.

One agreement that has been reached among the scientists is that the environment in the 12- hectare lake needs improving.

“I don’t think there is any one single solution. I think improving the habitat or improving the quality of the environment in the lake is one of the first things that should be done,” said Timothy McCormack, a coordinator with the Cleveland Metropark Zoo’s Asian Turtle Program.

“During the dry season, I think the water level is very low. The pollution makes it seem a lot worse. So you can add more water into the lake to increase the water level and reduce the pollution,” he told Thanh Nien Weekly on the phone.

It is generally accepted that there are only four confirmed members of the species (Rafetus swinhoei) left in the world – two living wild in Vietnamese lakes – Hoan Kiem and Dong Mo – and a captive pair in China that have, so far, failed to produce fertile eggs. One Vietnamese scientist in the forefront of efforts to save the Hoan Kiem turtle, Ha Dinh Duc, has claimed it is the only member of a new species.

The rare soft-shell turtle in Hoan Kiem Lake has played a hugely important role in Vietnamese lore for more than 2,000 years. The Hoan Kiem Lake turtles are traditionally viewed as manifestations of the Golden Turtle God, or Kim Qui. Legend has it over the last two millennia that they have helped design fortifications, thwart enemy armies and produced a number of enchanted weapons.

Photos of the turtle over the past months showed multiple injuries on its neck and carapace, which pushed Hanoi authorities and scientists to rush for solutions to save the animal.

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At a workshop on the issue in Hanoi on Tuesday (February 15), scientists continued to differ over the healing methods – removing the turtle from the lake to treat its injuries or remaining content with improving pollution in the lake.

Phan Thi Van of the Research Institute for Aquaculture proposed that the turtle be removed to an enclosed body of water and its injuries treated before it is released back into the Hoan Kiem Lake. Kim Van Van of the Agriculture University agreed with Van, adding that the lake should be dredged and cleaned.

However, McCormack argued that this could harm the animal.

“For the Hoan Kiem turtle, [although] the lake is really polluted, it has been there for many years. It is almost used to that water. If you remove the animal and move it to somewhere else, to a small enclosure maybe with clean water, it may actually make the situation worse,” he told Thanh Nien Weekly.

Deity forever

Conservationists said that due to the advanced age and cultural significance of the Hoan Kiem turtle, it is not considered a candidate for breeding or conserving.

“Given its ‘God’ status, the idea of capturing it to check its sex was a non-starter,” said American Douglas Hendrie, technical advisor for the local conservation group Education for Nature-Vietnam. “So what we have here is a potentially sad tale. The Hoan Kiem turtle is old [and] it will die in that lake at some point, probably over the next decade,” said Hendrie.

“I fear that its cultural value far overshadows conservation interests and concerns, even to the point of allowing the turtle to die without replacement… and thus, the Hoan Kiem turtle does not factor into conservation at this time.”

Given this situation, conservationists have turned their attention to the Dong Mo Lake – a tiny body of water just west of Hanoi where a young, virile male Rafetus swinhoei is watched over by a team of conservationists and a one-armed fisherman who rents the eastern half of the lake. This healthy male may be the species’ last great hope, they say.

Duc, the Vietnamese scientist who has been monitoring the Hoan Kiem turtle for decades, said he would go ahead with his fight for the survival of the giant species.

Despite some remaining rifts with international experts on the issue, Duc has earned their admiration for his ardent conservation work.

“Duc is a positive voice for the [Hoan Kiem] turtle… and his life revolves around this turtle,” Hendrie said. “His heart is in the right place.”

Duc said his relentless conservation efforts have never burnt him out. The only thing worrying Duc was that he was getting old and no one seemed to be prepared to take over his job, he said.

“I have trained some people to work in the turtle conservation field. But they all ended up landing other jobs,” Duc said. “The modern life has made people more and more pragmatic.”

Will Duc’s idealism be pragmatic enough to save the turtle? Animal lovers in general and admirers of the Hoan Kiem turtle in particular are keeping their fingers crossed.

Reported by An Minh 

Forcing hate to surrender

American connects with Vietnamese anti-war songs and reconnects two icons

Molly Hartman O’Connell performs Vietnam’s red songs in Con duong am nhac (Musical road) program on Ho Chi Minh City Television

“Mother of Vietnam, do you know your children have begun the fight?”

This was the only part of the song, the chorus, that Molly Hartman O’Connell understood, because, as she recalls, her Vietnamese was “fumbling” at best when she heard it for the first time.

But the first Vietnam War song that the Brooklyn (New York) native and former anthropology student from Columbia University heard, Tieng hat nhung dem khong ngu (Songs for sleepless nights), composed by well-known musician Pham Tuyen in 1970, left a lasting impression.

It sparked in her a desire know who the composer was and understand the role that this music played.

True to the anthropologist tradition of participatory observation, Molly decided to learn how to sing Vietnamese war songs herself and was instructed by local vocal instructor Cao Nguyet Hao, a retired member of the Hanoi National Dance and Song Ensemble.

However, “I am a student. I am not a singer,” she told Thanh Nien Weekly.

Armed with a Fulbright scholarship, Molly left her hometown in 2003 to study current women’s issues as well as the Vietnamese language in Vietnam as part of a study exchange program between the two countries.

