Pulitzer Center

Vietnam has 54 minority culture groups, and we encountered three of them at A Luoi--the Pako, Ta Oi and Catu.

Yesterday we visited the A Luoi valley in Vietnam's central highlands. Vietnam has 54 minority culture groups, and we encountered three of them at A Luoi--the Pako, Ta Oi and Catu. These groups have their own languages and customs. Because the growing season in the mountains is short, these families often struggle to make ends meet. Ours was the only car in the village, and residents here had fewer motorbikes than the urban dwellers we have met thus far.

During the 1972 Christmas air raids, Vietnamese soldiers in Hanoi shot down a B-52 bomber. The plane crashed in Hun Tiep Lake, where it has remained ever since.

To view the slideshow, click here.

Vietnam has 54 minority culture groups, and we encountered three of them at A Luoi--the Pako, Ta Oi and Catu.

During the 1972 Christmas air raids, Vietnamese soldiers in Hanoi shot
down a B-52 bomber. The plane crashed in Hun Tiep Lake, where it has
remained ever since.

See complete slideshow here.

Visits to two families in Vietnam whose children were born with birth defects revealed how much psychological strain they had endured—some for more than three decades.

I forgot to add a little context to who Habier Malik is and why Sulu is on fire again. Habier Malik is an ustadaz (Islamic teacher) loyal to Nur Misuari, the jailed leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF, one of three Islamic insurgent groups in Mindanao, led the first insurrection against the Philippine government in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Its goal was to create an independent homeland for Filipino Muslims who are collectively known as the Bangsamoro.

Gorongosa National Park was once among the top destinations in Africa, with a greater animal concentration than on the Serengeti Plain. But during Mozambique's long civil war, soldiers and other poachers killed the animals, planted landmines and destroyed the infrastructure. For years, this beautiful landscape was all but abandoned.

A main challenge of the Gorongosa project is convincing the people living around the park that cooperating will serve their interests. Poaching, deforestation and slash-and-burn agriculture still threaten the restoration efforts.

Hanoi is a city on the move. Bicycles, motorbikes and taxis crowd the well-maintained streets.

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Video produced by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Reporter: Stephanie Hanes

Videographer: Jeffrey Barbee

Editing: Alexandra Verville and Nathalie Applewhite

Map and war footage courtesy of the Congressional Research Services.