Nguyễn Mạnh Trinh (NMT)_ Văn Nghệ publishing house recently released one of your books. Can you fill us in on the details?
Ngô Thế
Vinh (NTV) Cửu Long Cạn Dòng Biển Đông Dậy Sóng/ The Nine Dragons Drained Dry, The
East Sea in Turmoil is the heading of a chapter in the book. It is also chosen
to serve as the book’s title. As indicated by the two parts in the title, the
book deals with those two main issues. It has 648 pages of text and photographs
and can be considered a faction – that is to say a work blending facts with
fiction.
NMT_ The foreword calls Cửu Long Cạn Dòng Biển Đông Dậy Sóng
a faction. This appellation is rather new, can you please explain.
NTV_ A
fiction, by definition, is a product of the imagination. Nevertheless, in some
way, it still reflects the realities of life. In a non-fiction, the fiction
part may occupy a secondary role but it is still
an indispensable one in order to allow the author to make it a part of his work
otherwise the end product will turn into a research paper. The term “faction”
may sound strange but it is not completely new. It is a concise word in English
denoting a combination of fact and fiction. Faction, in a way, can be
understood as a fiction work based on facts or a documented novel. It is a form of literature or film making
that treats real people or events as if they were fictional or in other words
it uses real people, real events as essential elements in an otherwise
fictional rendition. To put it more simply, it is a literary work or film that
is a mix of fact and fiction.
This form
of writing has been used by writers over the past decades. James A. Michener is
a case in point. This American author / novelist made use of this technique in
many of his monumental works such as Hawaii, Texas, Alaska, Mexico, Caribbean...
To write his books, he devoted painstaking years of research and investigative
works in the fields of history, geography, humanities and so on. Only the
characters are fictional. He used them to lead the readers into the story he
wished to tell! If you happen to go to
Alaska, you should visit a small and ordinary house, like any others, that has
become a tourist attraction. Michener stayed at that place to write his
voluminous work on the history of Alaska from its inception to the present day
– He wrote the book in the faction form.
NMT_ In the books you have published like “Vòng Đai Xanh / The Green Belt”, “Mặt Trận Ở Sài Gòn / The Battle of
Saigon” you have incorporated many facts from everyday life. Is there any
difference now with “Cửu Long Cạn Dòng
Biển Đông Dậy Sóng”?
NTV_ On
account of my concern for the “ecology and development” of the Mekong Subregion
and the Mekong Delta, I nourished the intention to write a book about this
topic. Then I was faced with a predicament like when I was writing Vòng Đai Xanh / The Green Belt that deals with the issue of the Montagnards in the
Highlands of Vietnam. Instead of writing a research paper that would prove dull
to the readers, I decided to go for a faction. It took me a considerable amount
of time and effort to finish the book. The difference is, unlike with previous
works, with Cửu Long Cạn Dòng, Biển Đông
Dậy Sóng the materials I used were for the most part factual. Fiction only
played a very modest role in its writing.
NMT_ In this case,
the book contains a lot of factual materials and details because you wish to
tell not only the story of the river but delve into the numerous aspects that
relate to the subject matter as well. How do you proceed to avoid turning the
book into a boring and lackluster work to your readers?
NTV_ If
after long hours of arduous work at your job you look for a captivating novel
loaded with drama to read then Cửu Long
Cạn Dòng, Biển Đông Dậy Sóng will not work for you. From the first day I
set out to write, I had no intention of writing such kind of novel.
NMT_ Environmental pollution is now being widely discussed
by the people in the whole world including the Vietnamese. When you chose to
write about this subject matter, did you have any fear that you’d only be
repeating what has been already been said before.
