Vietnamese Youth&Culture Association

Nhaø La San Vieät Nam

1103 Maxey Court

San Jose, CA 95132

District of Vietnam

1. Background information

Vietnam is a country in southeast Asia, bounded by China in the north, Laos and Cambodia in the west, and the Pacific Ocean in the south and east. It has an area of 345,000 sq. km. and a population of 72 million inhabitants, all of whom, apart from 2%, are Vietnamese. The country is rich in natural resources, especially in rice and oil, and has a vast working force that is skilled and cheap.

The majority of the population is non-Christian. Christians represent only 8%, and the rest practise ancestor worship, Buddhism and belong to a variety of sects. Morals are based on Confucianism and Buddhism. These different religions co-exist peacefully because the Vietnamese, like other Asiatics, attach more importance to what is good than to what is true: the example of a good life is more important than a well argued line of reasoning.

Throughout their history, the Vietnamese have always shown a great attachment to their native soil and to their family, and for centuries have fought with courage and determination to defend their independence.

Once a vassal of China and then a French colony/protectorate, Vietnam declared its independence in 1945 and began a war of resistance. The Geneva Agreement in 1954 divided the country into two parts: the communist north and the nationalist south.

The Paris Agreement in 1973 established the peaceful coexistence of the two regions. In March 1975, however, the north launched a devasting offensive against the south, and within two months, on April 30th 1975, the communists marched into Saigon. A new period of history began. Vietnam became a single country called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Saigon became Hochiminhville.

2. The Brothers of the Christian Schools in Vietnam from the beginning to 1975

In the middle of the 19th century, France occupied the six provinces in the south (1862), and established a protectorate in the centre and north of the country which, with Laos and Cambodia, formed French Indochina.

Towards the end of 1865, six French Brothers left Toulon for Indochina. They arrived in Saigon in January 1866 and took over the running of the College d'Adran, founded in 1861 by priests from the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and named in honour of a famous missionary bishop of the 18th century called Mgr Pigneau de Bohaine, bishop of Adran.

The Brothers lived in a low-roofed hut, that was hot and damp, near the present botanical garden. In 1869, the Missionary Society gave them a brick house. Two years later, the great number of pupils made it necessary to build extra classrooms. In 1874, a chapel was added, built from the savings of the Brothers and with funds provided by the Institute and benefactors.

The reputation of the Brothers quickly spread beyond Saigon. In response to appeals by clergy and the people, the Brothers opened schools in Cholon and Mytho in 1867, and in Vinh Long and Bac Trang in 1869. For a time, the French authoritries supported these developments and provided scholarships for pupils, which gave the Brothers something to live on. From 1879 onwards, however, France changed its educational policy. In France itself, first the freedom of teaching in schools run by congregations was restricted and then the schools were forced to close. In Indochina and in other French colonies, the government did not apply these new laws, but it did away with scholarships to pupils in schools run by congregations. The College d'Adran was closed through lack of money and teachers.

In 1873, a certain Fr. Kerlan opened a free school for abandoned children some of whom were Eurasians. The school, which was run by priests, was called Taberd in memory of Mgr Taberd, bishop of Cochin-China from 1830 to 1840. When the College d'Adran closed, parents sent their children to Taberd. The priest could not cope with the influx and took steps to bring the Brothers back.

In 1899, nine Brothers set off from Marseilles. After a journey lasting 28 days, the Brothers arrived at Saigon and were met by a cheering crowd. The Taberd school was handed over to the Brothers in 1890. It had 160 pupils, half of whom were boarders. The following year, numbers increased so much that five more Brothers had to be sent and a free school was opened in the same property. An annexe had to be opened at Vung Tau (Cap St Jacques). According to the contracts signed with the Missionary Society, the Society made itself responsible for the Brothers.

In January 1896, the Brothers of Indochina left the District of India to form the new District of Saigon. In the course of the same year, the Missionary Society gave the Brothers a property at Thu Duc, 12 kilometres from Saigon, to build a novitiate.

In 1897, a second free annexe was opened at Taberd.

In 1898, a school for future teachers was opened at Thu Duc, next to the novitiate.

Fr. Armar, a missionary priest who had opened a school for deaf and dumb children, sent the boys to the Brothers. The school, which was at Lai Thieu, was subsequently moved to Gia Dinh and became a technical school where the deaf and dumb children were taught carpentry, wood sculpture and shoe making.

In 1894, two Brothers were sent to Hanoi at the request of Mgr Gendreau. They were provided with a hut next to the church for their school. They were so successful that the bishop first had to rent larger premises in Rue Ferry to cater for the increased numbers of pupils, and then finally to buy a large property and build a big school including classrooms, chapel and accommodation for the Brothers. The school was opened in 1879, that is, only three years after the arrival of the first two Brothers in Hanoi and numbered 400 pupils. The school was named after Mgr Puginier, the predecessor of Mgr Gendreau.

