Episode 7: Buon Me Thuot 1 - The Exile House Artwork

The Vietnamese Narrative with Nhan Phan

The Vietnamese Narrative: A Collection of Photographs is available here! https://issuu.com/nhan.phan/docs/viet_narrative_photobook. Follow me as I travel around Vietnam to record stories of historical relics in Vietnamese history and discover how they contributed to the Vietnamese narrative as well as what they reveal about the nature of change within the country. The stories of the past that those relics can offer can tell us a great deal about how far the Vietnamese story had evolved after the war. Join me to discover a heritage-rich side of Vietnam that’s not commonly discovered to both locals and tourists alike.

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The Vietnamese Narrative with Nhan Phan

Episode 7: Buon Me Thuot 1 - The Exile House

August 17, 2022 • Nhan Phan • Season 1 • Episode 7

The Buon Me Thuot Exile house was built by the French government from 1930-1931 to isolate, quarantine, and imprison political figures including leaders of the Xo Viet Nghe Tinh revolution as well as liberationists. The French government had to build the Exile House in the middle of the city to publicly and ruthlessly punish the revolution leaders. To many locals and Vietnamese natives alike, this important historical site is a reminder of how far Vietnam has come after over 30 years of constant warfare. The torture and inhumane treatment of the political prisoners is a grim reminder of the fate of those who had helped Vietnam gain the voice of independence that it possesses today. This site, rather than a detention site, is seen as a site of heroism: a commemoration of those who had risked their lives to protect the rights and demands of the people, freedom, as well as the soul of the country.