Editor’s note: In just around two decades, Vietnam has beaten impossible odds. Near the turn of the century, it famously made a triumphant comeback from the brink of economic collapse; last year, it proved that porous borders and densely populated megacities do not guarantee tragic outbreaks. A year since the COVID-19 pandemic exploded, the Southeast Asian country remains one of the few elite nations on the planet that have successfully kept case counts under control without having to rely on vaccines. A stellar combination of public health, military, social security, and grassroots efforts have made quick work of the virus in Vietnam, and life has settled back into normalcy. The country is also looking to roll out their homegrown vaccines by the end of the year, defying global shortages in supply.
But the sheen of success belies a dark underbelly. In the mad dash of development, the Vietnamese government has been all too happy to ignore and step on some of the most core freedoms inherent to every human being. In this commentary, first published in The Vietnam, writer Aerolyne Reed audits the price Vietnam paid for its progress.
The aftermath of the war left Vietnam in shambles. As the conflict that raged and surged within its borders came to an end, the country was left bleeding, battered, and broken. With millions dead, an almost non-existent economy, and a bleak uncertain future under the questionable leadership of the Communist Party, Vietnam was beginning to look more and more like a lost cause, destined to be another failed state under the selfish rule of tyrannical forces.
However, no one would have expected Vietnam to be where it stands today.
Since Vietnam opened its economy to international trade in 1986, the country has undergone a massive and abrupt shift. It morphed from being one of the poorest nations in the world to being one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia. Case in point: Between the years 2002 and 2018, Vietnam’s GDP increased by 2.7 times which, according to the World Bank, lifted 45 million people out of poverty.
Vietnam’s economy has also shown surprising resilience in the face of the ongoing global pandemic. While other countries in Southeast Asia have been greatly suffering due to COVID-19, Vietnam has been keeping itself afloat; some might even argue that it is thriving.
Aside from keeping infection rates under control, Vietnam’s GDP actually grew a surprising 2.6 percent in the third quarter of last year, passing even Singapore and Malaysia. Because of its commendable handling of the pandemic and its perceived economic stability, Vietnam is shaping up to be an alternative hub for manufacturing as international businesses begin to pull out of China.
Yet economic growth and financial stability are not the only ways to measure the worth of a nation. While Vietnam seems to be doing well in this regard, it is floundering in several other aspects. To be more specific, in its observation of human rights and in the protection of several of its most marginalized citizens.
Looking at key quality of life indicators underscores Vietnam’s massive economic rise, with most of its citizens able to enjoy their rights to food, health, housing, and work. However, the country lags sorely in terms of safety from the state and empowerment, putting its minorities and activists at constant risk of detention and violence. Source: The Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s 2020 Country Report on Vietnam.
Successes and failures
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s (HRMI) 2020 Country Report on Vietnam presents several findings that highlight both Vietnam’s economic success and key failings as a country.
In terms of Quality of Life, Vietnam has performed reasonably well in the categories of Health, Housing, and Work but its ranking regarding food accessibility still falls below the benchmark.
The report states that “Vietnam is performing better than many countries in East Asia for the rights to housing (89.5 percent), work (91.3 percent), and health (94.6 percent). This suggests that the Vietnamese government is using its resources fairly effectively so that people have access to housing and work. These scores have also increased steadily since 2007, suggesting that the quality of life in Vietnam is increasing.”
However, in regards to food, the HRMI also believes that Vietnam could manage its resources better to ensure that more of its citizens do not go hungry.
It is also important to take note of some caveats in the given information. The report makes an effort to highlight the fact that Housing does not actually refer to having a place to live in.
Rather, it refers to access to sanitation and to potable drinking water. As such, several respondents have stated that some people are at risk of having these rights violated, including street children, homeless youth, and surprisingly, human rights advocates.
The category for Work also needs slight clarification. The 91.3-percent figure refers to people who are NOT absolutely poor. This means that anyone who lives on more than a meager amount of USD 3.20 a day is counted towards this number.
Granted, even with Vietnam’s less-than-stellar performance regarding food accessibility and concerns regarding housing and work, what the Vietnamese government has done so far is, to a small degree, admirable and we have to give credit where credit is due, political beliefs notwithstanding. If we go solely by the data presented regarding Quality of Life, and also take into consideration the state Vietnam was in after the war, what it has accomplished is somewhat commendable.
But the report does not end there. And as more information is presented, the more sinister reality behind the façade begins to reveal itself.
Regarding the upholding of civil and political rights, it is clear that Vietnam is performing miserably. In all aspects under the categories of Safety from the State and Empowerment, Vietnam’s scores range from Bad to Very Bad and these scores have only gotten worse over time.
The data heavily imply that the Vietnamese government doesn’t seem to care about protecting, or even at the very least acknowledging, the universal human rights of its citizens.
The report also notes several groups of people whose rights are at the most danger of being violated. One fact that immediately stands out is that these groups are common in all the lists provided within the report itself. Some of these people-at-risk include: members of labor unions, people engaged in or suspected of political violence, journalists, people with particular religious beliefs and practices, immigrants, and human rights advocates.
In general, if a person has particular political affiliations or beliefs that don’t align with what the Vietnamese government espouses, or if they believe in a religion that isn’t part of the mainstream zeitgeist, their rights to work, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom from disappearance, freedom from torture, right of assembly and association, and freedom of opinion and expression are actively hindered, ignored, or violated by the government.
Street peddlers sit together by a shop window in Hanoi. Despite Vietnam’s monstrous economic progress, many people – the poor, those of different political and religious beliefs, and ardent human rights defenders – have been consistently ignored and, worse, persecuted by the government.(Photo courtesy of VNS Photo Việt Thanh/Vietnamnews.vn)
Two-faced
To this end, the HRMI report presents a two-faced Vietnam.
On the one hand, you have Vietnam as a rising cub economy. This is the face of Vietnam that is often read or heard about in mainstream news outlets.
This is the Vietnam that Western economists praise to high heavens for being able to steer itself away from total collapse, towards some semblance of stability and even growth. This is the Vietnam that the communist government wants its citizens to be proud of.
On the other hand, you have Vietnam as a heartless oppressor of its own people. This is the Vietnam that is willing to go to drastic lengths to silence or restrict any form of discontent, dissent, and differing points of view.
This is the Vietnam that shows no concern for those it tramples under its heels as it marches toward a selfish vision of progress and growth that benefits only those who hold the reins.
This is the Vietnam that is willing to pay for the price of progress with the rights, liberties, and the lives of its own citizens.
This is the face that very few get to see.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many avenues to progress and growth, and the road is never set in stone. History has shown us time and again that nations formed on a foundation of dialogue, compromise, and free speech tend to outlast the rest and stand firm against the test of time.
Governments can work with their citizens, even with those who hold beliefs or thoughts that go against the grain, to bring about benefits that everyone can enjoy. This kind of progress is possible, and it is attainable.
But the question isn’t “Can Vietnam go on this path?” The response to this should be apparent; if Vietnam can pull itself from the brink of collapse to be where it is today, then of course it can.
In reality, the question is, “Is the Vietnamese government willing to do so?”
And this query is a lot harder to answer. ●
This article was first published by The Vietnamese on April 3, 2021, and is being republished here by the Asia Democracy Chronicles with their permission.
