Viet Nam Blog :: Travel & Tourism » General http://www.vietnam2.com/blog Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:14:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation http://www.vietnam2.com/blog/vietnam-women%e2%80%99s-memorial-foundation/ http://www.vietnam2.com/blog/vietnam-women%e2%80%99s-memorial-foundation/#comments Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:21:11 +0000 Aimar http://www.vietnam2.com/blog/?p=26 This year on Veteran’s Day the Vietnam Women’s Memorial will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the dedication ceremony. The Vietnam Women’s Memorial is a memorial dedicated to American women who served in the Vietnam War. It is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The memorial depicts three uniformed women caring for a wounded soldier sculpted in bronze. Most of the women that served in the military in the Vietnam War were nurses.

Sculptor Glenna Goodacre of Santa Fe designed the memorial, which was dedicated on November 11, 1993 after a 10-year effort. Landscape architect George Dickie also contributed to the memorial. The Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project created the memorial to honor the women that served and also honor the families who lost loved ones in the war.

Diane Carlson Evans, who served as a nurse in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, founded the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project in 1984. Evans served in the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam from 1968-1969 and served a total of six years in the Army Nurse Corps.

From 1984 to 1993 Evans lobbied federal authorities for permission to build a memorial honoring the 11,000 military women who served in Vietnam and the 265,000 women who served around the world during the war. Along with thousands of volunteers and prominent veteran’s organizations including the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America and others, Evans raised public support and funds for the memorial. It still took seven years of testimony before three federal commissions and two congressional bills for the Project to gain permission to build a memorial.

In 2002 the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Project changed its name to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation. The non-profit organization is located in Washington D.C. and Evans still serves as founder and president. She is an active participant in the veterans’ community and often speaks on the subject of women’s wartime experience.

The mission of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation is to promote, identify and educate the general public on the crucial role military and civilian women played in the Vietnam War. The foundation also promotes research for women veterans on the physiological, psychological and sociological repercussions of their service. The Foundation is supported by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and more than 40 other organizations.

Approximately 265,000 women served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, with approximately 11,000 women serving in Vietnam during the country’s involvement. The women who served in Vietnam were mostly military nurses and medical specialists serving in military hospitals, combat zones and evacuation squads. Countless numbers of women also served through the Red Cross, Special Service and Civil Service.

Positions women served in Vietnam included support staff, in hospitals, on medical evacuation flights, with MASH units, information officers, clerical workers, women officers and enlisted women. Still others were air traffic controllers, communications specialists and intelligence officers.

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ECONOMY. In 1986, the Vietnamese government abandoned its Marxist economic policy and implemented “doi moi” (renovation) involving economic structural reforms. These reforms included modernising and liberalising the economy and developing more export driven industries. Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and became a signatory of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in 2001 has brought major changes to Vietnam’s economy and hopes to become a member of the WTO in 2006. Vietnam’s GDP grew at an average of 7.3% annually in 2000-2004 and reached US$44.5 billion by 2004 and unemployment declined from 6.4% in 2000 to 5.6% in 2004. However, inflation steadily increased reaching 7.8% by 2004 and prompted Vietnam’s government to implement monetary and fiscal controls to manage inflationary pressures. The manufacturing sector contributed towards 40.1% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2004 while the service sector contributed 38.2%. The agriculture sector contributed towards 38.7% of the country’s GDP in 1990 but declined to 21.8% by 2004. Major industries include processed foods, garments and shoes, mining (coal and steel) cement, fertilisers, glass, tyres, paper and petroleum. Major agriculture products include rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybean, cashew nuts, peanuts, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas, poultry and seafood.
DEMOGRAPHY. Vietnamese (also known as Viet or Khin) is the major ethnic community accounting for nearly 86% of the country’s population and reside mainly in the eastern half of the country. Minorities include Chinese who live mainly in the urban areas, Khmer Crom (related to the Khmers of Cambodia), Tays and Montagnards who live in the mountainous regions of the country. In a government census, about 80% of the population do not subscribe to any religion but among those who do, 9% are Buddhist and 7% are Christians. Other religions practiced include Islam, Cao Dai and Hoa Hao. The national language is Vietnamese and languages spoken among the minorities include Tay, Muong, Khmer and Chinese (mainly Cantonese and Mandarin). English is the preferred second language but generally understood and spoken among the educated elite The majority of the Vietnamese population live in the rural areas but the proportion of the urban population is gradually increasing from 19.7% in 1990 to 26.0% in 2004. Vietnam’s largest city is Ho Chi Minh City (population 5.0 million) and Hanoi (population of 3.5 million) followed by Nai, Haiphong and Dac Lac. Household income in Ho Chi Minh City is nearly three times the national average – the city accounts for nearly half of all the motorbikes in Vietnam. An estimated 20% of the population live below the poverty level and mainly from rural households. 10%-15% of the households are middle to high-income households while 65%-70% are lower-income households.
INFRASTRUCTURE. Vietnam’s telecommunication systems lag behind many neighbouring countries in the region and therefore government puts great emphasis on its modernisation. Digital exchanges now connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City and main lines have increased while the use of mobile telephones is growing. The national road system stretches from the northern to southern tip of Vietnam. Northern and southern Vietnam are served by two international airports and two main sea ports serving international shipping.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE. Vietnam’s major trading partners are the US, Japan, China, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea. Major exports include oil, seafood, rice, coffee, cashew nuts, rubber, tea, garments and shoes. Major imports include machineries and equipments, petroleum products, fertilisers, steel products, cotton, grains, cement and motorcycles.
CONSUMER USAGE OF TECHNOLOGY. There were nearly 10.1 million telephones installed in Vietnam and nearly 5.0 million mobile phone subscribers in 2004. The government is putting considerable efforts to modernise and improve the country’s telecommunication system but still lags compared to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Computer penetration is low; estimates vary from 2% to 4% of the population in 2004 and an estimated 5.8 million internet users. The penetration of television is only 20% and concentrated to homes in the cities and towns. Similarly, installation of refrigerators is concentrated in the cities where 60% of the homes have refrigerators.
RETAIL MARKET. Retail sales in Vietnam grew by 8%-12% annually from 2000 to 2004 brought about by increasing disposable income due to the country’s strong economic growth. Vietnamese consumers spend two-thirds of their income on retail purchases amounting to US$16.3 billion in 2004. Traditional wet markets and the “mom and pop” shops dominate the retail industry accounting for 95% of the total retail trade. Many of these retail shops measure no more than five square metres (54 square feet). Modern retail establishments are limited but gradually emerging in the country and generally locally owned businesses concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
FOOD CULTURE. Rice and noodles are the staple food of the Vietnamese but taste preference differs by region. Foods in central Vietnam are spicier while foods in northern and southern Vietnam are less spicy and tend to be saltier. The Vietnamese often dip their foods with chilli, garlic or fish sauce to add flavour. The French colonialists introduced European style bread and bakeries into the Vietnamese food culture. Western style fast food service establishments are beginning to emerge alongside the traditional snack bars, cake shops and mobile food carts.

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