"(2) The Party will never abandon the people of the South who will stay to fight; when the time comes, they will be led.
"(3) Those who go north should feel happy in their duties. Those who remain behind should carry out the glorious missions entrusted to them by the Party, standing side by side with the people in every situation of struggle."
The political officers also stressed the dangers to which the stay-behinds would be subjected. A Viet Cong cadre whose party history extended back to 1930 stated that:[1]
"Those who did regroup did it voluntarily, after realizing that it was the thing to do. They did it to protect themselves from being arrested by the authorities in the South. They were afraid of being charged with having participated in the Resistance before. All cadres were afraid of future persecution by the South Vietnamese authorities; they all wanted to regroup....They were afraid...."
Still, the Regroupment Diary records that one cadre bet his comrades "three to ten, the country won't be reunified in two years," and
that many cadres were worried about leaving family and friends behind.[2] Asked, "Were you a volunteer for regroupment?": the following responses were typical:[3]
(A Defector) At the time it was said that we were volunteers. In reality, they took measures to make sure that everyone left. At the time of regroupment, we had to go. If I had remained, I would have been arrested. I believed that I would remain in the North two years.
(Another Defector) I was a political officer. I went to the North just like all the other combatants in my unit. I believed, at the time, that regroupment was only temporary, because from the study sessions on the Geneva Agreement we drew the conclusion that we could return to the South after the general elections.
(A PA) [Our political officer] explained that: "we were granted Vietnam north of the 17th parallel now, but in 1956 there would be a general election and we would regain the South and be reunited with our families. Because of interest and curiosity and the opportunity to travel, everyone was happy. They thought they would be there in the North only two years and then would be able to return to their homes.