NT_ Over
the past half century, people have been talking more and more about the fight
against environmental pollution. We’ve witnessed the brandishing around of
“slogans” more often than see actual actions, measures been taken to reverse
the degradation of the ecology on our planet. Sadly enough, most of them are
man-made rather than caused by Mother Nature. In this globalization era, there
cannot be a pollution problem limited to Vietnam or China. The toxic gas
billowing out from the smoke stags of outdated coal-operated factories in
Yunnan not only destroys the lungs of the Chinese people but also those of the
inhabitants in the entire Southeast Asian region. Probably you still recall the
forest fires in Indonesia. The people in Singapore and Malaysia also suffered
greatly from the ensuing ashes and smoke…Thus, pollution of the atmosphere or
of the water source poses a threat to the entire region, the entire earth and
cannot be contained within the boundaries of any single nation. Therefore, the
very meaningful motto “Everybody Lives Downstream” was adopted for the World Water Day of 03- 22- 1999. This
motto applies perfectly to the case of the Mekong River, an international
waterway that meanders through 7 countries with Vietnam at its mouth. Not a
single country is able to preserve the section of the river that runs through
its territory in the absence of a “Mekong Spirit” that requires a willingness
from all parties to accept the responsibility to work together for the common
good in an overall plan for a harmonious and sustainable development of the
water and resources of the Mekong.
NMT_ Some people argue: “Isn’t it a contradiction to claim
that the Mekong is being drained dry while it is flooding entire regions before
our eyes?”
NTV_ It
might appear absurd at the time the book was released. I was told of a
religious who, while doing flood relief works, exclaimed upon hearing the title
of the book being mentioned: “How can anybody say the Mekong is being drained
dry while we are watching houses being carried away by the current, people
drowned right before our eyes?” Your question and the shocked reactions coming
from other quarters cause me to wonder. Floods and droughts, those two extreme
phenomena that take place cyclically every year with “increasing degree of
severity”, are looked upon by most people as natural disasters. However, in
reality, they are caused by humans. We do it by destroying the complex and at
the same time very fragile ecosystem of the Mekong. Some of the threats come
from upstream the river like (1) construction of hydropower dams on the
mainstream of the Mekong to retain its water or alter its course (most notably
the series of dams in the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan), (2) suicidal destruction
of the rainforests whose main function is to retain the water and regulate the
flow of the current during the Dry and Rainy Seasons, (3) destruction of the
big rocks lying at the riverbed to open a transportation channel connecting
Yunnan all the way to Lower Laos, (4) electrification, industrialization,
urbanization, and dumping of industrial waste into the current as a result of
the dams’ construction. On top of that, we must point to the hydrological
missteps committed downstream, right in the Mekong Subregion that will result in
immediate catastrophes: bigger floods during the Rainy Season (It’s happening
now), more severe droughts during the Dry Season, the water in the river becoming
more polluted and the seawater intruding deeper inland. Whether people consider
themselves pessimist or optimist, in either case they still burry their heads
deep in the sand in face of impending dangers.
NMT_ In the book, there are many extremely interesting
references to the travels and on-the-site surveys you made. How much time have
you devoted to those trips to be able to write about them in such a way?
NTV_ Since
the day I worked for the school publication during my college years, I still
keep the habit of opening “a file” for the place I was about to visit.
Consequently, I know beforehand what I need to look for on the trip.
Understandably, all trips can spring fascinating surprises you have no way to
foretell. Like recently, on a visit to Hậu Giang Châu Đốc at the Đa Phước
village I met the “Người Chà Châu Giang” – they are not the Malay from Malaysia
the local people mistook them for. Actually, they are the Chăm survivors of the
defunct Champa kingdom. They are also the descendants of the Côn Man troops who
ably assisted the mandarin Thoại Ngọc Hầu in
supervising the Khmer labor force, day and night, to dig the 100km-long Vĩnh Tế
Canal all the way to the city of Hà Tiên. In appreciation, the Huế court
allowed them to establish 7 villages in Châu Đốc province that still exist to
this day. I did not go to the area as a tourist but on a “field-trip” - A trip
in search of the old faces and old places of a long gone time. The talk I had
with the barge conductor from Châu Đốc to the Cồn Tơ Lụa / Silk Island
undoubtedly had helped him to have a different view of the “Người Chà” living
in that Đa Phước village.
NMT_ Do you expect that after reading your book, the reader
will become informed and willing to participate in the effort to “Save the
Mekong”? Do you have a plan to give a wide distribution to your book?
