Book to Be a Collaboration of Expats from Many Countries
June 22, 2005 (Press Release) --
People who visit the main cities of Vietnam today see bustling, progressive cities where modernization is the rule of the day. But what of the Vietnam at the end of the 20th century? What was it like in the early days of Vietnam really opening up?
Not many of the expatriates in Vietnam today could answer give a clear answer to that question. Many who were there have gone on to other assignments or have returned to their native lands. But the historical early expatriate days in Vietnam will become official history soon thanks to a die hard group of expatriates led by Terry Hartney, an Australian jouralist who himself has lived in Vietnam since those days.
Hartney, who for quite a while worked for the Vietnam News, has called for those who lived during the "earlier transition to market economy times" to contribute a chapter to this new book. "It is odd that we think of that era as a transitional time," says Hartney, "because the system is still state run. But it was much more so in those days because Vietnam was deep into the giant steps of change on the social, economic and political levels. Those giant steps then seem like baby steps today."
"I jumped at the chance to get on this project," said Joseph Pereira, a Singaporean consultant who has been in and out of Vietnam for more than a decade, "it really will be worthwhile because it tells the story of a sub-culture which was mainly transient but in its own way made an ever lasting mark on Vietnamese society."
One of the better known confirmed contributors to be is Gary Dale Cearley, the globetrotting entreprenuer better known for his logistics investments and his international industry networks. He also was one of the few expatriates lived during this time period in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and can properly compare the two. Cearley was known to be a man of firsts during this time: He owned the first company with 100% foreign logistics license based in Hanoi and he formed the first international darts league in Ho Chi Minh City.
But hopefully the longest sustaining expatriate contributor will be Per Dalin, who came to northern Vietnam on a Swedish aid project in 1978 and is still there. Through the years Per made excellent contacts in the government and is widely known by Vietnamese and foreigners alike. Dalin says though that he'll only be in the book if a ghost writer is provided or if others who knew him well in earlier expat times, like Cearley, include him in their stores.
Not many of the expatriates in Vietnam today could answer give a clear answer to that question. Many who were there have gone on to other assignments or have returned to their native lands. But the historical early expatriate days in Vietnam will become official history soon thanks to a die hard group of expatriates led by Terry Hartney, an Australian jouralist who himself has lived in Vietnam since those days.
Hartney, who for quite a while worked for the Vietnam News, has called for those who lived during the "earlier transition to market economy times" to contribute a chapter to this new book. "It is odd that we think of that era as a transitional time," says Hartney, "because the system is still state run. But it was much more so in those days because Vietnam was deep into the giant steps of change on the social, economic and political levels. Those giant steps then seem like baby steps today."
"I jumped at the chance to get on this project," said Joseph Pereira, a Singaporean consultant who has been in and out of Vietnam for more than a decade, "it really will be worthwhile because it tells the story of a sub-culture which was mainly transient but in its own way made an ever lasting mark on Vietnamese society."
One of the better known confirmed contributors to be is Gary Dale Cearley, the globetrotting entreprenuer better known for his logistics investments and his international industry networks. He also was one of the few expatriates lived during this time period in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and can properly compare the two. Cearley was known to be a man of firsts during this time: He owned the first company with 100% foreign logistics license based in Hanoi and he formed the first international darts league in Ho Chi Minh City.
But hopefully the longest sustaining expatriate contributor will be Per Dalin, who came to northern Vietnam on a Swedish aid project in 1978 and is still there. Through the years Per made excellent contacts in the government and is widely known by Vietnamese and foreigners alike. Dalin says though that he'll only be in the book if a ghost writer is provided or if others who knew him well in earlier expat times, like Cearley, include him in their stores.
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