In public view at last

Patrick Chauvel, a French photographer in Vietnam during theUS War, returned to the country in 2013 when his documentary‘Rapporteurs de Guerre’ (War Reporters) was screened locally and triedto answer some lingering questions: How did they work? How did theysurvive? Who were the photographers on the other side?

After numerous contacts, discussions and meetings with manyphotographers, he managed to track down Doan Cong Tinh, Chu Chi Thanh,Mai Nam, and Hua Kiem, four North Vietnamese photographers. Their wordsand their photos gave Patrick at least some answers. In 2014 he tooktheir photos and exhibited them at the Visa Pour L’image Festival inPerpignan, France.

From April 14, as Vietnam celebrates 40 years since the end of thewar, people in Hanoi have also had the chance to view the photos, someof which are being seen for the very first time, at L’Espace, 24 TrangTien Street.

Secret weapon

Different to the scenes of death and destruction that are oftencaptured by Western photographers, at this exhibition another angle ofthe war appears from the eyes and the lenses of others caught in themiddle of the fire: North Vietnam’s photographers.

The photos show the smiles of young soldiers after the fierce battlefor Quang Tri Ancient Citadel, the optimistic look of a small girl whohas outlived the bombs and bullets, and a reconnaissance team sluggingtheir through a mountainous area. The photos commonly show the ironwill, courage and firm belief of Vietnamese soldiers and citizens.

‘Before taking any photographs we were reminded what we should payattention to,’ Doan Cong Tinh, who was a photographer with the People’sArmy newspaper, told the audience at the exhibition. ‘We were forbiddento take any photos that may trigger pessimism, such as tears, sadness,blank stares, or bloody scenes. Vietnam was much weaker than its enemyin terms of weapons. But we fought with a secret weapon: the spiritualpower that comes from optimism, determination, and a willingness to diefor the cause.’

Although Tinh’s photo of the young Vietnamese soldiers smiling infront of the Quang Tri Ancient Citadel is considered to have been setup, it was still selected for the exhibition. According to Patrick, thiswas done out of respect for and acknowledgement of Tinh’s work.

‘As aforeign photographer, and a war protester, I tried to show the fiercestangles of the war,’ Patrick said. ‘There is a difference between thesubjects we aimed for when photographing, but both of us had to work invery harsh conditions, especially Tinh and his colleagues.’

Out from the darkness

For myriad reasons, not all photos could, of course, be shown to thepublic back then. The exhibition brings many of them out from thedarkness, however, allowing the public to perhaps gain a morecomprehensive perspective on the war and its reporters andphotographers.

The Liberation Day (April 30, 1975). Photo: Hua Kiem

At a discussion on April 16, independent reporter and MC Dao ThanhHuyen introduced a lesser known photo by Chu Chi Thanh to the audience,with the details hidden, of the dead body of a US pilot next to hisidentification papers and two photos of his wife and young child.

‘I was at my girlfriend’s house when the B52s started bombing Hanoi,’Thanh said. ‘When I arrived at Kham Thien Street in the morning I sawabsolute carnage and many corpses. People were searching for bodies inthe rubble. Then I went to Dinh Cong Street, as I was told that a B52had been shot down. I saw the American pilot’s body. At that moment, Iwondered why a pilot from a strange land far from Vietnam was lying deadin front of me. Who did he die for, I wondered?’

Thanh also revealed that on three occasions he was refused permissionto show the photo in public because it was so poignant, which confirmedfor him the humanitarian nature of the Vietnamese people, even towardsthe enemy.

The well known English photographer Donald McCullin has a similarphoto of a North Vietnamese soldier dying next to his belongings. Aftertaking the photo he tried to find the soldier’s relatives. His obsessionwith the war is depicted in his photo book ‘Sleeping with Ghosts’,first published in 1994.

Sharing a similar obsession, Tinh confessed that many times he wokeup in the middle of night screaming, even ten years after the war wasover.

Neutral observers

‘We were always close to our subjects,’ said Patrick. ‘We experienced the same fears and dangers. We are also victims of war.’

In the middle of the war, he realized that he could not just be aphotographer, but had to stay neutral to show the truth. ‘In the 1970s,when I was in Vietnam, most people didn’t want to fight at all,’ hesaid. ‘They seemed to use their guns more for self defence.’

Although their photos were strictly censored and directed, Thanh andTinh had a similar view as Patrick when taking a photograph. ‘Soldiers -no matter which side – are human beings when all is said and done,’said Thanh, ‘For soldiers with guns, there are two sides. But forphotographers, there is only the truth to pursue, to show a painfulhistorical period of Vietnam to the world.’

These days there are more wars and much more technology readilyavailable to everyone, making people wonder whether the term ‘warreporter’ is still relevant and how people can differentiate a phototaken by a passer-by and one taken by a war reporter. But, ‘theirprofessional eye helps a photographer find and catch the key moment,while the amateur may miss it,’ said Tinh.

For Patrick, who experienced about 20 battles, the public needsindependent sources of information and, on some dimension, amateurscomplement the work of professional photographers. The big differencebetween the two is, of course, that professionals were in the heat ofthe war for long periods while the amateurs only briefly endured itshorrors.

The war has ended, but the photos taken at the time rekindle a mix offeelings and conflicting views still. ‘Not everyone was satisfied withthe result of the war,’ said Patrick. ‘We were used to judging otherpeople without being in their position. But that is war, which destroyseverything, even faith. We will wait for younger generations to form amore objective view about the war, rather than judging anythingourselves.’

The Guide/VNN

In public view at last

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