I am endlessly fascinated by the concept of Doi Moi. It extends and injects itself into so many arenas the body occupies on a daily basis and is inspiring to thing about. I imagine people with the world of possibilities multiplying before their eyes and a stark change that is as real and visceral, like beginning a new chapter in a book. But things are never as simple or easy when it comes to politics. I am slowly taking of my rosen colored glasses and realizing the nuances to conceptualizing this reform. Yes, it is a new chapter, a time for mobility and autonomy, to open doors to a global economy ready for new political players. While this is true, restrictions and censorship are still characters that govern the progression of the state and act as developers of this new socialist-oriented space.
One beautiful layer to the reform is the social context it took place in. Doi Moi happened around the same time as the boom of the Internet and the freedom this allowed to a wider variety of people. In the article by Andrew Wells- Dang, we see the role blogging and websites played in saving Reunification Park from becoming a Disneyland knock of/ environmental and economic nightmare. The Internet doesn’t face as many regulations and borders as print media and less governmental control means more power to the individual. Public space becomes private space when the state tries to take away a persons right to open air and a space for joint relaxation. Is the access to nature a right or a privilege? Should this even be a question? The people of Hanoi banded together to insight a dialogue about what the government wanted to do with their public space and their right to an open park. It is a leveling ground; no matter if one is rich or poor, male or female, young or old, all you have to do is pay a few pence and one is granted access to the public space. When I visited the park, it was around 5:30am on a Tuesday morning. I was in comfortable sweatpants, a cut off t-shirt that read “CAUNCUN” in big block letters and my New Balance tennis shoes. I was ready for anything. I didn’t remember how to get to the park from my hotel, so I followed an older, grey haired woman (around mid 70s) stretching as she walked. When we got to the park, I joined a group of people doing aerobics and reveled in how quiet it was. There was no traffic, no one asking me if I needed a xe om and for once I didn’t feel like I was in a rush. It was peaceful. I worked out for a bit then around 6:30am I went back to my hotel for breakfast. The park was a space for community, a way to start the day on a pleasant note. The streets were so still, it’s hard to imagine 6.5 million people could occupy this same somber city. The other people in the park around that time were middle aged to senior citizens and I saw the joy and affection they shared for their companions and the space itself. The respect and communal love for a physical public space is something I don’t see very often with my generation. We are so entwined with the web culture and popular media that the only time I have seen that same degree of shared passion is on online fan discussion boards for TV shows. Am I missing out on an important human emotion when I spend more time on Facebook than visiting my own public open spaces (is facebook a new version of a public open space)? Should I join a dance group or aerobics team? Anyway, the role of a shared space as bridging connections between citizens is important in having a cohesive community. Doi Moi incited new change through inspiring social action with its ideals of civic responsibility and less restrictions on individual agency. Through banding together, the citizens of Hanoi got their voices heard and have an expanded sense of political power.