Children Hold the Key
January 22, 2008
Once in a while, we are privileged to witness a social experiment taking place, and we see it evolve through time. Some experiments fail, while others take hold and prosper.
The Communist system of governing lasted less than a century and proved a failure in practice. Today only Cuba and North Korea, arguably, can still claim the “Communist” mantle, but Communism is dead in Russia, China and Vietnam. Likewise, the temperance movement in the United States in the early 20th century, which prohibited the production and consumption of alcohol, failed utterly.
But other movements did very well in the second half of the last century: the anti-smoking campaign; the automobile safety crusade, from safer cars to seat belts and preventing drunk driving; environmental protection and women’s liberation movements, at least in Western societies. Someone who died in World War II would have a hard time adapting to the changed values in our society today.
I’ve been in Vietnam for nearly three weeks now, roaming from the hinterlands in the northwest corner of the country to the metropolitan Hanoi and Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, in part to prepare for the course that introduces De Anza students to Vietnam each summer. I’m witnessing a social experiment: enforcing safety helmets on tens of millions of motorcycle riders.
Since Dec. 15, everyone on a motorcycle is required to wear a safety helmet for protection from head injuries. It’s a most sensible law that had been adopted virtually worldwide, except in Vietnam. These two-wheelers have revolutionized farmers’ lives, connected the rural and urban areas as never before, and provided the government relief from its inability to provide decent public transport.
All that came at a heavy price: About 1,000 died from traffic accidents each month in 2007, the majority from head injuries.
The government deployed over 150,000 traffic cops around the country, and it seems that the helmet law is being obeyed. Early reports from hospitals say that the number of head injuries has decreased; and by this time next year, one will be able to say with confidence how many lives will be saved.
In the meantime, it’s worth noting that, as with many social movements, children hold the key to long-term success. The anti-smoking campaign, for instance, really took off after activists and educators convinced school children not only that smoking is bad, but also that they should ask the adults in their households to stop.
It is reassuring to see that many Vietnamese children, though not required as strictly as adults to wear helmets, are riding behind their parents and wearing their own helmets. So, while some adults may still grumble, one hopes that in five years wearing helmets will become second nature to these children, and they will be the ones insisting on this safety feature.
Vu-Duc Vuong is a teacher and writer in the Bay Area (vuduc.vuong@gmail.com).
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