Socialist Republic of Vietnam

by Thu Phuong, Vietnam News Daily
January 22, 2003

HA NOI — As American leaders threaten to go to war against Iraq, members of the country’s younger generation came to Viet Nam with a clear message for world leaders: that war can be avoided through friendship and communication.

Ten undergraduates from St. John’s University in Jamaica Plains, New York met with their Vietnamese counterparts from the Institute for International Relations at an unprecedented five-day conference that ended last Friday.

"There seems to be... a movement towards a war in Afghanistan and Iraq, so it’s a wonderful time to talk about peace right now," said Le Phuoc Hung, a Vietnamese American who is the assistant dean adjunct lecturer of History at St. John’s University and who acted as the conference moderator.

The students were selected for their potential to become future politicians or leaders in society. They researched and developed presentations on topics such as health care and social justice, environmental issues, economic reforms, poverty reduction and intellectual property.

"Though diverse, these are key issues in forming peace," said the forum’s organiser, Duong Van Doan, who is the head of the Institute’s post-graduate training department.

Hung added that peace cannot be attained if people are still living in poverty, poor environmental conditions, and deprived of social justice. He hoped that the young students would continue to talk about peace as adults.

During the conference, the students expressed different opinions driven by a common goal: to work for a peaceful world.

The students worked in groups of two Vietnamese and two American students. Each group was allocated a topic to discuss. Although they had only just met, the students were confident and vocal as they sought to hammer out solutions to international problems.

For instance, a hot discussion broke out after the group working on the issue of waste called for people around the world to reduce consumption.

Politics major Elizabeth Polizzi said that Viet Nam has a long history which it could share with the rest of the world.

"Viet Nam has been constantly influenced by other countries coming into it, and finally it’s on the road of modernisation and urbanisation," she affirmed.

Most of the students believed that war could be avoided by communication.

Joshua Marino, an Asian studies major, said that peace is within the hands of every person. He said that war in Iraq could be averted if the leaders of both sides held straightforward discussions.

Another member of the group, Victoria Forte, defined peace as mutual understanding between people.

"It’s really important to educate people all over the world to understand each other," she said.

New friendship

The conference also sought to forge a new understanding and friendship between the youth of Viet Nam and America.

Before arriving here, all the American students knew about Viet Nam was "war and communism," said Frank Biafora, programme co-ordinator and associate dean at St. John’s University.

"Many of the Vietnamese and American students walked away arm in arm, and after that first evening, they are now friends."

"It seemed impossible 30 years ago that we would ever have something like this conference," Elizabeth said.

She added that the American students wanted to inform the United Nations of their discussions when they returned to New York, while other students planned to create a website promoting the conference.

"We learnt a lot from the conference, where we not only made friends, but got the chance to do research to improve our knowledge and experience," said Hoang Trang Hai, an international economics major at the Institute.

Students from both countries hoped the conference would lay the foundations for future dialogue and cultural exchange.

The Conference on International Peace and Development, funded by the Paul Newman Foundation, is believed to be the first of its kind in Viet Nam since the war ended in 1975. — VNS