By: Emmett Lynch
Is it possible from a small Vietnamese point-of-view film to relate to Americans on all levels of morality? If you’re wondering the answer to this question, it results with a heartwarming smile and two thumbs up. A Village Called Versailles indulges into the tragedies and aftermath of hurricane katrina, but from a much more overlooked standpoint. There are many different ways that this type of documentary can be made, and I feel that S. Leo Chang created a great body of work. The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina left hundreds and thousands of Americans left with nothing. For many, this is the first time some families have experienced a such tragedy where you lost everything and had to move on. That is not the case for the citizens of Versailles.
Dating all the way back to 1954, when the country of Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam, then focing majority of move South. Then in 1975, the North Communists came in and made the Southerners flee once again. This migrating the Vietnamese people from these small villages to the United States. This sending them to refugee camps and classifying them as Vietnamese refugees. The refugees then began to settle in a small town on the far East side of New Orleans. Catholic charities were then ordered to find land that could hold low-income, subsidized apartments that fit large families. Here laid a small village called Versailles. It began with 5 families, then expanded to more than one thousand families and the rest is history. Usually, after successfully recovering from migrating to another country by force; the story should proceed with it’s happy ending.
This is when the storytelling of Leo Chang begins to show, and we dive into the Vietnamese culture. Majority of the people in Versailles were from a fishing village. When the Vietnamese arrived, they used that strength to make money in the U.S. From inside the community, the fishing industry was something that they could understand immediately. This illustrated how they did not need to know the language, and could still work and be of use in the states. Then in 1978, another issue arose in the community. The local fisherman of the area claimed that this area has already been overcrowded and that it’s gotten worse since the Vietnamese got there. The President of the Plaquemine Parish, Chalin Perez sided with the Americans and demanded that they leave or could face arrest otherwise. “They come in to our areas, tie up at our docks nd just don’t know our way of life and just move in,” said Perez.
The vision of this story is told from the pastor of the Village, Father Vien Nguyen. Which is a very good point of view to lead with because he is essentially the leader of this community. Father Vien shares that the community knows that they are ‘outsiders’. Anytime anyone has been outside the village and experience any injustices, they endure and just retreat back to the village. The elder people of Versailles view their village as a safe place to take refuge from the outside world. This was a very interesting perspective that lead to the inclusion of newer generations and cultures in the Versailles area. Chang went on to bring more modern terms into play by uncovering the diversity and youth that lied within the East New Orleans schooling system. What I found interesting was that he began to add other cultures into the film, by addressing the diversity mixture mainly between Vietnamese and African American culture. Also, connecting with today’s youth by inquiring some young interviewees of Vietnamese descent to share their peace on growing up in modern America.
The younger kids have the impression of the older generation as the ‘Blackwater’ old people. This meaning that they are stuck in their old revolutionary ways, and can’t get on with merging with the USA as American citizens. Then sharing the elders point of view as that they never asserted themselves into America because they were uncomfortable. The twist is, they were not uncomfortable being Vietnamese, they were uncomfortable being American. This marked a pivotal point-of-view from both generations. Which is a huge dissection that we have in America at this very moment. Little did they know, they would be coming together soon for a common goal towards the future.
Hurricane Katrina had struck New Orleans but did not fully effect the Versailles. But in August of 2005, the hurricane severity grew to a Level 5, and the people of Versailles were instructed to evacuate their village once again. Some Versailles families left due to taking care of their children. Others remained in the village and unified. Father Vien’s home was flooded while he was still inside, and as he told the story and give a timeline of the flood height. Chang showed the actual footage from the moment that Vien continued to describe. The pastor’s narration and the visual flood representation put you in the water with the Pastor, realizing that they were physically forced to evacuate their homes in a timely manner. Chang then goes on to show more footage from the victims point of view, and then dives into the survival mechanism they had to follow to survive. Father Vien was a person the village looked to for answers. Vien instructed the remaining 500 people left in Versailles to meet in their school building. About 200 people showed up and Vien had a plan for the remaining citizens. Here Vien told the villagers, to gather all of the boats, get all of the food and they’ll cook them together and eat as a community, because they didn’t know how long they’d be staying.
This was a very interesting point-of-view to explore, because the media does not normally show how small villages survive during tragedy. The media only covers the outside statistics of tragedies to alert the public, and rarely shows anything else that defines the community. Especially small minority communities. Just when it seemed like everything was getting better and there was more unity being established, more issues arose for the Versailles community.
As the city of New Orleans was in its re-building phase, Versailles weren’t included in any of the planning process. An organization known as the ‘Bring New Orleans Back Commission’ and the Urban Land Institute to do a recommendation on land use and what parts should be redeveloped. They showed the map that the New Orleans news station put that had the cities that were to be redeveloped, and the village of Versailles was not on it. This went back to show how they Versailles felt since the beginning, outsiders. They felt as if they were never on the map anyways. City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis stated that it was tough to say that almost 40% of the population doesn’t want them back. 60% of the city’s landmass was going to be eliminated from redevelopment. For Chang to get an interview with a councilwoman on the board during that time was a great point-of-view that had to be seen, to show that the Council didn’t feel it was right either. Unfortunately this was not the last of the Versailles problems. The community invited Mayor Ray Nagin to a cultural festival where they had a plan to show him a redevelopment strategy for Versailles. He never responded and never came. These actions were unclear until the news hit they the mayor created a landfill that will dump all of the debris from the hurricane in the village of Versailles. The mayor stated that there was 7 Million cubic yards of debris just stacking up constantly and needed to be moved out of the redevelopment areas. This debris contained toxic material. This is when the fight began.
Joel Waltzer worked the sanitation and discovered it toxicity and reported it to the Village. The Versailles then asked Waste Management Inc. to reduce its dumping for the social environmental and they said no. The Versailles then took matters into their own hands and take i to federal and state court for justice to be served. As I’m watching the City Council meeting on the hearing for the landfill, I realize that the key members in the courtroom are all interviewees on this project. That is wonderfully credible information to this story and provides an even more vivid look and feel into this film.
This was the start of the revolution for the Versailles community. Both old and new generations came together to protest the Landfill. For this to happen, the youth had to learn more about it and how it will effect them in the long run. One of the questions that were frequently asked was, “Why aren’t the youth getting involved.” They had a simple answer to this question, “you never let us help, pre-katrina, so how am I supposed to react now?” So this film goes back into the school system where the instructors are all working together as well to spread knowledge on the landfill and the consequences it’ll have on them. Ultimately, leading to an even more tightly-knit community between the different generations, breaking the age barriers and working together for the better of their society. This is one of the biggest messages that we as Americans can take away from this film. They all came together and successfully stopped the landfill process due to their determination and unity.
My perspective on this lies with the telling logic of this film, which is ‘unity trumps all’. This meaning that no matter the struggle or how many times we encounter the same adversities, it is always best to move forward and fight for what is right. No matter the race, religion, or age. Justice should be served for all, equally. I feel as Americans we need to unite like the small villages of this country and we would be headed to much better places than we are now. The fight still is not over.
In conclusion, I feel that this film relates to the current state of America. Our human morality is being tested across the globe and we are starting to see the true colors of our nation. I would not put any further implications onto this issue due to the fact that it was resolved in favor of the people. I see no consequence in this resolution, as things were handled and managed without doing anyone any further harm. Moral value took control of what the government was trying to put in play, sure sounds like America should see this S. Leo Chang film.
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