Cover At nearly 90 years old, author Do Thai Binh has released his latest historical research, ‘The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison’
At nearly 90 years old, author Do Thai Binh has released his latest historical research, ‘The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison’
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At nearly 90 years old, author Do Thai Binh has released his latest historical research, ‘The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison’, the culmination of a decades-long search for the truth about Vietnamese Confucian scholars exiled to the French colony in South America.
Do Thai Binh graduated from the University of Transport and Communications with a specialisation in Ship Hulls in 1966. Over the decades, he has played a prominent role in the shipbuilding industry and is a long-standing member of international professional bodies, including the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (MRINA) and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (MSNAME). He currently serves as Vice President of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Science and Technology Association (VISIA).
Beyond his technical career, Do Thai Binh is also an independent translator and researcher with a particular interest in maritime heritage and the lesser-known histories of Vietnamese exiles in the early 20th century. His translated works on maritime subjects include Maritime Encyclopedia, Indochina Sailing Ships, and Roads on the Sea. This deep-rooted passion eventually led him to uncover the harrowing escape of colonial-era soldiers, including his grandfather, patriot Do Van Phong, which forms the foundation of The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison.
Above Portrait of author Do Thai Binh and the book The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison
Portrait of author Do Thai Binh and the book The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison
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The book is the fruit of years of painstaking research, involving the comparison of hundreds of archival documents from France alongside remnants from family records. Along the way, Do Thai Binh encountered misdirection, having followed false leads that required him to rewrite entire chapters when detention sites of the Confucian scholars could not be confirmed. It was only with the discovery of a rare document in the French Overseas Archives and the support of his friend Christèle Dedebant that he was able to identify Malgaches as the actual prison camp, correcting the long-held assumption that it was Cayenne.
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Above From that personal connection, he broadened his perspective, tracing the larger story of a patriotic Confucian scholar community and bringing to life a poignant chapter of national history, all with the hope of sharing enduring values and lessons
From that personal connection, he broadened his perspective, tracing the larger story of a patriotic Confucian scholar community and bringing to life a poignant chapter of national history, all with the hope of sharing enduring values and lessons
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Through reconstructed records, he reimagines the extraordinary escape of three patriots: Ly Lieu, Nguyen Quang Dieu and Do Van Phong. Without weapons or physical strength, they relied on intellect, determination, and the solidarity of the Chinese community in the Caribbean. Alongside their story, the book also reveals for the first time the identities of nearly 2,000 Vietnamese prisoners in Guyane, many of whose names had been all but lost to time.
The prison escape journey of three Confucian scholars from 1913–1925
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The Three Escapees from Guyane Prison is more than a work of rigorous historical inquiry. It is a return to ancestral roots, and a tribute to voices nearly erased. Through every page, Do Thai Binh expresses a quiet conviction that history is not static on the printed page, but lives on in those who remember, who search, and who retell it with heart.
The Three Escapees from Guyane was officially published on 6 July 2025.
Credits
Images: Nguyễn Đức Anh
