Coconut Prison - Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Coconut Tree Prison
(Nha Lao Cay Dua Prison)
A Hidden Terror
Not many tourists who go to Phu Quoc know that the island was home to one of Vietnam’s most infamous war-era prison.
Phu Quoc is well known as a beautiful beach destination with white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and pristine forests. When thinking of Phu Quoc, you can imagine yourself flopping on a breathtaking beach drinking coconut juices by day and cold refreshing beers by night. But what is paradise for tourists today was once hell on earth for tens of thousands of Vietnamese revolutionaries, who were imprisoned here first by French colonial forces and later by the US-led southern Vietnamese puppet regime.
The French first built a prison on Phu Quoc to keep insurgents, but during the American War, the structure was expanded to cover an area of 40 hectares. It could hold up to 40,000 Vietnamese political prisoners at one time. After the Tet Offensive in 1968, the prison was quickly filled with captured soldiers and was at its peak in terms of prisoners held.
It was modestly surrounded by a wire fence with a number of sentry posts dotted around, no doubt offering prison guards a rather wonderful, if completely incongruous, panoramic view of the breathtaking coast and lush, tropical hills on the island. Today, there is little left of the original prison. Most of the structure was built out of corrugated iron that was easily torn down by locals after all the prisoners were released in accordance with the Paris Accords, which were inked on January 27, 1973.
Prisoners could be left inside for long periods; there are reports that some lost their sight as a result of this. The cage was even more brutal. A horizontal cylinder of metal and barbed wire that prisoners were forced to crouch inside. If you moved, fell over or lay down you would continually cut or scratch yourself on the barbed wire. The prisoners were forced in after stripping down to their underpants, so there was little to protect them.
In the cold weather, the jail keeper threw water all over the prisoner in a routine known as “refreshing the tiger.” On hot days, the jail keeper would throw salty water all over the cage, which was called “seasoning for the tiger,” which quite literally rubbed salt in the prisoners’ open wounds. It also made the sun burn their skin more quickly. Sunburned, scabby and scalded and left in the outdoors, numerous prisoners are said to have died inside the cage.
It is estimated that more than 4,000 prisoners could have died because of the brutal treatment and torture dished out at Phu Quoc prison. A recent exhumation discovered more than 800 remains, bringing the number of remains exhumed to date to more than 1,200; there is a collective grave with more than 100 remains. The search continues for the remaining corpses.
(Source: http://www.vietnamtravels.vn/German/services/1421/A-hidden-terror-in-Phu-Quoc.htm Since the writing, the prison has been considerably restored and is open for viewing. The photographs on this page are of the restored prison.)
(Nha Lao Cay Dua Prison)
A Hidden Terror
Not many tourists who go to Phu Quoc know that the island was home to one of Vietnam’s most infamous war-era prison.
Phu Quoc is well known as a beautiful beach destination with white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and pristine forests. When thinking of Phu Quoc, you can imagine yourself flopping on a breathtaking beach drinking coconut juices by day and cold refreshing beers by night. But what is paradise for tourists today was once hell on earth for tens of thousands of Vietnamese revolutionaries, who were imprisoned here first by French colonial forces and later by the US-led southern Vietnamese puppet regime.
The French first built a prison on Phu Quoc to keep insurgents, but during the American War, the structure was expanded to cover an area of 40 hectares. It could hold up to 40,000 Vietnamese political prisoners at one time. After the Tet Offensive in 1968, the prison was quickly filled with captured soldiers and was at its peak in terms of prisoners held.
It was modestly surrounded by a wire fence with a number of sentry posts dotted around, no doubt offering prison guards a rather wonderful, if completely incongruous, panoramic view of the breathtaking coast and lush, tropical hills on the island. Today, there is little left of the original prison. Most of the structure was built out of corrugated iron that was easily torn down by locals after all the prisoners were released in accordance with the Paris Accords, which were inked on January 27, 1973.
Prisoners could be left inside for long periods; there are reports that some lost their sight as a result of this. The cage was even more brutal. A horizontal cylinder of metal and barbed wire that prisoners were forced to crouch inside. If you moved, fell over or lay down you would continually cut or scratch yourself on the barbed wire. The prisoners were forced in after stripping down to their underpants, so there was little to protect them.
In the cold weather, the jail keeper threw water all over the prisoner in a routine known as “refreshing the tiger.” On hot days, the jail keeper would throw salty water all over the cage, which was called “seasoning for the tiger,” which quite literally rubbed salt in the prisoners’ open wounds. It also made the sun burn their skin more quickly. Sunburned, scabby and scalded and left in the outdoors, numerous prisoners are said to have died inside the cage.
It is estimated that more than 4,000 prisoners could have died because of the brutal treatment and torture dished out at Phu Quoc prison. A recent exhumation discovered more than 800 remains, bringing the number of remains exhumed to date to more than 1,200; there is a collective grave with more than 100 remains. The search continues for the remaining corpses.
(Source: http://www.vietnamtravels.vn/German/services/1421/A-hidden-terror-in-Phu-Quoc.htm Since the writing, the prison has been considerably restored and is open for viewing. The photographs on this page are of the restored prison.)
