Con Dao Prison is the largest and almost the oldest prison in Vietnam. With more than 110 years of existence through two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists, this place imprisoned and exiled tens of thousands of soldiers, intellectuals, and patriots. If Con Dao prison was considered “hell on earth”, then Con Dao tiger cage was “hell within hell”.
Con Dao tiger cage solitary confinement area – Hell within hell
The tiger cage in Con Dao prison is an isolated prison built in 1940 to imprison particularly dangerous political prisoners. This was also the place where prisoners were tortured most brutally in the prison system of Con Dao prison. There were once thousands of prisoners who were tortured, and thousands of revolutionary soldiers and patriots who were exiled by barbaric torture here.
The tiger cage was built over two different historical periods. The tiger cage was built by the French in 1940, and the tiger cage was built by the US puppet in 1971. In 1979, the Con Dao tiger cage was recognized by the Government as a national historical relic site. This is a destination any tourist visiting Con Dao wants to learn about.
Discover the secret of crime in the Con Dao tiger cage
Con Dao tiger cage is a place that hides the barbaric secrets of the invaders. The tiger cage was built in two camps, corresponding to the periods of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism, known as the French-style and American-style tiger cages.
French-style tiger cage
The French-style tiger cage is Phu Tuong camp, secretly built by the French colonialists in 1940 to detain and torture political prisoners. This place has a total area of 5475 m². The tiger cages were built secretly between two layers of walls. The prisoners were blindfolded when they were brought here.
The French-style tiger cage has 120 solitary confinement rooms, divided into 2 zones, with 60 rooms per zone. The cells are 1.45m by 2.5m.
At peak times, there can be 1-12 people locked in one room. Eating, sleeping, and cleaning all on the spot were extremely miserable. Not only male, but female political prisoners were also detained here, and the most famous one was former Vice President Truong My Hoa.
Above the tiger cage is a system of bars and corridors for prison guards to move around and easily observe below. They often use sticks with iron tips to torture prisoners, along with other forms of torture such as pouring dirty water, throwing lime powder, and not allowing bathing…
The French-style Con Dao tiger cage also has a system of 60 roofless solariums. In these rooms, prison guards stripped them of their clothes and brutally beat and tortured prisoners. Then they left the prisoners exposed to the sun and rain.
American-style tiger cage
The American-style tiger cage or Phu Binh camp was built by the US and its puppet army. This place has a total area of 25,768 m², divided into 4 zones: AB, CD, EF, and GH. Each block has 2 blocks, each with 48 isolated rooms, for a total of 384 solitary confinement cells. This is a typical American-style prison, designed by American experts and built by American contractors using US dollars as aid.
The cell here is about 5 meters wide and has no bed. Each room can hold 8-10 people, with on-site dining and cleaning. Prisoners were shackled, lying on damp cement floors, tortured regularly, and the toilet tank was not emptied for several weeks.
These prisoners were shackled 24/7. During the first 10 days after being sentenced to prison, prisoners were provided with bland rice and half a liter of water (and the food in Con Dao prison consists only of dried food, soy sauce, and fish sauce, which, if left for a long time, becomes bitter and sour).
Every day, prison guards take prisoners to do hard work. In the evening, they force prisoners to take off all their clothes for the prison guards to search before entering the cell and going to bed naked.
Prisoners have to do hard work, such as going to the sea to collect coral to burn into lime powder, going to the forest to mine stone, carving wood, and cleaning ships.
The American puppets took advantage of nature’s harshness to exile people. Above the cells is a low cement corrugated iron roof. During the day, it’s sunny, and the heat is scorching.
At night, the cold and damp cement floor causes soil gas to rise. Prisoners are locked inside, so they suffer more wear and tear. Prisoners detained here are often subjected to cruel and brutal torture, such as being nailed to the body, having their teeth chiseled, being doused with boiling water, being burned with burning wire, and being stabbed in the body…
The American-style Con Dao tiger cage is a center for leprosy. Con Dao political prisoners’ struggle (1973 – 1975). This is also the first place to know that Saigon was completely liberated on April 30, 1975. At 8 a.m. on May 1, 1975, “Hell on Earth” ended after 113 years.
The secret tiger cage was revealed
To hide their crimes, the French colonialists and American imperialists secretly built the tiger cage. And they could not imagine that one day the secret would be revealed. Around the early 1970s, the anti-war movement was at its height. Many students who took to the streets to protest against the war were arrested and taken to Con Dao. Under pressure from domestic and international public opinion, five young people who had been imprisoned in Phu Tuong camp were released to Saigon.
At the same time, domestic and international public opinion spread rumors about the tiger-cage prison camp, but investigations turned up no evidence. After being released, the five students mentioned above memorized a map with instructions for entering the tiger’s cage and sent it to international journalists.
In June 1970, an inspection team comprising American congressmen and international journalists was sent to Con Dao to uncover the truth. And the tiger’s cage appeared.
Under questioning from the US House of Representatives and pressure from major newspapers around the world, the Saigon government was forced to transfer 480 political prisoners being held in the tiger cage. The tiger cage was destroyed and converted into a rabbit-raising facility to appease public opinion.
When visiting Con Dao, it seems that no tourist wants to miss the chance to explore the tiger cage. The re-enacted images of colonial and imperialist brutality choke anyone who comes here with emotion.
Source: collected by An
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