Who Are the Montagnards and Why Are They Dying?

[MORTARDUDE]

Who Are the Montagnards and Why Are They Dying?
A Shot Across the Bow

Thomas D. Segel
tsegel@americasvoices.org


"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero (c. 106 AD - 43 AD), Pro Plancio, 54 B.C.

August 28, 2002

Why would any people want to align themselves with the United States? The American people are warm, friendly, helpful and kind. They have great loyalty. The government of this country, however, is a different matter. Our history does not reflect universal support for those who called out to us in need. We have a government that, time and time again, has turned its back on allies. Why did we turn our backs on those crying out for human rights? No answers are provided. We only know it has happened time and time again.

It happened at the Bay of Pigs and again during the Polish uprising. We turned away from Romania and East Germany. We forgot Hungary. The right or wrong of it will be debated into infinity. Even so, when our political class joined with the anti-war movement and brought about the American defeat in Vietnam, more than a war was lost. We also lost our honor as a nation. We showed the world our political elite could never be counted upon to respect and protect friends.

It is well known that we abandoned our allies in the Republic of South Vietnam. As the final helicopter lifted off from the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon, hundreds of our Vietnamese supporters were left screaming and clawing at its gates.

What is not so well known is that we also abandoned our strongest allies of that conflict, the Montagnard tribes from Vietnam's hill country, who fought and died beside our own troops throughout the entire war.

Today, as veteran groups and church organizations labor to correct this national shame, our officials continue to ignore the fact these indigenous people are faced with a life or death problem. In some cases our government even places roadblocks in front of attempted action.

The Montagnards (mountain-yards) are aborigine people who have historically made their home in the deep forests of Vietnam's Central Highlands. For as long as there are historical records this region has been the home of this nature loving people, along with an abundance of exotic wild life, tigers and elephants.

When guerrilla forces tried to intrude on their land and their way of life, the Montagnards fought back. They joined with the French during the Indochina War, and later became allied with the Americans, as the seemingly endless conflict continued. They formed an almost blood-bond relationship with our Special Forces soldiers who met, befriended and trained these tribal warriors. Fighting side by side with their American friends, the "Yards", as our forces called them, were indispensable allies. There are few Special Forces veterans of those Central Highlands campaigns who do not owe their lives to those loyal warriors who fought beside them.

Most of the world feels the war in Vietnam ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. The consequences of Montagnard allegiance to America served to extend their more than half century of conflict. Without support, poorly armed and greatly outnumbered, they were left to face the communist enemy alone. The fighting continued in the mountains. They kept up hit and run actions for almost twenty years, always moving, always hiding and always looking for American support, which never came.

In 1986 a small number of Montagnard fighters and survivors managed to gain asylum in the United States. More were allowed to leave in 1992. Since that time, until now, relocation of the native population has been an almost impossible task. Adding to the urgency of gaining asylum for these beleaguered people is the ongoing genocide or "cultural leveling" being practiced by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

According to political anthropologist Walker Conner, "In 1976 the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vice Minister of Culture proclaimed: 'It is necessary to eradicate all the outmoded customs ? while gradually bringing the new culture to each ethnic minority. The state has the duty to bring new, progressive culture to these people in order to build a new culture with socialist objectives and Vietnamese national characteristics'."

What has taken place since that time would be considered barbaric in any civilized country. Still, the communists continue to bring their "new culture" to the Montagnards.

At the start of hostilities in 1960 there was a Montagnard population of 1.5 million people. The combined population of North and South Vietnam was 33 million. By war's end there were one million people in the Montagnard tribes. Today, according to a Vietnamese national census, the population has exploded more than 230% to 76 million people. According to these same Vietnamese sources, the Montagnard population remains at 1 million. Western relief workers have a different number. They say the native population is less than 750,000 and still falling.

Under their program of cultural leveling, the communist leadership has forced the tribes to move into restricted areas where they cannot be observed by the outside world. There is always a military presence in the villages to assure peaceful compliance with directives.