The District numbered at that time 6 houses, 76 Brothers, 17 scholastics and 6 novices.

In spite of no help from the French authorities, the work of the Brothers developed rapidly: 1904, the Pellerin school in Hue; 1906, Ecole St Joseph in Haiphong and the De Battambang School; 1908, Ecole St Joseph in Mytho; 1911, the Miche school in Pnompenh; 1924, Thomas Aquinas School in Namdinh; 1932, Ecole St Louis in Phat Diem and the Gagelin school in Binh Dinh; 1933, the formation centre at Nhatrang; 1934, the "probatorium" at Bui Chu; 1941, the Adran school in Dalat; 1956, LaSan Kim Phuoc in Kontum; 1957, LaSan Binh Loi in Quinhon; 1958, LaSan Banmethuot.

When the 1975 events took place, the District numbered 300 Brothers and 15 or so novices. The Brothers ran 23 establishments including primary, secondary and technical schools, boarding schools for Vietnamese and the mountain people, an ethnic minority, a centre for blind children and a teacher training college. Catholic Action and youth movements thrived in them: the "Coeurs vaillants", Young Christian Students, the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, Scouts, etc.

When the schools were founded they were free, but gradually became fee-paying. This was hardly surprising. The land and buildings belonged to the Missionary Society. The Society looked after the Brothers (sometimes with the help of the government through scholarships awarded to pupils). As time went on, it became impossible to run free schools: the schools developed and new classes were needed, new classrooms, furniture, sports fields, libraries, laboratories, etc. The State gave no help, the Society had no money, and so it became necessary to ask parents to contribute fees to ensure and improve their children's education.

The Brothers' traditional attachment to free schools was not forgotten, however: the poor were not neglected:

- next to paying schools there were free schools or schools with greatly reduced fees as at Phu Vang (Hue), Xom Bong (Nhatrang), Tuk Lak (Pnompenh), Chanh Hung (Saigon), etc.

- in the paying schools there had to be a certain percentage of non fee-paying pupils or of pupils with reduced fees.

- money received was used for the school. Whatever remained had to be re-invested in the school or used for the training of teachers (Brothers and lay people).

The Brothers' schools accepted all pupils without distinction of social class or religion. Although prayer and catechism were included in the curriculum, the religious beliefs of everyone were respected, which explains how having a Christian school in a non-Christian country never caused the Brothers any problem.

While it is true to say that the Brothers' schools formed a network of establishments which were relatively well-organised, well-equipped, providing instruction and a worthwhile education, what really characterised them was a teacher-pupil relationship which was totally in keeping with the mentality of the Vietnamese. The Brothers' school is, in fact, a family. This is reflected well in the Vietnamese for Brother: SU-HUYNH (SU: teacher; HUYNH: brother). He is the teacher who instructs and educates in the manner of ancient teachers (who transmitted knowledge and, at the same time, taught a way of being). But he is also the elder brother who guides and advises his younger brothers with all the love and devotion of one whose only task this is. This is why Brothers are respected and loved. You have only to listen to elderly people speaking about their former teachers to understand how much they appreciated them. The Brothers did not distinguish between poor and rich, between Christians and Buddhists: all were pupils, all had the same right to the devotedness of the Brothers. And for those with material or spiritual problems, there was always that special sign of kindness and understanding. This was how the Brothers' schools promoted the moral values of peace and fraternity.

3. The Brothers since 1975

Like a sudden landslide, the events of April 1975 swept everything away. Schools were taken over by the State, houses were occupied, communities were broken up. Some Brothers left the country, others went home to their families, and others left. People were disorientated, unsure of what to expect in the future, and not sure of their present safety. The crisis came to a head in 1978 with the arrest of some Brothers from a school near Saigon: one Brother was condemned to 12 years in a re-education camp, another to 11 years, and a dozen others were given sentences ranging from 5 to 3 years. At the end of the same year, a decree was passed forbidding priests and religious to teach because they were "unsuited to teaching in a socialist state". All our Brothers who had loyally accepted to remain and be of service were sent away, except for some who were needed by headmasters.

Some semblance of calm had to be created by personal contact, letters and visits. Brothers had to be helped to find work, encouraged to take up community life again, and contact had to be established with the Brothers who had gone home.

When the crisis died down, there followed a period of consolidation from 1980 to 1987. The Brothers strove to reorganise themselves and their communities from within by means of meetings, visits to communities, gatherings on the occasion of funerals and feasts, and especially by annual retreats, monthly recollections and continuing formation sessions.

In 1987 there began a new period, characterised by the rebirth of the apostolate.

As political pressure eased, the Brothers took advantage by gradually returning to their normal work as Brothers: teaching, catechising and being with young people.

