Be Strong, Mekong

For our lecture today, the president of a local university, who serves as an advisor for multiple international organizations, spoke to us about the history, culture, and economy of the Mekong Delta. He instructed us about how the region adopted and modified the cultures of neighboring nations and developed its own unique customs. However, the most fascinating part of the lecture was the discussion of the Mekong Delta’s politics and economics. The delta is dominated by poor farmers who produce whatever crop is in highest demand (most often rice). Great economic disparity exists in the region because the average farmer only owns about an acre of land, making it extremely difficult for them to do anything but work for survival. Additionally, the delta has very little infrastructure and the worst education level in the country. With the expansion of industrial sectors into the delta, through the displacement of farmers, these uneducated workers are often forced into working for extremely low wages in factories. Additionally, the land that remains is in peril.Since the delta is the end of a long river that spans multiple countries, each nation it occupies claims ownership of the river and influence it in different ways. For example, 22% of the river lies in China, who built multiple dams that have significant impacts on the Mekong Delta. With the addition of dams upriver, the amount of water flowing into the delta decreases, making the dry season even drier and reducing the amount of floods. The later might seem to be a plus, but for years farmers have relied on regular flooding in the rainy season to wash away acidity and revitalize the soil. To make matters worse, with rising sea levels due to global warming, the Mekong Delta could be mostly submerged within the next 50 years. This presentation opened my eyes to how Vietnam’s expanding infrastructure affects rural areas like the Mekong Delta. It also provided a new perspective on yesterday’s visit to Phu My Hung, where marshlands were transformed into an industrially centered city running on fossil fuels that contribute to the very global warming that could submerge the surrounding area within my lifetime.

Our company visit was to the United States Commercial Service, a sector of the consulate in HCMC. We met with Patrick Wall, who explained that his role was to aid American companies in tapping in to Vietnam’s economy. We discussed this process and the many complications that often emerge in dealing with the beaurocracy and corruption of the Vietnamese government. His insight on American economic and political interaction with Vietnam since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations was helpful in understanding the relationship between the two nations.