For people today in Vietnam, April 30, 1975 marks the end of US occupation, the reunification of North and South Vietnam, Liberation Day, the beginning of peace and self-sovereignty. It is celebrated proudly with banners, flags, and military parades, and reminds the people that a country as small as Vietnam was able to defeat a military superpower, the US.
For the US, April 30, 1975 was the end of its military involvement in Vietnam. It was when this military of young people deployed thousands of miles from the United States to fight in an unwinnable war would return home. The end of that war reflected the success of a people that defeated the greatest military superpower known at that time. It represented the dissolution of American military might from fighting with boots on the ground to an air war, attempting to bomb a country back to the stone age—and it failed.
For Cambodia and Laos, this day marks the collapse of the American backed regimes in their countries. For Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge had already taken Phnom Penh by April 17, and the horrors of genocide, mass starvation in labor camps, torture, executions, and constant surveillance had begun. A refugee crisis also ensued. There are still unexploded ordinances left over from the 580,344 illegal and unauthorized US bombing missions (260million bombs dropped) in Laos and Cambodia between 1964-1973, that continue to injure and kill Lao and Cambodian civilians today.
Stop Genocidal Wars!
APRIL 30, 2025
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory: ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza
Israel’s ruthless bombardment has killed Palestinians in Gaza at a staggering rate. Over 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been confirmed killed in 18 months including at least 15,600 children and over 110,000 people have been wounded, including thousands left with life changing injuries. After a short-lived ceasefire, Israel brazenly resumed its devastating bombing campaign in Gaza in March 2025 killing 730 Palestinians in just one week and injuring over 1300 others.
Even before the truce ended, Israel had re-imposed a total siege on the Gaza strip blocking all entry of humanitarian and commercial supplies including food, fuel and medicine. Much of northern Gaza and Rafah has been destroyed and at least 90% of Gaza’s entire population is now internally displaced. Gaza’s healthcare system has been largely destroyed. Around 60 hostages from Israel taken by Hamas and other armed groups, are still being held in Gaza, including 24 believed to be alive who remain in danger.
The shockingly high death toll, widespread destruction, engineered hunger and malnutrition, deliberate denial of humanitarian aid as part of an illegal siege, racist and dehumanizing rhetoric by Israeli officials, and the wider context of Israel’s apartheid system were all warning signs of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. (Amnesty International)