Yes, but hold that thought.

The first case of coronavirus emerged in Vietnam around the Lunar New Year in late January, a popular time for Vietnamese people abroad to return home. Since then, the one-party state has received praise globally for quickly recognizing the gravity of the virus and implementing preventive measures early even before the W.H.O declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. This includes closing down schools, sending people who enter the country from hard-hit areas like the U.S and Europe to army-run quarantine camps, (my sister has been in such a camp for almost two weeks now since she flew into Hanoi from Boston), closing borders temporarily in late March, administering tests for people even with mild or symptoms or spreading useful hand washing tips through a catchy tune that’s gone viral on YouTube, TikTok and other Western media (such as this shout-out from late-night talk show host John Oliver).

Early action has proven to be effective in containing the virus as of now, but does this mean Vietnam is out of the woods?

If you take a closer look at what’s actually happening in the country, you might find that the government has only been aggressive in stopping the virus at entry points to the country: airports. There has been very little social distancing imposed nationwide, and current measures still leave out a considerable portion of the public.

The Hanoi City Council only mandated non-essential stores and businesses to close on March 28, with the exception of gas stations, banks, malls, supermarkets and other grocery stores. Schools have been closed from kindergarten through university for the last two months but both government and private employees haven’t been required to stay home or provided with guidelines to work from home (Both my parents still went to work and attended meetings with dozens of people until March 31). Those who are staying home aren’t guaranteed paid sick leave, unless they have certified sickness or in this case, are tested positive for COVID-19.

Signs of continued spread can be observed through the latest lockdown of Bach Mai hospital, one of Hanoi’s top medical centers, putting a strain on the triage system across the city. According to reports from Bloomberg, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered authorities to track down 40,000 people who came in contact with people at the hospital before the lockdown, which will potentially bring up the number of cases reported thus far.

Due to the late commands with regards to social distancing, the impact of this outbreak on small businesses and service workers across the country still hasn’t fully materialized. As Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced on Monday that major cities should prepare for a lockdown, people will soon face the economic consequences if this virus spreads at a much higher rate.

While issuing more directives to control this outbreak, the Vietnamese government has also recently picked up on the international spotlight it has received for taking reasonable actions well before many Western countries even cared to respond. An analysis on Vietnam’s early success published by the World Economic Forum attributes Vietnam’s no-fatality record to its authoritarian regime with “large and well-organized military and security services” as well as “a culture of surveillance.”

This could be perceived as a fallacious endorsement of the Communist Party, without regards to its record of violating human rights and freedom of expression in Vietnam. Not only does the government limit independent media to favor state propaganda, it also cracks down on dissidents and activists who dare criticize the Party by banning their work from being circulated, sending them to jail or in some cases, and forcing them into exile, according to a 2019 report by Human Rights Watch.

Another deep-dive by The Diplomat highlighted how Vietnam’s Communist Party is keeping this pandemic under control: promoting radical transparency of people tested positive for the virus by making public the identities of the infected—their age, travel itinerary, occupation as well as how they contracted the virus. The article shows that those who disobey enforced quarantine will face harsh criticism on social media and in the news.

Speaking of infringing on human rights, should we forgo individual’s rights to private medical records during this extraordinary time for the supposed public good? Does publishing exactly who got the virus without one’s consent help mitigate this crisis?

Although public health is at the top of the news at the moment, and it’s undeniable that Vietnam has executed commendable actions to manage the outbreak, we should not perfunctorily applaud the country’s one-party system as if this government structure has always worked for all of its citizens in every aspect. Celebrating a one-party system in the middle of a global outbreak might inadvertently serve as gratuitous approval for such a regime.

Until we flatten the curve and treat active cases successfully on a much larger scale, let’s keep fighting this battle collectively because one country’s victory doesn’t automatically mean a foolproof model for all.

Hoa P. Nguyen is a graduate student in NYU’s Magazine and Digital Storytelling program.

The post It’s Too Soon to Say Vietnam is Winning the War on Coronavirus appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Veteran Penelope McClenan, 50 of Saint Albans, Queens, founded the non-profit, Women’s Veteran Network, dedicated to assisting female veterans. Photo by: Talia Avakian

Penelope McClenan had a five-bedroom home when she left for Army deployment in Afghanistan. When she returned five months later it was gone.

McClenan, 50, of Saint Albans, Queens, suffered a head injury while on active duty. She transferred to a reserve unit as a chaplain assistant and finally to a transporter New Jersey unit, but when she suffered migraines related to her prior head injury, speculations by the unit eventually led to McClenan being demoted and a “drastic” drop in pay.

Paying her mortgage became a struggle and her home was put on foreclosure. At the same time, McClenan needed surgery related to her injuries that caused her to miss court dates, and her unit did not send in the paperwork confirming her prior deployment, which only lengthened the court process.

After several months, she was able to get authority to sell the house. McClenan sold the house to catch up to finances, but now she needed to find housing for herself and her son.