There are now 69 Brothers, more than half of whom are over 60. This does not mean there are 30 retired Brothers. In fact there are only a dozen and the others continue to work.

Six Brothers (those who escaped the purge) teach in State institutions. One Brother teaches maths at the Faculty of Architecture, 3 teach in the top classes of secondary schools, one Brother teaches in a senior technical school, and another lectures in physical education at the University. These Brothers do not advertise that they are religious, but they do not hide it either. The people are aware of the fact and appreciate their competence, their dignity and their professional approach. The Brother who teaches in the Faculty of Architecture has been chosen several times to represent his faculty at science seminars in Hanoi, the capital.

The other Brothers are involved in various types of work:

- teaching languages, maths, science and computer studies;

- courses in religion to Sisters and seminarists in the North;

- working with the Union of Men and Women Religious of Saigon, running refresher courses for men and women religious;

- catechism in the parishes: a dozen Brothers teach catechism or supervise catechists in 11 parishes;

- running youth groups (study groups, social service).

Two undertakings deserve special mention: the vocational courses run by the Brothers at LaSan Duc Minh, and the courses in catechetical methodology at the scholasticate.

The vocational training courses, begun in September 1900, aim to provide young people with skills and at the same time to instil in them a professional approach.

Initially there were three courses: scooter repairs, lathe work, domestic electricity and plumbing. The sessions lasted 6 months. Official authorisation was obtained in August 1992, but since that date only the scooter repairs course remains and lasts only 3 months.

A total of 102 students have followed these courses. On completion, they can either go home or look for work from individual employers. Those who cannot manage to find work can come and work in a garage set up especially for them on the premises of a local Brothers' community. This gives them an opportunity to improve their skills while earning their living in the same family and friendly atmosphere they experienced earlier.

These courses are completely free thanks to the support of benefactors, especially of the organisation called "Espoirs Enfants du Vietnam" whose vice president is a former student of the Brothers at Duc Minh and Taberd.

For twenty years now, parish priests have attached great importance to the religious training of children. Catechism lessons are organised in all parishes, and parish priests call upon Sisters, married women and young adult men to help. There is no shortage of volunteers but many lack the appropriate doctrinal and methodological training. It is in response to the needs of these people that the Brothers in the scholasticate have organised short sessions in catechetical methodology. These sessions last 3 months and are held 2 hours a week. There have been several sessions followed on an average by between 200 and 300 persons. As catechists have to be able to draw and decorate, etc., workshops have been set up to help them. The large numbers signing up for these shows that they answer a real need.

The Brothers do not forget the needs of the poor; they offer:

- the vocational courses already mentioned;

- sessions in computer studies accessible to a wide public because of reduced fees;

- singing lessons for blind children and karate for the deaf and dumb;

- free holiday courses given by the scholastics

- "Children's Days" organised by the novices and scholastics;

- visits to old folks' homes, leper colonies and orphanages organised for young people.

District priorities

The first period, 1975 - 1980, concentrated on the organisation of the Brothers and communities.

The second period, 1980 - 1987, was devoted to the consolidation of the life of the Brothers and their communities from within.

The third period, 1987 onwards, has concentrated on the mission. The Brothers have tried to take advantage of the gradual process of liberalisation. The Brothers are invited to:

- work together and by association as representatives of a community;

- publicise their existence quietly among priests, religious and young people;

- show concern for the poor;

- concentrate on catechising.

And the pastoral ministry of vocations?

Up to 1980, the Brothers did nothing intentionally, because their identity had been put to the test in a very harsh fashion and their communities were still not settled.

It was only after 1980, when communities had finally become stable, that the question was given serious consideration.

Initially, the first people to come to them were former junior novices, some of whom had been several years in concentration camps, and then these were joined by others, attracted either by a Brother or a community.

The novitiate was re-opened. There are now 6 first year novices, 2 second year novices, and ten or so postulants or aspirants.

The Brothers are convinced that God does not abandon his work, that he continues to call young people capable of heeding his call and responding. There is a need, however, for a person or a community to act as an intermediary, cooperate with God's action and be willing to be a sign, to be a real sign because it is visible

and credible, a sign of a friendly and welcoming presence that brings salvation.

Going forward

The regime is becoming more liberal and that's better.

One day, the freedom to teach will be recognised and the State will give back to the Brothers at least some of their schools.

The needs are immense: 30 million young people. These young people, in many cases drop out of school, become delinquents. Others simply seek a meaning for their lives and more human and meaningful relationships.

What can the Brothers do with their small numbers? They need to concentrate on the pastoral ministry of vocations, improve the quality of their formation, and promote the shared mission.

They are happy that they still have the time to prepare themselves for this.

The recent General Chapter is an invitation for them to go forward.