Cu Chi Tunnels

A trip to the Ho Chi Mihn City area would not be complete without a visit to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were used by Vietnamese combatants during the war against the United States. The tunnels were formed as a way to move unsuspected from one place to another, as well as to create a safe place to store supplies and keep non-combatants safe from the ongoing bombs dropped by American planes.

An introductory video, which was created during the war, was different than anything I’ve ever seen before and left me feeling a bit troubled. According to the video, the people living in that area were peace-loving peasants and not at all interested in the revolution. But the savage Americans, “like a crazy bunch of devils,” decided to bomb them with the objective to “turn Cu Chi into a dead land.” They were, however, much smarter and more creative than the Americans and were able to defend themselves with their cunning tunnels, many turned into “heroes for killing Americans.” The videos description of events was so single-sided and propaganda filled that it was, in some ways, sadly comical…specially with the patriotic and happy music in the background.

The tunnel system was amazing. It included several different types of underground rooms, some of which were 30 meters below ground. We also the cleverly created underground kitchen that allowed the smoke to dissipate, in order to avoid being detected.

In addition to the tunnels themselves, our tour included a disturbing explanation of the different types of “tiger traps” used by the Vietnamese Revolutionaries to “catch” invading soldiers. These traps were large pits or holes with different types of bamboo spears sticking up, ready to stab an unsuspecting person who steps in the wrong place. There were many different types of these traps, each with the same troubling objective.

During the entire visit, we continued to hear shooting. Apparently, some tourists enjoy the opportunity to shot AK-47s at the sites shooting range. For most people in our group, the sporadic and sudden sound of rapidly firing semi-automatic weapons made for an even more troubling morning.

Our last visit would be to the “tourist” tunnels, an area of the system that has been widened to allowed visitors to maneuver their larger bodies through a tunnel. I was anticipating the opportunity to tell my students about what it was like to wiggle through the tunnel in the dark. I didn’t make it very far at all. I went in, at the most, 10 feet before panicking due to the close proximity of other people, the dark, the moisture filled dirt, and the undergroundness. I guess that, in those highly stressful 10 feet, I got only a small feeling what it was like for those required to utilize the tunnels for daily life during the war.