Economic Renovation

Economic Renovation

            I remember my grandfather used to say, “Heroes make history.” However, “I did not make my own history.” My grandfather told me in his late life. For almost fifteen years, my grandfather’s words lay in my mind, and I wished that I could have changed the outcome. When Vietnam’s initial economic renovation happened in 1986 with the goals of enhancing people’s living standards and encouraging foreign investment, it was beneficial for the country in general. In fact, my grandfather with his sons, my father and my uncle, was running a small family business to produce ballpoint pens since 1978, before I was born. Surviving in an economic market was not easy for any micro enterprise, especially during the economic reform. It had changed the circumstances of several small businesses at the time, which included my family. A couple of years after the economic reform of Vietnam, it began to change my entire family’s life, my grandfather was especially impacted significantly.

 

              One of the most obvious changes was on my family’s business. Several years after the economic reform policies were implemented, foreign companies started their investment in our country. This led my family’s business to close down. The cost of raw materials increased while profits from sales declined. Additionally, due to the manual process of the small businesses, production was limited. Therefore, it was very difficult to compete with the automated production of foreign invested businesses. During prosperous times, I remembered that I needed to give my grandfather a hand because of the high demand. Nevertheless, there was an enormous difference between before and after the economic renovation, for it was a dramatic fall in demand. As a result, my grandfather was reluctant to close down our family business, which he had spent years establishing. He then tried to convert to a different type of business. Meanwhile, my father suggested starting a car rental service because he thought my grandfather, my uncle and he all know how to drive. On the other hand, my aunt persuaded my grandfather to run a fabric selling business when she witnessed her friend’s success. My grandfather decided to conduct the fabric selling business as his final decision. It seemed my grandfather was taking a risk since no one in the family had experience with it. That was my grandfather’s second opportunity to maintain his business dream.

      

           Another subsequent effect of the economic reform period was my family’s disintegration. My grandfather finally had to sell the house when the second time he failed in the business. About one year later while we were running the fabric shop, my aunt imported a myriad of fabrics since she believed her friend could foresee a booming fabric market. My grandfather was persuaded by my aunt, and he mortgaged the house to raise capital from the bank. However, the fabric market did not develop to what we expected, and my aunt also was unable to compete with other competitors because of her lack of experience. Our fabric shop could not survive in the end. After we paid off the debt, my grandfather could not afford to cover a new business venture. Moreover, the remaining money was only enough for my grandfather to buy a small apartment, so my father at the same time moved out and lived separately with his own family. The new apartment that my grandparents lived in with my uncle and my aunt just consisted of two bedrooms and one living room. It was much smaller compared with the house we lived in before, which had four floors and six rooms. Due to the economic transformation in my country, I lived separately with my grandparents thereafter. 

             

            After a series of issues and major changes that my grandfather encountered, he began to develop mental health problems. In the following years, my grandfather looked gloomy and I barely saw a smile on his face. I knew and understood how my grandfather felt. Since the economy transformed, the small family business that my grandfather and both his sons had built up over ten years had disappeared, and he became empty-handed in old age. Furthermore, my grandfather blamed himself for his mistakes and decisions. “I was wrong when I objected your idea to open a car rental service instead of a fabric shop.” He told my father. “The open economy means a lot of foreigners who would come to Vietnam, so if we supplied cars for rent we would have made a profit.” He added. “I hoped I could have started again from scratch, but I could not.” My grandfather even talked to me sometimes, and I could see his pitiful face. Whenever I passed my grandfather’s apartment, I could see him standing in the balcony with his eyes gazing far away and a lifeless face. In addition, he did not want to hang out with his friends whenever they called. My grandfather seemed to become quiet and eventually he became a recluse

         Being a hero is not easy. Even though my grandfather’s decision had affected and shifted my family’s life to a different path, he is my hero no matter what he did for the family. I was too young at that time to understand what was going on, so that I could not comfort and spend more time with him. If I could talk to my grandfather now, I would let him know how much we miss and love him. Moreover, I would also tell him that we did not blame him for his mistakes. For me, he will always be my hero even though he could not make history.