The Fate of Colonial People in the Text 'Blood Tax'

Essay Prompt: Analysis of the Fate of Colonial People in the 'Blood Tax' Document by Ho Chi Minh

The Destiny of Colonial People in the 'Blood Tax' Text
 

I. Outline The Destiny of Colonial People in the 'Blood Tax' Text

1. Introduction

- Introduce the text and the topic for analysis.

2. Body of the Essay:

a. Destiny of Indigenous People in 'War and the Natives':
- Before the war, Annamese people, described as dirty, were only deemed worthy of 'pulling carts and bearing the blows of ruling officials.'

b. Fate of Indigenous People in the 'Volunteer Soldier Regime':
- People once considered 'friendly' and 'beloved children' were now 'hunted down,' bound, and imprisoned in concentration camps like criminals.
- The so-called 'lords' took advantage of this opportunity to exploit and enrich themselves.
- Indigenous people sought various solutions, from daring escapes to deliberately contracting severe diseases, such as painful eye infections, by rubbing toxic substances like quicklime or syphilis pus into their eyes.

c. Fate of the 'volunteer' soldiers who went to the battlefield and luckily survived to return:
- They were immediately treated like Annamese people, as dirty, and continued to be subjected to pulling carts and enduring beatings like slaves, while the promises of something beautiful seemed to disappear like a 'miracle.'
- The victorious soldiers who returned were given special treatment by being stripped of all possessions, clothes, treated like cattle, and beaten like animals.

3. Conclusion:

- Share overall impressions.

II. The Fate of Colonial People in the 'Blood Tax' Document

Hồ Chí Minh (1890-1969) not only had an illustrious political and military career, shining brightly on the path of Vietnam's liberation, but also a vast and diverse literary career serving the revolutionary cause. His literary works were a sharp weapon with a powerful influence on public opinion and audiences worldwide. The verdict on the French colonial regime is one of Hồ Chí Minh's standout works during his time in France under the name Nguyễn Ái Quốc. The first chapter of this work, titled 'Blood Tax,' vividly reflects the fate of colonial people under the unjust wars of the empire.

In the first part 'War and the Natives,' Hồ Chí Minh emphasized the deceitful nature, the double-faced attitude of colonial rulers in two periods: before and after the war. Before the war, the Annamese people, considered dirty, were only deemed worthy of 'pulling carts and receiving the blows of ruling officials.' Suddenly, after the war, they were 'honored' as beloved children, 'dear friends,' even bestowed with the title of 'soldiers defending justice and freedom.' The rulers used deceptive tactics, sweet words, and fake promises to turn them into sacrificial pawns on the upcoming battlefields.

In the second part of the text 'Volunteer Soldier Regime,' the fate of colonial people is further exposed. One may question how many of the 700,000 native soldiers setting foot on French soil genuinely volunteered, or if it was merely forced 'volunteering.' The rulers had to fabricate beautiful words to conceal the dirtiness and cruelty of forcing indigenous people onto the battlefield. It's incomprehensible how people considered as 'dear friends,' 'beloved children' were 'hunted down,' tied up, imprisoned in concentration camps like criminals. Meanwhile, the so-called 'enlightened' figures took advantage of this opportunity to make permanent fortunes. Those who didn't want to volunteer were forced to pay money, and those who resisted immediately faced troubles with their relatives or experienced the smell of prisons until they had to choose between paying money or becoming a volunteer soldier. Clearly, the indigenous people were intelligent enough to understand that becoming a volunteer soldier meant facing the risk of death on a foreign battlefield at any moment. Therefore, they sought solutions to save themselves, either daring to escape or resorting to the most severe illnesses, such as causing pus-filled eye pain by rubbing toxic substances like quicklime or syphilis pus into their eyes. Alas! People were forced to find a way to survive by deliberately inflicting harm upon themselves like that. It makes one wonder if there's anywhere else where 'volunteer soldiers' are coerced to the extreme like this. Is there any place where 'soldiers defending justice and freedom' have to create heinous diseases to avoid death on the battlefield? Clearly, those who remained as the 'home front' solidly supporting combat were not exempt from the tragic fate. They worked until exhaustion in munition factories, inhaling countless toxic fumes, eventually dying from lung cancer. Their fate was no less wretched than those who were bombed to death on the battlefield. To sum it up, in war, colonial people had only one fate – to become sacrifices, living offerings for the imperialistic ambitions, always ending in painful, pitiful deaths. The distinctive tone, sarcasm, and rhetorical flourishes, along with specific figures such as 'a total of 70,000 indigenous people set foot on French soil, and among them, 80,000 are no longer seen under the sun in their homeland,' accentuate the impact on readers about the tragic fate of involuntary soldiers.