Kim Thúy

Sõna "em" esimene tähendus on väike vend või õde, aga ka kahest sõbrast noorem või naine paarisuhtes. Mulle meeldib uskuda, et "em" on homonüüm prantsuse tegusõnaga aimer (armastama) selle käskivas kõneviisis: aime - armasta. Armasta. Armastagem. Armastage. Kesk kohutavat sõda toimub tavaline ime: hüljatud beebi, kelle eest hoolitseb hellalt teine hüljatud laps, Saigoni tänavatel elav väike poiss. Poiss on Louis, ammu koju naasnud Ameerika sõduri laps. Louis kutsub beebit em Hongiks - väikeseks õeks või armastatuks. Kuigi tema hälliks on vaid papist kast, on em Hongi jaoks avatud kõik võimalused. Paljude omavahel seotud tegelaskujude kaudu jutustab "Em" ajaloolistest sündmustest, sealhulgas operatsioon "Babyliftist", mille käigus evakueeriti 1975. aasta aprillis Saigonist tuhandeid segarassist orbusid, ja My Lai veresaunast, aga ka küünesalongide tööstuse tekkest, millele panid aluse Vietnami emigrandid. Vietnami päritolu Kanada kirjaniku Kim Thuy "Em" on lummav jutustus, samal ajal jõuline ja õrn teos, mis ülistab vastupanu võimsaimat relva: armastust. Em tähendab vietnami keeles muu hulgas väikevenda või -õde, selle homonüüm prantsuse keeles - aimer, armastama - kajab vastu igal leheküljel. Kim Thuy teoseid on tõlgitud 31 keelde ning pärjatud nii Kanada kui ka rahvusvaheliste kirjandusauhindadega. Kim Thuy debüütromaan "Ru" ilmus eesti keeles 2014. aastal (Loomingu Raamatukogu, tlk Triinu Tamm), 2023. aastal valmis romaani järgi samanimeline film.

Following the US's bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the scenes of chaos at Kabul Airport, we could be forgiven for thinking we're experiencing an 'end of empire' moment, that the US is entering a new, less belligerent era in its foreign policy, and that its tenure as self-appointed 'global policeman' is coming to an end. Before we get our hopes up though, it's wise to remember exactly what this policeman has done, for the world, and ask whether it's likely to change its behaviour after any one setback. After 75 years of war, occupation, and political interference - installing dictators, undermining local political movements, torturing enemies, and assisting in the arrest of opposition leaders (from OEcalan to Mandela) - the US military-industrial complex doesn't seem to know how to stop. This anthology explores the human cost of these many interventions onto foreign soil, with stories by writers from that soil - covering everything from torture in Abu Ghraib, to coups and counterrevolutionary wars in Latin America, to all-out invasions in the Middle and Far East. Alongside testimonies from expert historians and ground-breaking journalists, these stories present a history that too many of us in the West simply pretend never happened. This new anthology re-examines this history with stories that explore the human cost of these interventions on foreign soil, by writers from that soil. From nuclear testing in the Pacific, to human testing of CIA torture tactics, from coups in Latin America, to all-out invasions in the Middle and Far East; the atrocities that follow are often dismissed in history books as inevitable in the 'fog of war'. By presenting them from indigenous, grassroots perspectives, accompanied by afterwords by the historians that consulted on them, this book attempts to bring some clarity back to that history.