For single parents like McClenan, finding help to prevent homelessness is increasingly difficult. Of all of the Veteran Administration programs established to assist homeless veterans, more than 60 percent do not accept children, and many that do place age and number restrictions.

In 2010, more than 30,000 single mothers were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and as of 2006, more than 40% of active duty women have children, making single mothers a large segment of female veterans.

At the time, McClenan turned to her mother for temporary housing in Hollis, Queens, until she was told there was aid to assist her in transitional housing. However, this did not make the transition process easier for the single mother. A year later, unstable rent prices left McClenan battling eviction charges yet again.

McClenan expresses emotional grief to having known female veterans who committed suicide due to the difficulties of finding and maintain housing. Photo by Talia Avakian

Experiencing the lack of proper services available for female veterans led McClenan to creating the Women’s Veteran Network, a non-profit dedicated to helping women in the situation she was in. She got in touch with female veterans she had met at the Manhattan and Brooklyn VA. The women in the network pitched in to finance the program’s events. McClenan also connected with the Wounded Warrior Projects, who assisted with outreach and executing larger-scale projects. With the assistance of the women in the network, McClenan is currently in the process of opening an all-female veteran shelter that openly accepts children in Long Island.

According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, a female veteran is four times more likely as her civilian counterpart to experience homeless. According to the council, gender-specific organizations like the Women’s Veteran Network, which are not supported by the government, are crucial to helping women find stability in a safe environment.

Carol Anne Matuszewski, a Vietnam Air Force veteran, found solace in the network after facing homelessness.
Matuszewski, 63, of Bay Ridge Brooklyn, joined in 1968, believing the military would offer a solution to the limited career opportunities available to women at the time. When she returned from deployment, she discovered that her status as a woman veteran only increased the difficulty of finding both employment and housing.

Vietnam was a war that males were drafted into, and because female veterans had the choice to enter, potential employers sometimes condemned them for making that decision.

Matuszewski’s struggle to find a job left her homeless, but it was not only unemployment that led to her fate.

Many female veterans still do not identify themselves as veterans, remaining unaware of or feeling unqualified for veteran facilitation programs. This was the case for Matuszewski.

Matuszewski turned to Veterans Affairs for medical aid when she began battling cancer, and found the Women’s Veteran Network.

Vietnam air force veteran, Carol Ann Matuszewski, 63 of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, had difficulty identifying herself as a veteran when she returned from deployment. Photo by Talia Avakian

Having a program that catered to women who understand one another’s struggles allowed Matuszewski to, for the first time, feel comfortable being “open” with others and to receive help for the struggles she has faced as a female veteran.

The Long Island facility is still in the process of completion, but getting women to feel comfortable with the shelter will be the main obstacle.

The post Women veterans battle homelessness appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Vietnam Veteran and first responder, Jimmy Bacolo, remembers his service and the lives lost on 9/11. Photo by Courtney Pence

It is an abnormally quiet morning on the streets of lower Manhattan. There are no honking horns, no ringing cell phones, not even a conversation can be heard as hundreds of New Yorkers make their way to their destinations.

As the impressive structure of One World Trade Center looms directly above, and not far from the 11th memorial service and reading of the victims’ of September 11 names. It’s a private ceremony for family members, but this detail does not stop New Yorkers and tourists from weaving through police-lined streets in search of a place to pay their respects and remember.

Vietnam veteran Jimmy Bacolo was in Zuccotti Park with others mourners. Bacolo, 67, of Brooklyn, was working for the Staten Island Ferry when word of the plane crashes reached his crew. They rushed to Ground Zero to help.

“You did what you had to do, this was our country, we were under attack, and I’m a veteran,” he said. “There was no way I was gonna turn around and go home.”

Bacolo did not go home for five days.

“I stayed with the ferry, we were bringing equipment, supplies, and material, and firemen and EMS people on the boats back and forth,” he said. “And then we were coming up here ourselves with trucks dropping off water and soda, stuff like that.”

Bacolo was not a trained fireman or police officer, but he was a first responder. He said it was very chaotic and surreal.

“Downtown by the ferry the dust was probably up to your ankles and there was nothing, but papers all over the trees, papers all over the streets that came from the building,” he said. “There was clothing, I could see things hanging off the trees.”

Barcolo pointed to the trees of Zuccotti Park. He said everybody responded on 9/11.

“Nobody went home,” he said.

Israel Garcia, 24, of Brooklyn, was also in the park, remembering his life on September 11th, 2001. Garcia is currently serving in his fourth and final year in the Marines. He was in grade school in Brooklyn on the day of the attack. Seven years later he enlisted and when he did he knew his chances of being sent to the Middle East were high. He has since served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It’s like everyone else, you wake up every morning and you put one leg through your pants just like everybody else, you just go do what you gotta do,” he said. “It’s like a regular nine-to-five with a machine gun in your hand, that’s about it.”

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