To Live: Navigating Survivalism through Ecological Warfare as Colonialism Ravages Onwards

Department

Ethnic, Gender, Historical, and Philosophical Studies

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Green Theory and Praxis Journal

Abstract

Surviving any war is a basic human right. While the Việt Nam War devastated every Vietnamese citizen, countries within proximity such as Laos and Cambodia were equally devastated by the war. Vietnamese women, who are also Vietnamese citizens despite being often ignored and relegated to the status of invisible citizens, endured and survived the war. However, their experiences, stories, and the entirety of their lives are rarely prioritized because the Việt Nam War, like all wars, are disproportionately centered on men’s perspectives and their postwar legacies. This article briefly frames my mother’s experiences and memories of being born in the ongoing and long Việt Nam War and her life as she navigated war torn geographies ruined by excessive unrelenting bombings and shootings that she witnessed and survived. As an oral history project, this essay aims to contribute to understanding the continuing intersections between gender disparity, masculine-centered ethos of war, citizenry, and survivalism rooted in the devastating destructions and chaos caused by war. In particular, the article historicizes how women were expected to silently endure the war while waiting for both the fighting to end and for the men to return home. Through the horrors of war and displacement, women were both physically and ideologically left behind.

First Page

34

Last Page

47

Publication Date

2-2024

Link to Full Text

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