Diary+Entry+2

**Diary Entry 2**

 **  Despite the catastrophic impact of the Great Depression on the world and the price of rubber fell, the French has been producing sustainable amount of rubber. It is evident that Indochina’s resources have attracted investment and speculation in France. It was reported in the newspaper that Indochina emerged as the third largest global exporter of rubber. Also considerable quantities of minerals and rice are produced too, which plays eminent role in the colonial economy. To achieve this success of the rubber plantation, more than 130,000 workers toiled. The more rubber plantation in Indochina prosper, the more exacerbating working conditions become. I could see that the workers are tired of working arduously as their working conditions worsen even more. This night the worst event took place. I just came back from my brother’s funeral. My brother was killed by a Vietnamese worker. I expected some conflicts would definitely occur as a result of the long disputes over wages. The relationship between my brother and workers has been worsening, especially in these days. The only one who was hated by most of our Vietnamese workers was my brother. I told him thousand times to be nicer to them since we cannot provide them with adequate wages. My brother never listened to me and my parents. He was just like the French government leaders. He thought the French people are superior to Indochinese people. Although I understand what made the Europeans result in such viewpoint (due to the successful industrialization and colonization), I never thought they are inferior to us. There could be a gap in standards of living and quality of life between Europeans and Indochinese but I think everyone is equal and should be treated fairly. (but the reality is not.) My brother did not treat them very well; he thought the Vietnamese workers deserved low wages. When I was talking to the workers, my brother suddenly came in and yelled at the workers. He used the word “vulgar” to describe them; apparently this outraged them. They have been holding their resentment for such a long time. One worker brought a sharp sickle and brandished it, which exactly hit my brother’s neck. It was a moment I do not want to remember for the rest of my life. The worker was so astonished. He just wanted to scare him; The worker did not mean to actually kill him. I knew it and that was why I could not say anything to him. He chose to quit and I did not stop him. That’s it. It is sad that I lost my brother and this pain will last for long but I decided to forget about it for now. I have tons of problems to cope with. Good Luck in heaven, Régis.
 * 7.4. 1939.