2024-01-24 21:55:16
Didn’t I say in the last part that the horrors that took place in the darkness of the prison made the body twitch? What happened was that part of the prison, it was the place where people who were involved in serious crimes in the country and those who opposed the government were punished. The name of the place is ‘Kachot’!
Sunlight does not enter that box; The sentence should be served in Kummirut only. After being punished, the legs of the convicts will be locked inside the prison with an iron lock on the floor. They should just be on one side. Can’t even lie back. There were punishments such as beheading in the gallows and hanging iron rods around the neck. The prison was used to house political prisoners who fought for the independence of Vietnam. Vietnamese prisoners were mercilessly tortured and beaten daily by the guards here. Torture included electric shocks, hanging upside down and poor food.
Originally built to hold 200 people, this prison housed 10 times that number. Up to 600 were imprisoned in 1913. Later in 1916, 700 prisoners, 895 prisoners in 1922, 2 thousand prisoners were held in 1954.
I said in the last section that it was once considered an unbreakable prison in Indochina and so secure that no one could escape. But 16 political prisoners who were sentenced to death escaped from this prison and again participated in the country’s liberation struggle. The tourist guide said that the 16 people who were arrested for fighting for freedom, escaped from the prison complex on December 24, 1951 through the water leading to the underground sewers and participated in the freedom struggle again.
In 1954 the French were expelled from Hanoi. However, this prison, which was built during their time, continued to function even after that. From 1964 to 1973, it was also a prison that held American prisoners of war against Vietnam during the Second Indochina War. For the next 20 years after the war with the United States, the prison was used to detain domestic political rebels. The prison was closed in 1990.
Located in the center of the city, most of the prison was demolished to make way for the development of the city and the construction of larger buildings for government functions. Only the facade and some parts of the prison remain today, containing many historical events that cannot be erased by time in the liberation history of Vietnam. It has now been converted into a museum so that future generations can know the history that the stones of the prison building tell.
Inside ‘Hoa Lo’ prison, the prisoners are exposed through miniatures, sculptures, figurines, paintings and notes to the visitors. Visitors to this prison can learn about two different eras, the French era prison from 1896 to 1955 and the Vietnamese prison operations from 1964 to 1975. In my opinion there is not much difference between the two. In 1988, a movie was made in Hollywood called The Hanoi Hilton based on this prison.
The 88 Movement is writing history in a heavy voice about today’s Vietnam political prisoners and their imprisonment to tell us about the history of Hoa Lo Prison about the prison and political prisoners of that day. What is the 88 movement?
The journey continues…
Red flag nation that changes color! – Vietnam Travel Series Part – 7
#Red #flag #nation #color #Vietnam #Travel #Series #Part