NTV_ Before
I finalize my works in the present book form, several of its chapters had
appeared in magazines like Đi Tới, Văn Học, Thế Kỷ 21... I have received
feedbacks from readers and friends. On a recent visit in July to Washington, I
was introduced to a person who has read several of my articles in the Thế Kỷ 21
Magazine. He was under the impression that I was an expert working with the
World Bank not in the medical field. In general, only a limited number of
people read my works. However, those are informed individuals who share an interest
in the things I write about. I very much wish to have an extensive readership
for my new book especially among the young people. Widespread consciousness and
concern about the threats the river is facing will eventually bring about
actions in support of the effort to “Save the Mekong”. A while ago, you
mentioned a plan to give wide distribution to the book. In my view, the book
has received reviews in the newspapers, on the radios, the Internet websites
and the conversation we are having now – all these things help bring it to the
readers. Book-signing events will also help greatly.
NMT_ Why is it that the Communist leadership in Vietnam does
not pay attention to the salinization problem of the Mekong Delta? In your book
Cửu Long Cạn Dòng, Biển Đông Dậy Sóng, you seem to expect the people living
overseas to come up with a solution to this predicament. Have you lost faith in
the people living in Vietnam?
NTV_ I do
not believe the leaders in Vietnam are uninformed about the catastrophic
phenomena that are taking place in the Mekong Delta including the increased
salinization that is intruding deeper inland by the day. The problem here is
the way they perceive the problem and how far reaching is their outlook during
this era of Renovation. In the rush toward development, they are taking
unsustainable measures that put the ecosystem at risk. And sadly enough, future
generations will have to pay the price for their misguided actions. In their
view, when faced with the immediate task to provide for the daily needs of the
population, preservation of the ecology can be related to the back burner. We
have a popular saying ““chưa thấy quan tài chưa đổ lệ /
only a burnt child dreads the fire” that aptly reflects the frame of
mind of Vietnam’s present leaders. We should not make a differentiation between
the Vietnamese overseas or back home as far as the preservation of the ecology
is concerned. In order to achieve a sustainable and harmonious development,
depending on his or her social activities, an informed individual should be
cautious in choosing different ways and means to work toward a common goal that
is “the preservation of the environment”. This concept of preservation should
not be looked upon as an empty slogan, a worn-out cliché. It has a self-renewing
meaning which is always proactive in the globalization age. An example is the Mỹ Thuận Bridge. Right after its inauguration in May 2,000,
the bridge turned into a popular tourist attraction but just a few days later
it became littered with trash. Those were the visible trash one could see on
the deck of the bridge. How much more industrial and household waste is being
dumped into the river from Yunnan and all along the current upstream? The trash
at the Mỹ Thuận Bridge is only a very tiny phenomenon seen from a bird-view. It
is imperative that we take a general, overall satellite view of an environment
that is rapidly being degraded not only in Vietnam but throughout the entire
Mekong Subregion.
NMT_ The characters in your book bear some likeness to actual
persons in real life. Did you do it intentionally?
NTV_ If
the environmentalists in Cửu Long Cạn Dòng, Biển Đông Dậy Sóng somehow resemble
their counterparts in real life then shouldn’t it be cause for us to
rejoice? Those protagonists are not totally
fictional. They are based on the experts, scientists in the Friends of The
Mekong Group, members of the Mekong Forum, independent experts from all
countries of the world of all ages. Not a few of them are well past their
seventies who had held important positions in the numerous organizations of the
United Nations. Now, though living in retirement, early on in their careers
they have tenaciously and continuously shown their concern for the environment,
the eco-system of the Mekong from a geopolitical standpoint covering the 7
nations lying along that river’s current all the way to the East Sea. They are
the “gray matter”, the staff, the “think tank” of the effort to conserve the
environment and to implement a sustainable development of Vietnam today and in
the future.
NMT_ Let’s take a side step and talk about the protagonist
Mười Nhe, secretary of the district committee (Ch. XV, pp. 194 - 197). Did you
on purpose create this antagonistic character so that it stands in contrast to
the characters living overseas?
