Vietnamese Memories Vol.1: Leaving Saigon

Mémoires de Viet Kieu #1

by Clément Baloup, Pierre Daum

Colonialism and war disrupted the lives of millions of Vietnamese people during the 20th century. These are their stories.

Clement Baloup intimately traces the paths of those who went to great lengths to seek asylum in unfamiliar lands, and against all odds, established prosperous communities rooted in the colorful culture and experiences of their past, while fostering a future unhindered by the political and personal turmoil that haunts their pasts.

Genres: Graphic Novels, History, Comics, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics

164 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2006

About the author

Clément Baloup entre à l'école des Beaux-Arts d'Angoulême en 1997 et y rejoint la section BD. Ces cinq années en Charente enrichissent tant sa perception que sa pratique de la bande dessinée. En 2000, il monte avec ses colocataires « La Maison qui pue », un collectif touche-à-tout qui lui permet de publier ses premières planches.

Clément Baloup fait preuve d'éclectisme puisque, outre ses travaux intimistes (Un Automne à Hanoï, Quitter Saigon, Little Saigon), ce jeune auteur marseillais a également réalisé les scénarios d'oeuvres de fiction : La Vie en Rouge pour Domas (2 tomes à La Boîte à bulles), le très remarqué Chinh Tri (2 tomes parus au Seuil, bientôt un dernier à la Bàb), Diables Sucrés et La Concubine rouge pour Mathieu Jiro (Gallimard - sélection Angoulême 2010) et Le Club du suicide pour Eddy Vaccaro (Soleil).

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clement Baloup creates a work of comics journalism and history in two parts, the first about the refugee crisis caused by the US evacuation of and the fall of Saigon in 1975. This first part focuses on the personal stories of five family members, over five different time periods, as they are forced to leave their home country to settle in France.

The second part is an illustration and adaptation of Pierre Daum's book, Immigrés de force: Les travailleurs indochinois de la second guerre mondiale, about 20,000 Vietnamese citizens who were forced to relocate to France during World War II to support the war effort for the (colonizing) French government. His book triggered a major call to action, where many French cities created events to restore and honor the memory of those forced immigrants, a kind of public apology. How did France become, in part, a rice growing country?! These folks!!People who were in many cases not paid for the work, essentially kidnapped and enslaved, and many just stayed in France!

This is important oral history, comics work, preserving tragic history usually ignored or swept under the carpet. The quality and style of the artwork evolves over time, and this is disconcerting at times, but on the whole it is very accomplished. And it’s a process, it’s live, it’s responsive, not intended to be polished.

Can we forget the effects of colonialism? Many try to do just that, to erase the past, rewrite it, for convenience sake, to lie about past “greatness,” and so on, of course. But this book puts a human face on colonialism, war, and the Vietnamese diaspora. We need more such books that tell the truth.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of two French graphic novels is a well done representation of the oral histories of Vietnamese emigrants, refugees and forced laborers. In the first section, the writer/artist recounts the experiences of his father and other Vietnamese refugees who fled the country during and after the Vietnam War. The second half presents the research and personal testimonies that resulted in journalist Pierre Daum's book, Immigrés de force: Les travailleurs indochinois de la second guerre mondiale, about 20,000 Vietnamese citizens who were forced to relocate to France during World War II to labor in support of the war effort for the French and Vichy governments.

Being a history aficionado, I was fascinated by the subject matter and the multiple and varied perspectives of the firsthand accounts Baloup and Daum diligently gathered.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving and sad collection of oral histories of Vietnamese people who were imprisoned, suffered torture and attempts at psychological brainwashing, or became forced laborers during WWII, taken from their homes and families and brought to France to work in horrible conditions. The first of Clement Baloup's graphic collection is interviews with various Vietnamese people who, willingly or unwillingly, made lives in France, and how they got to France during WWII and after. The second part of the graphic collection is about journalist Pierre Daum's efforts to uncover the history of the forced Vietnamese laborers who were brought to France and worked in horrible conditions and with little or no compensation in many industries in France, from the gunpowder factories to the rice fields (which they revitalized from the agricultural knowledge they had from Vietnam). Baloup recounts Pierre Daum's interviews, how he wrote the nonfiction book which caused controversy (mainly because the parallels some people drew between the treatment of Vietnamese forced laborers by the French and the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis), and how, eventually, the French authorities and the French people had to acknowledge the contribution of the Vietnamese people in their history and economy.

