Cầu Tre (Bamboo Bridge)
Conversations between a Vietnamese refugee and an American veteran
“Of course for many exposed to war, it never ends. The physical dangers and traumas are gone, but they are often supplanted by the psychological demons that rise up in our dreams and sometimes in our daily lives. How to come to terms with our participation in war? I often think that we who have gone to war have suffered (and continue to suffer) through existential identity crises. Am I that person huddled down in a bunker, or am I that person walking down a crowded city street? Maybe I’m both. Or neither. And how do I ‘compartmentalize’ war experiences so that I can control them, rather than have them control me? Underlying all of this is an interesting dynamic—I do want America to realize that my life was torn out of my hands to ‘serve’ nefarious ends, yet, at the same time, I don’t want anybody to know. I want to be ‘normal.’ I want to be left alone. However, as a person struggling to be a peace activist, I realize that my war experiences can often offer a different perspective that might prove to be useful.”
— Doug Rawlings