NTV_ You
have a tendency to point to a contrast between a Vietnam homeland and a Vietnam
overseas. We have plenty of antagonistic Vietnamese living overseas. Mười Nhe
is not a personage created “as an antagonistic character in order to put him in
contrast with another character living overseas” like you’re inclined to
believe. But he is a “typical” character
you often meet in Vietnam. He is not a “Red Capitalist” who has become
degenerated and corrupted. Mười Nhe is a rare surviving “pure” communist who
had gone through hard times and made sacrifices during the war. He lost one eye
while fighting as a guerilla and now is the secretary of the Tam Nông district
committee. He truly loves his birthplace Đồng Tháp. For him the term ecology is
a synonym to “easy living” for the peasants under his charge. That goal
justifies all the means that are being “indiscriminately” used in Tam Nông:
cutting down of the cajuput
trees with electric saws, fishing not only with nets but also with
explosives and electric charges, hunting birds not only with traps but also
with shotguns and telescopic sights...
Mười Nhe’s
mindset of “instant gratification” resulted in the landscape of a Tam Nông
being transformed by the day: cajuput
tree forests being cut down by stretches at a time; dead fish, regardless
of their size, floating on the water; birds of all kinds, even endangered ones,
being hunted for meat. In brief, “the five-year development plan” initiated by
Mười Nhe brought about not only “easy living” but overnight prosperity to his
people. Consequently, Mười Nhe can boast about the record-breaking statistics
attained under his stewardship: a doubling of the population in his district,
the cajuput tree forests
being
reduced by one third, in the bird sanctuary the red cranes that used to number in the thousands now stand at a
mere 500. Understandably, in the eyes of his people, “comrade” Mười Nhe is the
hero who has overnight transformed the flooded Tam Nông buffer zone into a
thriving district… Never mind the hefty toll that is not apparent to Mười Nhe
now. Like the irretrievable destruction of a marshland and a bird sanctuary
that constitute an abundant biosphere, a breeding ground for fish and birds,
mollusks and countless other organisms. In addition, it is also the center that
regulates the water flow of the whole region during the Dry and Rainy Seasons.
As you know, in Mười Nhe
you can find the personification of the top-down “Renovation” policy
whose only objective is “instant measures, instant results, instant wealth”
even in the field of scientific research. No thought is given to what will
happen to the natural resources of the country in the future.
NMT_ The underlying causes behind the threats of ecological
pollution, drug problems in the Mekong Subregion, salinization in the Mekong
Delta, and conflict over the oil-rich islands in the East Sea can all be
attributed to the shortsightedness of the region’s leaders who only mind
short-term interests while ignoring the massive catastrophes befalling their
people in the coming days. Isn’t it so?
NTV_ The
natural resources of the Mekong and the East Sea do not belong to any
particular nation. Everybody understands that. Regrettably, the big country of
China doesn’t conduct itself responsibly like a superpower should but wants to
grab everything for itself. As for the small countries, they don’t behave any
better. Instead of arriving at a common understanding, they try to work out the
best deal for themselves at the expense of their neighbors. It’s an “everybody
for himself” melee. In other words a Zero
Sum Competition. In lieu of a “Spirit of the Mekong”, a “Spirit of
Southeast Asia” what we witness today is a crisis of trust leading to an arm
race paid for by an already meager per capita income in these countries. Their
modest national developments achieved at the expense of environmental pollution
and depletion of natural resources run the risk of being wiped out by a
potential conflagration in the region – an Asian Armageddon.
NMT_ Some people propose that the root cause for this state
of affairs is the existence of dictatorial regimes that show no respect for
human rights and the ideal solution lies in replacing them with true democratic
governments. Considering the present situation, don’t you think that it’s
really difficult to achieve?
