When I was a kid, my house was on the main road in Saigon City. Across the street from my home was a noodle restaurant. Many veterans with disabilities( losing limbs, eyes, etc.) sometimes went to eat at that restaurant without paying, and the restaurant owner often called the local police to take care of them. The veterans sometimes used grenades to threaten people around and local police. So later on, local police often called military police to take care of them. The veterans sometimes used AK47s to shoot into the sky or ground, my metal front door had some bullet holes. Luckily, no one in our area had major injuries or died. After a few years, the veterans were gone, they might be in prisons or forced to live in some designated areas for disabled veterans. A few years later, my family moved to live on the small road nearby. In my new neighborhood had an adult man named Thien. He was a Cambodian veteran, he had mental health. He often drank alcohol all day. He was scolded by his father all day. One night, when I was playing with my neighbor’s friends, I heard him commit suicide by using a grenade. His flesh was scattered on many of the eaters on the sidewalk of the street vendors near my old home about two hundred feet.
I remember when I was a kid, I often listened to Vietnamese radio BBC with my parents. I still remember Xuan Hong was one of many anchors on BBC. At that time, the Vietnamese BBC’s narrative was Vietnam invading Cambodia. I believed in that narrative. After I moved to live in the US, I heard many stories about Polpot from Vietnamese Americans who fought with Polpot’s soldiers before they immigrated to the US. When you watch or read about Hitler committing genocide against Jews, Polpot’s regime committed genocide against his people, Vietnamese, and other ethnicities worse than that. After I did my research, I no longer believe in any media, they are all biased. Learning English helped me to watch and listen to many media from many countries, It can help me to prevent misinformation in my mind. Last year, I visited the Ba Truc Genocide Memorial, and I was appalled by Polpot’s crimes. I was born and grew up in Vietnam, so I know Vietnam very well. In addition, I have lived in the US for almost two decades, I know well about America too. Many wars happened because of misinformation or misunderstandings. I hope I can be a bridge to connect people of the West and people of the East to get to know each other.