Perils were omnipresent for Vietnam’s first two UN peacekeepers during their service in South Sudan in 2014.

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Senior Lieutenant Colonel Mac Duc Trong, one of the two first Vietnamese UN peacekeepers, was a member of a platoon comprised of seven communications officers and up to five local interpreters.

“Leaders of indigenous factions generally speak English but it was better to be accompanied by interpreters that spoke the native language and were of the local ethnicity,” Sr. Lt. Col. Trong said.

“An oral translator of another ethnicity could fall into jeopardy during encounters with rebel leaders and thus would need our protection,” he added.

Getting caught, negotiation

At one point during Sr. Lt. Col. Trong’s missions, all relief efforts in an area were brought to a standstill by local rebel fighters following clashes and communications officers were summoned for negotiations.

Sr. Lt. Col. Trong’s group hired an interpreter who did not belong to tribes the targeted group had conflict with. This, however, did not stop tensions from mounting.

“The group leader questioned the interpreter’s lineage at the first sight of him and insisted on holding him for further interrogation. We had to negotiate to avert his capture.”

Sr. Lt. Col. Trong tried to convince them that the interpreter was indispensable to their job as UN peacekeepers and, as a neutral party in the conflict, their sole mission was to help settle disputes.

Even so, negotiations for the interpreter’s release took nearly two hours and the group leader still demanded the UN officers bring the interpreter back for further scrutiny after completing their mission.

Sr. Lt. Col. Trong further recounted that after such an intense encounter, they decided to leave their vehicles behind and return to the UN base by helicopter, as flying was the safest mode of transport amidst rebel threats.

“Our missions were fraught with danger. We often risked being shot at while escorting UN relief packages by waterway and crossing rivers meant navigating a storm of bullets with two sides firing,” he revealed.

Once, the officers’ ferry was crossing a checkpoint under the control of government troops, who then chased them down in speedboats, firing into the river and proceeding to board the UN ferry.

As per agreements signed with the South Sudan government, the troops were not allowed to board UN ships or ferries.

“They feared nothing during belligerence. They forced us into their station, requesting we show them our warrant and traveling permit issued by their government,” Trong said.

The UN officers replied they did not have a permit, as the agreements between the UN and the government stipulated that peacekeepers could travel anywhere at their own will.

The troops insisted on keeping the officers’ ferry.    

Sr. Lt. Col. Trong had to contact the UN Mission in South Sudan, and the zone commander of the government troops, demanding they release the vessel and officers.

After almost a day of captivity, the government troops finally released UN officers and the ferry.

The officers were subsequently apprehended again, this time while attempting to cross a checkpoint under the control of opposing troops.

“The opposing troops seemed more polite and tactful when they signaled us to stop. I took a speedboat to the checkpoint,” Sr. Lt. Col. Trong recollected.

He went with a security team head and four well-armed soldiers.  

Communications officer Tran Nam Ngan (L) during a negotiation with a military leader in Bor, South Sudan. Courtesy of Tran Nam Ngan

However, the UN group was outnumbered and outgunned by the opposing fighters, who kept firing blanks in an attempted show of intimidation.

Leader of the opposing troops tactfully requested supplies that included diesel, lubricants, medicine, food, and car parts.

Prior to the encounter, a barge carrying automobiles meant for UN activities had been robbed when staff were traversing the same spot.

“They asked for parts to use in the vehicles they had stolen from the UN. Compromising is strictly banned by the UN but we knew if we didn’t give them what they wanted, we would not be allowed to pass. If we just ignored their requests, they would certainly open fire,” Sr. Lt. Col. Trong said.

After careful bargaining and negotiation, the group was able to cut the 100 requested barrels of oil down to only two.

Vietnamese army’s good name

Following each clash, Sr. Lt. Col. Trong met with faction chiefs to insist they not disrupt humanitarian organizations’ activities and avoid shooting indiscriminately into groups of civilians, which all goes against the factions’ routines.

His negotiations were usually conducted amidst blank bullets, or with three or four rifles pointed at him and fingers ready to pull the trigger.

“I could not afford to look intimidated, but it’s also highly dangerous if I looked contemptuous or defiant,” he explained.

“My job was to alleviate tension to ensure the safety of my comrades and myself. They were not hostile to us but they were aggressive.”

He added he did not include too many UN principles in conversations with belligerent factions, but instead he spoke in a flexible, persuasive manner.

Several communications officers who lacked negotiation skills were beaten.

Many faction leaders looked up to the Vietnamese army.

“Vietnam’s reputation is high among African countries. Faction leaders tended to be uncooperative at the beginning, but their hostility melted as soon as they learned that the negotiator was Vietnamese,” he elaborated.

One of them even shared with pride that he had conducted extensive research on Vietnam and had written essays about the Vietnam War, which ended in April 1975.

Some even gave surprisingly accurate details on Vietnamese feudal marshals or military feats or triumphs.

“In many instances, I turned difficulties into opportunities by making use of Vietnam’s reputation,” Trong said.

“Instead of introducing that I’m a UN communicator, I’d rather say I’m an officer of the Vietnam People’s Army,” Sr. Lt. Col. Trong said.

Government troops also held Vietnam in high reverence.  

A group chief kept pondering how he could visit Vietnam at least once in his lifetime.

He cannot obtain a passport in his war-torn country.

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