Con Dao: Vietnam’s Prison Paradise

CON DAO ISLANDS, VIETNAM — At noon on April 30, 1975, the prison guards, administrators, and their families locked the gates, cells, and doors of the various prison buildings dotted around central Con Son island, and fled on waiting boats. Within hours, the 6,954 male and 494 female prisoners had freed themselves, bringing an end to 113 years of the island’s role in imprisonment, torture, forced work, and death.

“On May 1, 1975, Con Dao was completely liberated. From then on, it has been undergoing a vigorous change to become a ‘jade’ island of our country,” states an information board at the Con Dao town museum. The large museum offers graphic details into the conditions prisoners faced, including depictions of the torture and beatings of naked prisoners, and the additional post-1960 punishment of “denouncing communism,” as well as information on notable prisoners, including former President Ton Duc Thang.

The museum also focuses on the environmental importance of the island, which in 1993 saw the establishment of the 20,000-hectare Con Dao National Park, some 14,000 hectares of which are a marine protected area.