Asia Times: Vietnam's restless youth rev up



	August 25, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Vietnam's restless youth rev up
By Nguyen Phuong Nam

HANOI - Motorcycle-racing frenzy is upon Vietnam. But beyond being expressions of national pride, the motorcycle races also often reflect a spirit of rebellion. Youthful recklessness and disdain for authority mask deeper cracks in Vietnam's social fabric that the governing Communist Party seems unwilling or unable to address.

Two young men, unwilling to be named but happy to share their thoughts, helped explain the phenomenon. ''When we race we are excited. We don't think about death,'' shrugged an 18-year-old Vietnamese, one among at least a thousand bikers who gathered before an illegal motorcycle race. ''If I die, I die. We each have our own destiny,'' added the young man's equally baby-faced passenger on Tran Quang Khai street in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. They were among the throngs who took to Hanoi's nocturnal streets for motorcycle races this month, after each match that Vietnam played in the Southeast Asian Games held in Brunei.

The dangerous races reflect the twin passions of Vietnam's urban youth - football and motorbikes - as well as their restlessness in a society trying to cope with the fast changes brought on by economic openness.

During one night race earlier during the Brunei games, watched by thousands of spectators, at least nine people were killed. After one match where Vietnam defeated Burma on August 3, 150 were hospitalized in Ho Chi Minh city alone.

After yet another Vietnam football victory, this time over the Philippines on August 8, security forces did temporarily gain the upper hand in their ongoing game of cat and mouse with the mostly teenage bike racers. They seized 200 motorcycles in Ho Chi Minh city as the riders gathered for another contest.

To the authorities, the races are a recurring public-order headache. But to the urban youth in this country of 75 million people, impervious to the all-too-obvious dangers, they provide a brand of excitement that cannot be found elsewhere.

The racing phenomenon has also mirrored the rise of the motorbike over the last 10 years. While prior to doi moi (economic openness) bicycles were ridden by the vast majority, the country now has more motorbikes per capita - one per 18 people - than any other nation on earth. Motorcycles cost twice as much as comparable bikes in Thailand, but Vietnam's already congested streets are expected to be filled with 6.5 million of them by the end of the year. Cars remain few in number.

But beyond being expressions of national pride, as when Vietnam wins football games, the motorcycle races also encourage rebellion, in where the taunting of the police can become a major attraction. ''No one here likes the police,'' said one spectator watching the high-speed scooters from the edge of his slum neighborhood in Hanoi in early August. ''I am a postcard seller. Every week they take 50,000 Vietnamese dong ($4.00) from me. How can I make any money?''

Ever since nine officers were ambushed and hospitalized after being pelted with bricks during a race in December 1997, no love has been lost between the police and the racers, or the poorer crowds who line the streets. Public security forces - generally unused to displays of public defiance - have since responded by planting undercover officers among the ranks of racers and stepping up efforts to apprehend offenders.

This rebellious streak may hide tears in Vietnam's social fabric with which the Communist Party seems ill-equipped to deal. For many of today's youth becoming acquainted with the Internet and western pop music, the Party - once the symbol of the struggle for independence and unification - is now a dinosaur whose propaganda is hollow, if not outright hypocritical.

Half the population is under 25 years of age, too young to remember many of the deprivations that characterized the preceding decades. From across the generational divide, the old values, shaped by hardship and sacrifices, are often at once stifling and impossible to live up to.

The government has eased its grip on the economy, breeding an ever more consumer-conscious urban class, but is reluctant to loosen the cultural reins. In Vietnam, western influences are often blamed for growing juvenile delinquency and ''traditional cultural values'' - bearing little or no relevance to a streetwise youth - are expounded.

The educational system, too, delivers little to inspire youngsters. Narrow, outdated syllabuses, overcrowded classrooms and underqualified teachers mean that students are encouraged neither to develop their own ideas nor to express them.

''Growing up these days in Vietnam you have few positive examples to follow,'' said a young journalist here. ''Young people are rarely given opportunities to succeed on their own merits and receive praise either from their elders or their peers. Through racing, however, they can feel like heroes.''

While alternative entertainment in Ho Chi Minh city is growing for those who can afford it, Hanoi is still woefully short of amusement. Sports facilities, cinemas and libraries, are inadequate. ''There is nothing to do in Hanoi'', is a frequently-heard reason for taking to the streets.

The Nhan Dan newspaper, the Communist Party organ, admits that authorities are unable to stamp out the illegal motorbike races. Thus, it is unlikely that their high-speed headaches will disappear any time soon.

(Inter Press Service)

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