The Socialist Republic of Vietnam Claimed
Children Still Suffering From the After-Effects of the War
After the Fall of Saigon and the capitulation of South Vietnam, Vietnam government was completely controlled by the Communistic North. On the 2nd of July 1976 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with the city of Hanoi as the capital. After the country was officially one, there was a unification program in order to integrate the South. The government also created a campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. This is essentially making everyone work together as a joint enterprise, or cooperative. This campaign, though expected to be effective, caused a collapse in the already fragile economy and immense amounts of inflation. This only slowed the already prolonged recovery from the ravaging war. On top of pretty much destroying their economy, the Vietnam War also claimed the lives of over 2 million deaths including both military and civilians, as well as almost double that amount wounded. The War left nearly half the population homeless, and destroyed 70% of the nation's industrial capacity. On top of these horrific statistics, the Vietnamese Citizens still had reason to be terrified, because there were, and even still are, many unexploded mines. On top of fearing being exploded and killed by mines, many the citizens, mainly those from South Vietnam, feared their own government. They banned any opposition of political activity or even suspected political oppositions, and imprisoned any opponents or people thought to be opponents. Many of citizens not imprisoned by the government were imprisoned in their hearts and their minds by the fear and terror that they faced each and every day. Although the country of Vietnam was now "unified", the country and civilians were still very much divided. Not only were they divided then, they are still divided now. The effects of the war still affect everyone in Vietnam both physically from the Agent Orange and Napalm, but mentally as well.
