Traveling through Hue, I visited a church that became a shelter during the Tet Offensive. Among countless others, Nha Ca was present in the church throughout the massacre. Nha Ca was one of the fortunate ones who survived this tragedy. She did not move on from this experience, but instead chose to retell this story in her collection of stories called “Mourning Headband For Hue”. She tells these chilling stories with gruesome detail and does not give the reader any comfort. Reading the novel and looking up to see where these events occurred was chilling.
The church became a key site in the novel for Nha Ca because it was a place of refuge. Coming to see it today you could feel this history in the walls. Despite this tragic past, the church is still in use and has a thriving community. The church has not been cut off as a piece of history, but rather is remaining a living document that is continuing to be interacted with by its community.
The churches activity while I was there was one of the most striking things to me in fact. Walking around the outside of the church, I found a number of children playing different games in the yard. One kid was skateboarding down the ramp on the front of the church. There was a large congregation at the front who were gathering for the evening service as I was leaving. This showed me that the church did not just provide shelter during the war, but is still providing the community to this day. Church life has remained integral to the Hue community. This surprised me considering how much turmoil this site had to endure through the war and considering the government’s views on religion. Through all of this, the church stands tall and still provides refuge to any and all passersby that need it.