MOROCCANS' GATE

Ba Vì, Sơn Tây, Vietnam, 2008 - Leica M7, Summilux 35, Fuji Reala * During the Indochina War (1946-1954), many African legionnaires, including Moroccans, deserted the French troops for various reasons and joined the communist army of Hồ Chí Minh. About 100 of them were gathered in a secret camp which became a kolkhoze state farm after the end of the Indochina War in 1954. This Moroccans' gate called "Bab Al Maghariba" was built between 1956 and 1960. Stranded in Vietnam during more than 2 decades, about 70 Moroccan deserters only were repatriated to their country in 1972 with their Vietnamese wives and children. This historical vestige of the past was badly restored in 2018.