“To reap a return in ten years, plant trees. To reap a return in 100, cultivate the people.”

– Ho Chi Minh

The Vietnamese government just sentenced twenty-two dissidents to lengthy prison sentences.  They attempted to create their own independent state in a remote area of the Vietnam mountainside.

Media – in the form of television or newspapers – seems non-existent in both Vietnam and Laos.  When the Americans bombed Laos during the Vietnam War, the people had no idea what fire was falling from the sky.  Sidenote: I found this impassioned response to the dilemma of unexploded ordnances in Laos by California Democrat Mike Honda, written a couple of years ago.

The lack of media in Vietnam and Laos strikes me as dangerous, albeit conducive to a seemingly more “peaceful” environment.  As long as you don’t write or speak out against the government, whose work is done behind closed doors, you don’t have much to worry about beyond your farm or small shop.  But don’t go further than that.