[Dean Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating work which reveals little known history via testimony. The evolution in art style can be off-putting to some but I found it added a sense of chronology to the task and craft being put down.

The weakest part of the book is the last third: “The Forced Immigrants” - while the art is superb, the narrative is uneven and resorts to dense blocks of repetitive text with accompanying pictures. It was rather disappointing when the first two-thirds were so well conceived and human.

If I ignored the last part of the book, this would easily be 4*.

Side gripe: There are a bunch of annoying typos that pop up. Proofreading fail.

[Hong · Rating 5 out of 5]

important and gorgeous

[Christy Dang · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vietnam War will always be a part of Vietnam's turbulent history and its people who experienced it first-hand. Countless books and films have covered this war, but much less have tackled it from a different medium, specifically as a graphic novel, like Vietnamese Memories does. Curious about his Vietnamese father's past, Baloup records his father's experience with the Vietnam War and escape to France. His father's story leads Baloup to other Vietnamese-French who shared similar stories of pain and suffering. However Vietnamese Memories truly showcases the Vietnamese people's bravery and resilience in the face of war and brutality.

[StephenWoolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'ai trouvé la couleur des personnages étranges au sens où j'avais l'impression d'avoir affaire à des carribéens (noirs) plutôt qu'à des vietnamiens. C'est un détail mais ça m'a laissé une impression bizarre alors que j'ai apprécié le travail sur les paysages et le reste.
La retenue des personnages qui racontent malgré tout leur histoire était touchante.

[Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

很喜欢的一本图像小说。 第一部分是由一个个法国籍越南裔的个人故事组成的时代背景下的小人物的历史。但也正是这些人的经历，构成了我们所看不见的历史及其影响。异国他乡的漂泊，不公的待遇，回不去的乡愁…

第二部分是由一位记者记录的那些forced immigrants的故事。读到最后很震撼…想要对这些奉献时间精力乃至生命去挖掘不被看见的历史真相的人致敬。

联想到《女人世界》的导演创作初衷也是为了记录下那些美国老年舞者的经历。如果她不去做这件事，很可能这些人的故事就会被永远遗忘了。

此外，这本的分镜与色彩也很棒，有很多很有冲击力的时刻。记得其中有一幅好像是被烧尽的野草，后面又重新生长出了叶子与花，在摧残之下仍然有顽强的生命力一样。经历了越战的这些人们也是如此。很幸运能够读到本书

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really valuable to see the Vietnamese diaspora experience from the Vietnamese point of view. I'm glad this book exists and I'm glad I read it, although Baloup's presentation of the various stories could be more engaging.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reeducation camps and forced labor camps in France. There is more to remember

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some interesting history and testimonials about Vietnamese immigrants and workers in France.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every country had its secrets especially during times of war. Just learned one about France I did not know.

[Julia Bourland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history.

[Milley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. I love personal stories and these and the artwork were hand in glove delivering.

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Au CAFI, tous n'ont pas eu l'opportunité ou l'envie de partir. 150 personnes y vivent encore."

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on a piece of history I knew nothing about.

[Stephen]

I thoroughly enjoy graphic novel memoir/history stories and this was excellent

[Duong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encore un ouvrage sur les conséquences de la guerre du Vietnam mais sous forme BD, le roman graphique très bien dessiné.

[Melissa Kapadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must-read.

[Mickey Bits · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy virtually every French graphic novel (in translation) that I pick up. This one was no exception. Well drawn and with an excellent story.

[HadiDee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. The first section of the book was interesting but familiar - histories of french-vietnamese and their journeys. I like the colour paletes that distinguished past and present.

The second section was a surprise, a graphic retelling/summarising of a book by journalist Pierre Daum, about the 20,000 Vietnamese men conscripted to work in France during WWII, many of them not by choice. the French government had them working in factories, construction, and rice fields; most did not receive compensation for their work. This section was completely new to me, and I was pleased to read that, thanks to Daum's investigation and book, monuments and markers to these men are now to be found in some of the major towns and cities where they worked.