Vietnam Portfolio / Vietnamese — E. Kenneth Hoffman
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Comments left at the original Vietnam Interactive Portfolio blog 1995-2004
People don’t want to remember!
When I showed these pictures to my family, nobody cared. I was shocked when I saw these photos, either my family is desensitized or that they are too American to care anymore. I was not there, but I read about it in history books and, saw movies on the “War” but I knew there was more to it than that, this site has showed me more than any history book, thank you!
Such a shame..
It seems to me, many of us are lost. Or have lost the connection with our dearest homeland. So many years in America have made it just a distant memory. I admit, my feelings of Vietnam is unclear. It’s funny how I have so much connecting me to something I can barely remember. At times, I don’t want to remember. But now, as I become older, I know: I am a part of Vietnam. There’s no denying it.
I admit, I don’t remember much nor know much of my own homeland. And yes, that is indeed sad. But I love it and honor it. Because I know I am a part of it. These photos remind me of it. It allows me to trace my roots, the homeland I’ve never known… There are no exploitations. Just a medium for someone like me, to trace her homeland.
I am missing out on so much…
The never forgotten homeland…
… Vietnam maybe a place of poverty, hunger, and lack of education, but my people never stopped caring for their elders and families…Vietnam, a country where people suffering from poverty, still caring for their elders and make use of what they have no matter the outcome. I never returned to Vietnam, but soon in the near future…The war is over, all the wars are over, people must learn the truth, respect their country. As long as Vietnamese blood flows through us, our homeland should not be forgotten.
My people and my country
I miss them: my people and my country…I miss them a lot. I miss the faces of those people who have the same color of skin and hair, and the blood stream. Sensitive… I miss the scenery… of the temples, churches, schools, and small houses. There is no electric, and no telephone. What a life. However, the people are sweet and the scenery is wonderful. I never and ever have an opportunity here to go to see moon when it’s full and listen to the conversation of nature: trees, insects, stars… They are talking to us, to themselve. I wonder when could I do that again. Here, today, with this portfolio, I go back Vietnam without taking a plane. I go back to the memory which emerged in me for twenty years, and still on… I wish I could see more of those… Thanks so much.