NTV_ A look at the countries in the Mekong Subregion from
China, to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam regardless of the
forms of government they have, will basically show that they are not democratic
by nature. They are actually “social pyramids” as described by the Burmese
sociologist Kyaw Nyein. At the top you have a governing minority and at the
bottom the vast majority that is exploited and oppressed. At the close of the
book I wrote in page 606: [Naturally there is no single solution to the
problems of the ecology. What is required is a fundamental and all-embracing
change in the fabrics of society transitioning from a “Totalitarian” to a
“Democratic” system. With democracy one can improve the people’s general
awareness allowing the inhabitants living on both banks of the Mekong to become
conscious of the threats the river faces and raise their voice in its defense
because it is actually their lifeline. For me, human rights are defined as the
equal opportunity to drink a safe glass of water, breathe clean air, and enjoy
freedom. They can only be found in a true democracy.
NMT_ Pretending to be hard of hearing, China gives a deaf
ear to the protestations from her neighbors or the international conferences
about the river. What do you think can be done to force her to pay due
consideration to the interests of her neighbors?
NTV_ Emerging
from years of being exploited by the Western Powers in the wake of the Treaty
of Nanking that China by the way considers a “national shame”, this country is
at the present time rapidly growing into a superpower. The Chinese leaders are
quite bright and fully aware of what they are doing and need to do with the
water source of the Mekong as well as the strategic oil reserves of the East
Sea.
NMT_ Do the conferences on the Mekong held by the concerned
countries or the United Nations produce any useful contributions toward a
solution to the above-mentioned issues?
NTV_ Every
year, such conferences have been organized by the Mekong River Committee and
its successor the Mekong River Commission. On her part, China continues to hold
back any information she has while at the same time vigorously presses ahead
with the construction of the series of hydroelectric dams in the Mekong
Cascades mindless of any nefarious effects the countries downstream have to
suffer. Since 1955, Beijing has categorically refused to join Mekong River
Commission so that it can enjoy a freehand to act as it pleases and doesn’t
have to mind the concerns of her neighbors. When the need to make an
announcement arises, the Chinese leaders never fail to proclaim “the benefits
to be derived from the dams”. No matter
the number of conferences you have, they will come to naught without the
participation of China, a critical player since half of the length of the
river’s current meanders within its territory… After years of silence, on October
13, 2000, for the first time, Ms Phan Thúy Thanh, the spokesperson for the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hanoi government, made a pronouncement in
reply to the article “The Mekong Choke Point” in the 10/12/2000 issue of the
Far Eastern Economic Review that raised the concerns the countries downstream
the Mekong had pertaining to the construction of the dams over the mainstream
in Yunnan. She called on China to guarantee that their dams will not cause
damages to the ecology downstream and to maintain the integrity of the
ecosystem of the entire river in observance of the equal interests of all the
countries in the Subregion. The usual response that came from China was: dead
silence and continued suppression of information. According to the old hands of
Asia, China never had a good track record as far as multilateral cooperation is
concerned. The case in point is her cooperation relating to the Mekong.
NMT_ Do you entertain any thought of having an English
edition of the book in order to introduce it to the world’s readers or at least
to those in the 7 countries in the Mekong Subregion?
NTV_ An English version of the book? I had thoughts
about it and very much wanted to have. However, I think I’d have an abridged
edition of about 300 pages only. Instead of the distrust and division among the
countries on the Mekong Basin we have now, I believe that an open exchange of
information in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding will result in
greater cooperation and creative competition. In that way, we will arrive at a
“Spirit of the Mekong” that will serve the common good and allow us to exploit
together and in harmony the rich resources of the Mekong like hydropower,
hydrology, fishery, transportation including tourism. Those are the fundamental
steps that will lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Culture of Peace
as humankind welcomes the new millennium.
NMT_ Do you harbor any hope for a solution “To save the
Mekong” or do you wish to say anything to our readers?
NTV_I
would like to share with you and the readers this meaningful motto: “Extinction is forever, Endangered means we
still have time” from the Sea World in San Diego. If we are now sounding
the alarm about the threats facing the Mekong it means we still have the chance
to act. Should the day arrive when the entire Mekong Delta becomes polluted and
totally submerged by seawater then it would be the sad time for us to bid
farewell to the Civilization of the Orchards and the Rice Bowl that feeds the
100 million inhabitants of our land.
Nguyễn Mạnh Trinh
11/ 2000
