The sign shows the way the the quay of Tonkin

Part I: One-pillar pagoda in Guyanna

Part II: Vietnamese soldiers in Siberia

Part III: The unexpected voyage

Leaving Guyana for France for medical treatment, I was lucky to hitchhike in a car of a Westerner that I had met in the Amazon jungle when visiting the Annamite prison. He also took me to Dieppe, a port city in the north of France’s Normandy.

Going to Dieppe, I hoped to visit the quay of Tonkin.

Before that, from a document, I learned that the Martiniere ship stopped over at the quay of Tonkin on its way to Guyana. In fact, the quay of Tonkin belongs to Le Havre port city, tens of kilometres from Dieppe. This used to be a busy port in France’s history but now it is just famous for its fish quay. Some documents reveal that from the 15th to 16th centuries, people from Dieppe sailed to Indonesia and then Vietnam.

The quay of Tonkin is located at the end of the port, accounting for one side of the rectangular port. The one-kilometer road to the quay is named Quay of Tonkin. An old-fashioned crane stands there impressively as it has been for more than a century.

The quay of Tonkin is a place for workers, quite opposite to the place for the rich at the tourist port nearby. In the near future, the place for workers will be modernised as planned by the city.
The road to the quay of Tonkin with the crane

Watching the quay of Tonkin, I thought about the place where Vietnamese prisoners stopped over in the hold of the Martiniere. I have been to Phu Quoc Island twice by HQ 504 navy ship. Each trip took three days and three nights. That is why I sympathised with the Vietnamese prisoners as they had to stay in the hold for one month and a half.

Someone asked me why I had to travel to France to find the relics of the Vietnamese prisoners. I know that among 535 prisoners who were sent to Guyana by sea in 1931, there were some criminals, not only political prisoners.

However, as a Vietnamese who has an opportunity to go to Guyana, visiting the Annamite prison and knowing that for nearly 80 years no one has offered incense for these prisoners’ spirits, I had no choice but to visit the quay of Tonkin.

That reason urged me to go on.

Source: Tuoi Tre

Translated by Ngoc Hung