Comments on: Visiting Vietnam

By: Gary Matthews

Gary Matthews — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:22:31 +0000

Yes, I knew Doug well not too long after his tour of duty in Vietnam.

By: Dermot McHugh

Dermot McHugh — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:20:59 +0000

Before Thailand, I was at Fort Sam Houston for basic and medic training at the same time as Doug Ruhe (spring 1968 at the time his father was elected to the Universal House of Justice). Doug went to Vietnam, and in the film (“It’s Just the Beginning”) of the 1970 Youth Conference, he is shown talking about his experiences meeting the Baha’is in Vietnam.

By: Gary Matthews

Gary Matthews — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:17:33 +0000

Yes, Dermot, you are right. The Baha'i Faith during the Sixties was extremely successful and fast-growing in South Vietnam. But this was not true in North Vietnam. After the American presence in South Vietnam ended, and Vietnam was unified, the Faith remained unrecognized and unsanctioned for a great many years. During that period, many South Vietnamese believers left the country, became inactive, or dropped out of sight in various other ways. When Zabine and J.T. visited Hanoi in 1992, there were Baha'is in the south of Vietnam. As you perhaps know, if you've read Zabine's account of the history, it was to those Baha'is that she appealed for help to save the life of her husband after he fell ill. The story is here. It all ties together into really fascinating history.

By: Dermot McHugh

Dermot McHugh — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:06:18 +0000

Very interesting that the Faith took that long to reach Hanoi. In 1968 while in Thailand as an army medic I had the opportunity to see a Navy manual for new sailors in Vietnam. It had a section on Culture including religion in Vietnam, and began with the Baha’i Faith first of all, believe it or not. There were tens of thousands of Baha’is in Vietnam at that time. I also had the opportunity to meet Shirin Fozdar whose son, Jamshid, had been a pioneer in Vietnam before moving to Thailand.

By: Ellen Frew

Ellen Frew — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:26:04 +0000

Obviously have had this address for a looong time and kept it so family could find me.
Back in the day I knew David Neidig when he lived here in Illinois. And also knew Arlene Jenrich who knew David when he was even younger. It is a small world.
My husband was in Seoul, Korea, when we were involved there. How rewarding to know that Vietname has a community!

By: David Neidig

David Neidig — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:32:08 +0000

Wow! What a trip (literally!). As I read of your experiences my thoughts go back to the late sixties and early seventies. I was so glad to hear that the awful war was finally over. Now there’s a Baha’i community in Hanoi? Awesome!

By: Shiraz Gol

Shiraz Gol — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:49:40 +0000

Dearest Zabine and Gary,
Thank you for bringing joy to the Vietnamese friends by being there; both of you well deserve this trip. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

By: Zabine Van Ness

Zabine Van Ness — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:41:46 +0000

the day is finally here and we are packed and having that last cup of coffee and some slight breakfast.

Checking out the list one more time….

Next stop Hanoi

Zabine