Somehow the past belongs to you

Luong Le — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:28:06 +0000

Sitting quietly in a corner of the noisy bar, Friederike is thinking about a question that I asked her concerning the way Germany deals with its past. The serious, young journalist remembers her feelings when she was a teenager. “I felt something like shame about my nationality”, says Friederike while mentioning what had happened with Jewish people during the Second World War.
No one can choose his national history himself. Neither does Friederike. The thing that she can do is find a way to approach her sensitive history. It’s not easy for most people to do that.
When you did something that‘s not correct, it’s hard for you to admit your mistake. Talking about history, it’s true that you did not do the things in the past before you were born, but somehow this past belongs to you, and you must accept the facts.
There are many ways to deal with the past. It depends on what your people did in the past, the position of your country in the war (being the winner or the loser, the main actor or the victim).
You might talk only about the bright side or you can feel uncomfortable or ignore the dark side in the history, it depends on your cultural behavior to reflect yourself and your relation to the past.
Germans like Friederike and her generation reflected about the past and this has shaped their identity. Friederike says that many Germans even didn’t want to show their national flag for long time until the last Soccer World Cup. She felt shy to mention her nationality when she was young and went abroad.
The past is already gone. The postwar generations have to find out their behavior to deal with their history. And the serious attitude of Friederike make others to reconsider their own manner of dealing with the past, even if their countries were winners in their wars.

Luong

Some scattered thoughts

Luong Le — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:23:23 +0000

Sometimes, you can hear someone say that: this country has freedom of expression, and other ones do not. But in fact, who is able to give this conclusion exactly? And, does the “true freedom and responsibility” exist? If yes, what are its norms?

Everyday, people are surrounded by such huge news about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, etc… But do they know precisely what is going on in these countries?

In Vietnam, the people only see what’s happening in the Middle East through CNN, AP, AFP or Al Jazeera. The news from these sources make them think that there is war everywhere in these countries. And maybe all the rest of the world (except the people who live in these countries) have the same preconceived idea.

However, the answers of reporters from Middle Eastern countries – who are participating in the summer academy of IIJ, Hamburg – will make you surprised but also optimistic. Responding to worries about the unstable security in Afghanistan, Peikar Farhad – reporter of Deutsche Presse Agentur Afghanistan says: “It is a peaceful country”. This information is very different from those numerous ones appearing on a lot of big “free and responsible” newspapers in the world.

This is just one aspect of the true thing that happens in our world. Being reporters, we need so much more answers like this one to catch the whole vision and the whole truth.

The Summer Academy held by IIJ will offer more chances for young journalists from 18 countries to understand what journalism is and what functions the media have, then fulfill their mission of telling the truth.

Luong.

The Daily IIJ » Luong Le

Somehow the past belongs to you

Some scattered thoughts