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| Dr. Thomas A. Dooley |
The
following paragraph was written by Dr. Thomas A. Dooley in his book Deliver us from evil (1956). After several
months in medical command of the camp for the refugees who fled North Vietnam
after the partition of the country, at the end of the French colonialism in
Indochina, Dr. Dooley provided medical aid in Laos and was a founder of MEDICAL
(Medical International Cooperation), a department of the International Rescue
Committee (IRC).
Having set up their controls in
the village of Haiduong, Communists visited the village schoolhouse and took
seven children out of class and into the courtyard. All were ordered to sit on
the ground, and their hands and arms were tied behind their backs. Then they
brought out one of the young teachers, with hands also tied. Now the new class
began. In a voice loud enough for the other children still in the classroom to
hear, the Viet Minh accused these children of treason. A "patriot"
had informed the police that this teacher was holding classes secretly, at
night, and that the subject of these classes was religion. They had even been
reading the catechism. The Viet Minh accused the seven of
"conspiring" because they had listened to the teachings of this
instructor. As a punishment they were to be deprived of their hearing. Never
again would they be able to listen to the teachings of evil men.
