'Exile Is Not Freedom' ; Communist Repression in Vietnam

Summary

---

In an international environment where we constantly hope for freedom, those who are imprisoned for the cause of human rights are a perpetually endangered species. Repressive governments know their voices are dangerously influential. Unable to execute these activists because of international pressure, they use prisons as punishment or offer exile as a way to be rid of the embarrassing disturbance. Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, who has been repeatedly imprisoned for more than 20 years in his quest for a peaceful evolution to democracy in Vietnam, is one of those rare activists who have refused exile and opted instead for a life of extreme hardship. In Dr. Que's own words, "Exile is not freedom."

Dr. Que's father, an anti-French, anti-Communist nationalist, was assassinated in 1945, when Dr. Que himself was 3 years old. The family later fled to South Vietnam, where Dr. Que studied medicine and graduated from Saigon Medical School. A short time later, he was awarded a scholarship by the World Health Organization to further his studies in Belgium, France and England. In 1974, he returned to Vietnam.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

'Exile Is Not Freedom' ; Communist Repression in Vietnam

When Saigon fell into Communist hands in 1975, Dr. Que refused to leave Vietnam with the rest of his family, deciding instead to stay and help rebuild a country shattered by decades of war. He foun...

See the full content of this document

---