Tribes are denied medical treatment, medicines and adequate food supply. Strong Christians, the people have seen their churches closed or destroyed. When discovered, those who practiced their faith at home were beaten, tortured or imprisoned. Unless Montagnards renounced Christianity, they were denied irrigation for crops, electricity and medical attention. Education consisting of communist indoctrination became the only study allowed. Farmlands have been confiscated. Tribes are now limited to small "kitchen gardens" that allow them to produce barely enough food to sustain life.

Montagnard women are required to attend continuous indoctrination on family planning and birth control. These endless classes prevent them from farming or earning any other form of living wage. They are only allowed to end their class attendance when they "consent" to sterilization.

The sterilization is performed by Vietnamese technicians, without anesthetic, either by surgery or insertion of Quinacrine Hydrichloride into the upper uterus. The chemical burns the walls and permanently closes the fallopian tubes. To date, 20 countries have used this chemical procedure for sterilization. A total of 104,500 women have been so treated. Of these, more than 50,000 were in Vietnam.

Another method of thinning the Montagnard population is having Vietnamese men purposely-impregnate tribal girls. This is so culturally taboo in Montagnard society that it creates great family strife and disharmony.

Many of the native children today are of mixed Vietnamese?Montagnard blood, are being brought into the world as the result of compelled mixed marriages. Those Montagnards who married within their own ethnicity and have children face high fines and other punishments.

Last year, the Montagnards staged a peaceful demonstration, protesting their repressive living conditions. The Vietnamese answered this protest with tanks and troops. Fleeing their army pursuers to what they hoped would be safety, less than 1,000 tribespeople reached sanctuary in neighboring Cambodia. Even then, more than 200 Montagnards were sold back to the communists by Cambodian police.

Is all of this harsh, inhumane treatment retribution for Montagnard?American allied war participation? Are there other objectives? Though the Vietnamese have a historical record of atrocities against the Montagnards dating back more than half a century, there are many who feel this ethnic holocaust is linked closer to economics than it is to vengeance.

The Central Highlands now contains some of Vietnam's most productive coffee plantations. These were established on the traditional lands of relocated Montagnards. Because the exportation of coffee has been a major source of national revenue, more of the product was needed. Because the lands were heavily forested, another source of revenue is obtained by stripping the hills of timber. Since the Montagnards resided on some of the most desirable land, their removal was demanded. To many people this might strike a familiar note. What happened between the United States government and the people we then called Indians?

Basic mathematics can make what happened to the Montagnards easier to understand. If there were fewer people, less land would be needed. "Cultural Leveling" was the method used to accomplish this objective. Experts in population growth and decline estimate that within 20 years the Montagnards, as an ethnic society, will be extinct.

With no hint of a life free of government oppression in their future, tribal leaders have cried out for sanctuary in other countries. The governmental answers to their call have been very muted.

This has not been the case in concerned American communities. Special Forces organizations, along with Lutheran Family Services, Catholic Social Services, The Hebrew Immigrant Society and local churches in North Carolina have worked tirelessly for years to bring Montagnard refugees to the United States. To date only about 4,000 have been resettled, primarily in that state.

It must be noted that not everyone in the U.S. Government has ignored Montagnard pleas for help. In the House of Representatives, House Bill HR 2833, The Vietnam Human Rights Act, was introduced and passed 410 to 1 last year. Since that time it has been blocked by Senate leadership and locked up in Senator John Kerry's committee (see my August 21 commentary John Kerry - Point Man for the Enemy in a New Vietnam War). The current Senate leadership is more concerned with Vietnam trade than Vietnam human rights issues.

Until we can gain coordinated government support for Montagnard relocation, their only hope rests with the humanitarian and charitable efforts of our religious organizations and the Special Forces volunteers from active and retired veteran associations. Those wishing to learn more about the Montagnard plight and how they can become involved are invited to write or send donations to:

U.S. Army Special Forces Association
P.O. Box 41436
Fayetteville, NC 28309

If you send donations, be sure to include a note stating they are for Montagnard resettlement. E-mailed questions will be answered by writing unclewest@aol.com.