Live Fom Hanoi
This Is Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda Speaks On Radio Hanoi August 22 1972

This Is Jane Fonda

During My Two Week Visit In The Democratic Republic of Vietnam
I've Had The Opportunity To Visit A Great Many Places
And Speak To A Large Number Of People From All Walks Of Life

Workers
Peasants
Students
Artists
Dancers
Historians
Journalists
Film Actresses
Soldiers
Militia Girls
Members Of The Women's Union
And Writers
I Visited The Dam Xuac gricultural Coop
This Is Where The Silk Worms Are Also Raised And Thread Is Made

I Visited A Textile Factory And A Kindergarten In Hanoi
The Beautiful Temple Of Literature Was Where I Saw Traditional Dances And Heard Songs Of Resistance
I Also Saw An Unforgettable Ballet About The Guerrillas Training Bees In The South To Attack Enemy Soldiers
The Bees Were Danced By Women And They Did Their Job Well

In The Shadow Of The Temple Of Literature I Saw Vietnamese Actors And Actresses Perform The Second Act Of Arthur Miller's Play All My Sons
This Was Very Moving To Me
The Fact That Artists Here Are Translating And Performing American Plays While US Imperialists Are Bombing Their Country

I Cherish The Memory Of The Blushing Militia Girls On The Roof Of Their Factory
Encouraging One Of Their Sisters As She Sang A Song Praising The Blue Sky Of Vietnam
These Women Who Are So Gentle And Poetic
Whose Voices Are So Beautiful
But Who When American Planes Are Bombing Their City Become Such Good Fighters

I Cherish The Way A Farmer Evacuated From Hanoi
Without Hesitation Offered Me An American
Their Best Individual Bomb Shelter While US Bombs Fell Near By
The Daughter And I In Fact Shared The Shelter
We Were Wrapped In Each Others Arms Cheek Against Cheek

It Was On The Road Back From Nam Dinh
Where I Had Witnessed The Systematic Destruction Of Civilian Targets

Schools
Hospitals
Pagodas
The Factories
Houses
And The Dike System
As I Left The United States Two Weeks Ago
Nixon Was Again Telling The American People That He Was Winding Down The War
But In The Rubble Strewn Streets Of Nam Dinh
His Words Echoed With Sinister Words Indistinct Of A True Killer
And Like The Young Vietnamese Woman That I Held In My Arms
Clinging To Me Tightly And As I Pressed My Cheek Against Hers

I Thought
This Is A War Against Vietnam Perhaps But The Tragedy Is America's
One Thing That I Have Learned Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt Since I've Been In This Country
Is That Nixon Will Never Be Able To Break The Spirit Of These People
He'll Never Be Able To Turn Vietnam North And South Into A Neo Colony Of The United States By Bombing By Invading By Attacking In Any Way

One Has Only To Go Into The Countryside And Listen To The Peasants Describe The Lives They Led Before The Revolution To Understand Why Every Bomb That Is Dropped Only Strengthens Their Determination To Resist

I've Spoken To Many Peasants Who Talked About The Days When Their Parents Had To Sell Themselves To Landlords As Virtually Slaves When There Were Very Few Schools And Much Illiteracy Inadequate Medical Care
When They Were Not Masters Of Their Own Lives

But Now Despite The Bombs Despite The Crimes Being Created Being Committed Against Them By Richard Nixon
These People Own Their Own Land Build Their Own Schools
The Children Learning Literacy Illiteracy Is Being Wiped Out
There Is No More Prostitution
As There Was During The Time When This Was A French Colony

In Other Words The People Have Taken Power Into Their Own Hands
They Are Controlling Their Own Lives
And After 4,000 Years Of Struggling Against Nature And Foreign Invaders
And The Last 25 Years Prior To The Revolution Of Struggling Against French Colonialism

I Don't Think That The People Of Vietnam Are About To Compromise
In Any Way Shape Or Form About The Freedom And Independence Of Their Country

I Think Richard Nixon Would Do Well To Read Vietnamese History
Particularly Their Poetry
And Particularly The Poetry Written By Ho Chi Minh

"For You Jane Fonda,
We Wish You Black Dead Roses"

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