(VOVworld) - Vietnam and the US have seen much improvement in their relations in the 37 years since the US war in Vietnam and the 17 years since the establishment of bilateral ties. This improvement is largely due to the efforts of many American women. Those women, though coming from different backgrounds, have promote peace and friendship between the two countries through practical support for Vietnam. Our reporter Anh Huyen wrote an article featuring some representative US women on the occasion of the 37^th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification.

 

Although she participated in the anti-war movement in the US during her student days, it wasn’t until 2011 that Washington state Senator Karen Lynne Keiser had an opportunity to come to Vietnam to contribute to the reconciliation process between the two countries. Having been in Vietnam for a very short time, Ms. Keiser wants to send a message to any American who cares about Vietnam and wants to help improve relations between the two countries. Ms. Keiser and her husband, a US war veteran who took part in the war in Vietnam have always supported Vietnam through various practical activities: “Back to 1990, before that we had diplomatic relations. He made a documentary film, it’s called “Two decades then we wake up”, the title of the film and it was well received”.

As the Head of George High School in the State of Pennsylvania, Cherry Mellor has always wanted to help the reconciliation process and exchanges between Vietnam and the US. She has visited Vietnam 6 times since the two countries established bilateral ties. Ms. Mellor said the two peoples should change their awareness and ways of thinking to be closer and this should start with the education of young people. Every year, her school organizes trips to Vietnam to observe daily life and perform volunteer activities: “I think about helping the students understand about the war. Most of my students come from very privileged families. So, it’s helpful for them to know what they can do with their time when they leave school. They will go into non profit. It’s important for them to learn about all types of people and the world is very small. It’s not a big place that they never understand. It’s not one and one relationship.

In 2003, Ms. Mellor adopted an orphaned boy at the Social Patronage and Care for Orphaned Children Center in Bac Ninh province. She often takes part in charitable activities to support disadvantaged families in Vietnam.

The Peace Tree Organization is familiar to many Vietnamese people. The name of the organization reveals the desire of its founder to grow more trees in this war-torn country. The organization was established because an American family lost their only son in the brutal war in Vietnam. For the past 17 years, this family has turned their pain into practical activities to help Vietnamese people recover from the war. Ms. Rae Cheney is a co-founder of the Peace Tree Organization in Vietnam: “I used to be one of those mothers, so I know how they feel and the pain they suffer. I talk to them, I tell them to make it better. We need to do something and it’s been my choice, the Peace Tree Vietnam.

 

At the age of 90, Ms. Cheney still joins her daughter and many Vietnamese and American friends in their effort to heal the wounds of war. Hundreds of houses, kindergartens and libraries have been built, nearly 1,000 bomb and landmine victims have been helped, and hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted in areas which were devastated by bombs during the war.

Anh Huyen