Free people in Vietnam have a right to eat free food, as there is currently not enough food in the country. Over one third of Vietnam’s population lives in poverty, and many people don’t have enough food to eat. Many people in Vietnam are still struggling with food shortages after the end of the Vietnam War. In my opinion, it’s an outrage that people still go hungry in a country named ‘land of the free.’
To understand the severity of the food shortage in Vietnam today, you should know about the food situation during the Vietnam War. When America fought against Vietnam, they blockaded their country and prevented supplies from entering it. This caused a widespread famine across Vietnam during the war. Afterward, communist authorities continued to block and ration supplies as part of their socialist policies. On top of that, these policies caused inflation to skyrocket which decreased people’s purchasing power even more. All this led to a situation where over 20 million people died from famine-related causes in Vietnam between 1985 and 1990. By 1998, over 36 million people still didn’t have enough food to eat each day.
Many children in rural Vietnam did not get enough education when they were younger since their families were too poor to afford it. Unfortunately, this meant they could not go on to become skilled workers when they became adults. Instead, they became laborers or did military service in unstable situations that put them at risk of getting injured or dying. These dangerous situations kept them from providing for themselves and their families- but it also put them at risk of being arrested by the government. Fortunately, there have been some improvements recently; now rural kids can get educated if they meet certain requirements.
One problem that preceded the U.S.-Vietnam War was how few GI’s returned home once their tours of duty were over. Some resorted to gambling or becoming opium dealers back home. However, many also ended up returning to their native countries without jobs or money to feed their families. During this time, many villages experienced hunger as some families tried to make ends meet by harvesting crops at night without proper tools or knowledge. In addition, some kids from these starving villages joined the Viet Cong army so they could eat and earn a little money. They hoped this would help them recover from their recent hardships and afford rice for dinner every night.
Even today, children in rural areas of Vietnam are forced to live with conditions that lead to extreme poverty and hunger. Their situations are made even worse by communist governments that block supplies and educate poor rural children at a minimum level. Thanks to recent reforms, life is getting better for these starving kids- but there’s a lot of work left to do beyond these changes.