Molly’s (Mai Ly in Vietnamese) unexpected love affair with Vietnamese revolutionary songs began while she was making friends and interviewing local women, specifically those who were former political prisoners prior to 1975.

With her parents being social workers and community activists, and her brother very aware of antiwar music movements, it was easy for Mai Ly to get hooked onto war music in Vietnam.

“I know a lot of songs from my parents who are in that generation with Bob Dylan, the Woodstock Concert in 1969. They are very interested and feel very connected whenever we talk about Vietnam, though they did not come here during that time.”

“They really lived in that period and know the whole background behind it, including Con Dao Island, famous for its prison built by the French colonial government, because at that time, everything came out in magazines and other media channels.”

Molly, who now works for a private company in HCMC, said: “Unlike them, when I hear a certain song or am told about that period, I have to imagine it. Yet, the interesting thing is that like most people in their generation, my parents never thought of or looked for information about modern Vietnam, after the war. They just know about Vietnam in the old days.

“So when I informed them that I was going to Vietnam to study, they were not afraid at all, they were excited. They said, ‘Ok, go to Vietnam and find out about the place.’”

Her journey to Vietnam and into the nation’s patriotic music has gone deeper than she might have intended.

Hao has not only taught Molly how to sing and pronounce the lyrics, but also explained the meaning and background of each song, and even introduced her American student to several Vietnam War era musicians, including Pham Tuyen, Phan Huynh Dieu, Luu Nhat Vu and Truong Tuyet Mai.

The most interesting part of Molly’s story is not about how she became famous and was invited to perform on local television channels like HTV; and it is not even that she won awards in singing contests.

It is what transpired after she first met 81-year-old composer Pham Tuyen, creator of red music classics like Nhu co Bac Ho trong ngay vui dai thang (As if there were Uncle Ho on the great victorious, happy day) and Gay dan len hoi nguoi ban My (Keep on strumming, my American friends), dedicated to Pete Seeger in 1969.

(L-R) Musician Pham Tuyen, Molly’s parents, Molly

Tuyen told her during that 2007 meeting at his house in Hanoi that the song was composed in response to the performance of “Ballad of Ho Chi Minh” by Pete Seeger, 92, an American folk singer and an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. He was also in the forefront of antiwar music, leading a march of one million people at Washington DC in 1969 to protest the Vietnam War.

Pete Seeger heard about Tuyen’s song when it was broadcast on Cuban La Habana Radio Station several months later. Touched by the song, Pete found a way to go to Hanoi and meet Pham Tuyen in the early 1970s. They had lost touch with each other until Molly visited him.

“Mai Ly is my special fan and singer, not only because she is an American who can sing Vietnamese songs, but also because of her enthusiasm and special love and appreciation for Vietnam’s traditional and revolutionary music, which is being ignored by many young local people,” said Tuyen.

Molly concurred. “A lot of young Vietnamese people like American songs, and most of them like pop music, while Americans would love to learn more about Vietnamese traditional music.

“Pop music doesn’t have real meaning, it’s just for fun. When a Vietnamese singer sings an English song, it sounds great, but it doesn’t have cultural meaning. I think that traditional music should be exchanged between the two countries, for not many people perform it in my country.”

Tuyen said he has more reasons to be grateful to Molly than her interest in Vietnamese revolutionary music.

“More than that, I’m so thankful to Molly for being a bridge for me to reconnect with Pete Seeger.”

On February 15, Tuyen received a letter containing the lyrics of Pete Seeger’s 200 anti war songs, as well as CD recordings from the American musician and singer.

After their conversation about the background for Gay dan len hoi nguoi ban My, Molly promised to help the Vietnamese musician contact Pete Seeger in the US, for her parents know a lot of artists of that generation.

“It’s amazing that Pete, who is so famous and receives a lot of mail everyday, wrote us back after we found how to contact him,” said Molly, who sent Pete her translation of four of Pham Tuyen’s songs.

With Bob Dylan set to visit Vietnam for a tribute to Trinh Cong Son, the solidarity between artists of the Vietnam War generation is being strengthened.

In his latest letter to Tuyen, the 92-year-old Pete Seeger writes: “I have lost my voice already, yet I am still working. As musicians, our art should overcome language barriers and differences in culture or politics to work for peace.”

Reported by Priscilla Aquila 

Life of The Lover’s author depicted in Hanoi

French play La douleur (The Pain) will premiere for a single night run, on Thursday (February 24) night, at the Hanoi Opera House.

 

Cesar Award Winner Dominique Blanc will lead the cast in the play which was adapted from the autobiography and diary of Marguerite Duras of L’Amant (The Lover).

Directed by Patrice Chereau and Thierry Thieu Niang, the drama won Blanc a Moliere prize for best theatrical actress in 2010, when the play debuted in France.

The one night performance will take place entirely in French, with Vietnamese subtitles.

The production depicts Duras’ daily life during World War II, following the liberation of Paris. The title takes its name from the pain felt by Duras as she anxiously awaits her husband’s return from a prison camp.

Born in 1914 in Gia Dinh (a former name for Ho Chi Minh City), Duras went on to write many novels, plays, films, essays and short fiction—including her best-selling, apparently autobiographical work L’Amant in 1984.

Tickets, which range between VND100.000—200.000 can only be obtained at L’Espace in Hanoi.

Reported by Phuong Anh