VHM_0013

Descriptive title
Z30D prisoner shirt
Initial context
"Re-education" Camp
Date
1986
Object type(s)
Apparel
Material(s)
Textile
Description

Grey women's prison cotton shirt with the letters Z30D printed on the chest in faded black ink. The shirt was sewn and worn by Lieutenant General Nguyễn Thanh Thủy, a former member of the SWAN (a special police force under the Republic of Vietnam), in 1986 during her imprisonment in the notorious "re-education" camp Z30D in Thuận Hải province. In total, she was detained for 13 years (1975 and 1988). 

Once she was assigned to the "sewing" team at the camp in 1986, she took this opportunity to sew herself this prison shirt, which fit her smaller frame much better than the identical set of prison uniform that was given to every prisoner. After the shirt was completed, it had to be stamped with the camp name, Z30D, to be in compliance with camp regulations.

She took this shirt with her when she was released and relocated to the U.S. through the Humanitarian Operation (HO) Program.

Collection
Vietnamese Heritage Museum
Donor(s)
Nguyễn Thanh Thủy
Current location
Vietnamese Heritage Museum
Rights description

Object donated to the Vietnamese Heritage Museum by Nguyễn Thanh Thủy

Data license
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Related artifact(s)
VHM_0100
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
VHM_0031
Donor description

Tháng 2 năm 1984, tôi chuyển đến trại cải tạo Z30 D lần thứ 2, làm Đội trưởng đội ‘Rau

xanh’. Năm 1986, tôi được cử làm Đội trưởng đội ‘kỹ thuật May’. Lúc ấy, tôi đã ở tù cải tạo trên 10 năm, cha mẹ già không còn phương cách nuôi các cháu ngoại đang lớn, do nhà cửa bị tịch thu, trường học bị cũng tịch thu, mấy lần đổi tiền khiến cuộc sống vô cùng khó khăn, phải chạy ăn tửng bữa.

 

Tất cả áo quần của tôi đã phải bán hết để có tiền mua gạo nuôi các cháu. Mẹ tôi phải gửi áo

cũ vá víu nhiều chỗ và quần lưng rút cho tôi để mặc đi lao động. Mỗi năm tù nhân nam nữ được phát một bộ đồ áo bà ba quần dài màu xám rộng giống nhau, nhờ làm nhà may tôi mới may được áo sơ mi bằng vải quần màu xám trại phát đó, mặc vừa vặn cho ngày thăm nuôi. Áo này cũng phải có đóng dấu tên trại Z30 D ở sau lưng.

In February 1984, I was transferred to the Z30 D re-education camp for the second time, working as the team leader of the "Vegetable" team. In 1986, I was appointed team leader of the "Sewing" team. At that time, I had been in re-education camps for over 10 years. My elderly parents had no way to support their growing grandchildren, as their house and school had been confiscated, and several currency devaluations made life extremely difficult, forcing them to live hand-to-mouth.

All my clothes had to be sold to buy rice to feed my grandchildren. My mother had to send me old, patched clothes and drawstring pants to wear for labor. Each year, male and female prisoners were given one set of identical loose-fitting gray shirts and pants. Thanks to working in the sewing workshop, I was able to sew a shirt from the gray fabric provided by the camp, which fit me well for visiting days. This shirt also had to have the Z30 D camp name stamped on the back.

Exhibits
Displacement & Detainment
Bodies as Commodities
An Everlasting Odyssey: Decolonizing Refugee Data from Rome to Vietnam Final Project
Imprisoned for Thirteen Years: Stories from a South Vietnamese Police Lieutenant

Timeline