Reeducation camp

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Reeducation camp (cai tao) is the official name given to the prison camps operated by the government of Vietnam following the end of the Vietnam War. In such "reeducation camps", the government imprisoned several hundred thousand former military officers and government workers from the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The term 'reeducation camp' is also used to refer to prison camps operated by the People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution, or to the laogai and laojiao camps currently operated by the Chinese government. Theory underlying such camps is the Maoist theory of reforming anti-revolutionaries into socialist citizens by reeducation through labor.

1 Meaning of the term 'cai tao'
2 Prelude
3 The camps
4 Aftermath
5 Number of victims
6 References/External links:

[edit] Meaning of the term 'cai tao'

The term 'reeducation,' with its pedagogical overtones, does not quite convey the quasi-mystical resonance of ca?i-ta.o in Vietnamese. Ca?i ('to transform') and ta.o ('to create') combine to literally mean an attempt at 'recreation,'at 'making over' sinful or incomplete individuals. Born again as 'Socialist men and women', they were suppoesed to pave the way to the Communist millennium.

[edit] Prelude

After the Fall of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese men, from former officers in the armed forces, to religious leaders, to employees of the Americans or the old government, were rounded up in reeducation camps to "learn about the ways of the new government." They were never trialed judged nor convicted of any crime. Many South Vietnamese men chose to flee on boats, but others had established lives and loved ones in Vietnam, so did not flee but entered these camps in hopes of quickly reconciling with the new government and continuing their lives peacefully. The government said reeducation would last some days. However, once there, the men were detained for many years in grueling labor camps.

[edit] The camps

Soon after the communists took over, former officers in the armed forces, religious leaders, intellectuals, employees of the Americans, officials in the former government, were asked to report for reeducation. Usually they packed enough clothes and personal effects to last some days, as they were told they were only being at the camps for ten days, or at most two weeks. Most ARVN officers however, were held at the camp for several years, with some beeing released first in 1989.

Officially, the re-education camps were not considered prisons, but rather places where individuals could be rehabilitated into society through education and socially-constructive labour. In reality however, the camps were terrible places in which men were forced to work at hard labor with not enough food and minimal medical attention. The inmates were forced to Vietnam's "new economic zones" - isolated areas of the country which the government hoped to make fruitful.

A camp inmate's day was spent doing hard and sometimes dangerous labour. Commom daily activities included hard agricultural work under guard supervision, mine removing without technical equipment, latrine work and listening to communist propaganda. Evenings consisted of political classes and forced confessions of anti-communist activities. The treatment of the prisoners were repugnant and marked by constant beatings, forced starvation, excessive hard labor, indoctrination, and inhumane treatment. Inmates were dehumanized and victimized by the wardens who were often sadistic and just looked for reasons to inflict punishment. Many of the inmates died of starvation, lack of medical care, and from infection. Common illnesses included malaria, scabies, hepatitis and diarrhea. Others could not stand any longer and took their own lives.

The U.S. government considers reeducation camp inmates to be political prisoners. In 1989, the Reagan administration entered into an agreement with the Vietnamese government, pursuant to which Vietnam would free all former RVN soldiers and officials held in reeducation camps and allow them to emigrate to the United States. Thus began the third large influx of Vietnamese immigrants into the country.

[edit] Aftermath

Once the inmates were released, they found that the new government had imposed several rules against them in the years they had been in the camps. Though many have had higher ranking positions in the old government, they were denied access to universities and had many work restrictions. Children they had could not attend universities either. Once a month, they had to file a report to the officials, describing what they did each month, so they could be controlled. Facing these discrimations, many chose to flee the country and become boat people, rather risking death and pirates at sea than continuing living under the supressive regime.

[edit] Number of victims

The number of inmates and death figures at the various camps are unclear due to the secrecy of the Vietnamese government. Crude estimates range from 500 000 to over 1 million inmates. Estimated death figures due to diseases, starvation, execution and working accidents range from tens of thousands to over 100 000 dead.