135th Birthday of President Ho Chi Minh: In May, He Returns

On the occasion of the 135th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2025), Cubadebate, the most visited newspaper in Cuba, respectfully republishes a special article by the late veteran journalist Marta Rojas, who had the honor of being the last foreign reporter to interview President Ho Chi Minh in 1969.

According to a VNA reporter in Havana, the article “Ho Chi Minh – The May Season He Returns” is not only a tribute to the outstanding leader of the Vietnamese people, but also a touching story about the Cuba-Vietnam friendship.

Through the talented pen of a female journalist who was directly present on the Vietnam battlefield, the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh appears realistic: a great yet simple man, a profound intellect tempered by hardship, and a heart always burning with faith in the final victory of the nation.

Journalist Marta Rojas opened the article: “On his 78th birthday, one year before he passed away, President Ho Chi Minh wrote these heroic verses for his people and the world :
“Seventy-eight is not very old,
Still firmly shoulder the country's affairs.
Our people's resistance is winning big,
Go forward! Me and my children.”

On May 19, 1890, in Kim Lien village, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, where the French colonialists turned into a “hell on earth” with alcohol and opium that intoxicated the people, and high taxes that weighed heavily on the people’s shoulders, the boy Nguyen Sinh Cung cried out at birth. Coming from a poor family of Confucian scholars, his father was Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Sinh Sac, the boy was soon imbued with the spirit of studiousness and patriotism.

His youth was a journey full of hardships in “finding the shape of water”. Working as a kitchen assistant on an ocean-going ship, the skinny young man Nguyen Tat Thanh made the sailors laugh when he accepted the task of pulling heavy copper cauldrons. But it was here that he taught himself many foreign languages, reading Shakespeare in English, being fascinated by Victor Hugo in French, and studying Tolstoy in Russian.

Arriving in Paris (France), Nguyen Ai Quoc, a name with aspirations for national liberation, became a talented journalist, photographer, and one of the founders of the French Communist Party. The years living in the colonial community forged him into an outstanding international soldier.

Imprisoned in Chiang Kai-shek's prison, the verses of "Prison Diary" were born as an epic of will: "Body in prison/ Spirit outside prison."

In 1941, after three decades of wandering, he returned to lead the August Revolution to success. But peace did not last long, the US imperialists invaded the South.

The article “Ho Chi Minh - The May Season He Returns” not only commemorates the outstanding leader of the Vietnamese people but is also a touching story about the Cuba-Vietnam friendship. (Photo: VNA)

During the most fierce days, Uncle Ho - the "Father of the Nation" - still wrote articles to encourage his people, strongly believing in the day of total victory. His will left on May 10, 1969 was like a prophecy: "The fight against the US may continue for a long time. Our people may have to sacrifice a lot of property and people. In any case, we must be determined to fight the US until complete victory." And history witnessed the Great Victory of Spring 1975, turning the dream of "Defeating the US, we will build more than ten days ago!" into reality.

In 1966, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared at the Cuban Revolution Anniversary: ​​“For the Vietnamese people, we are willing to sacrifice not only sugar cane, but also our blood, which is much more precious than sugar!” That statement became a symbol of brotherly solidarity between the two peoples.

In response to that sentiment, President Ho Chi Minh, during a meeting with comrade Raúl Castro in Hanoi, said: “Between Cuba and Vietnam there is a great distance, one sleeps while the other is awake. In the past, people said about the British Empire that the sun never sets on the British flag. But now it must be said that the sun never sets on the revolutionary flag. That means that our two countries are geographically opposite, but have complete moral unity."

The article ends with a touching image: 52 days before his death, Uncle Ho sent a message through journalist Marta Rojas, the last foreigner to interview him: "Tell Cuba that I love the Cuban people, from the leaders to the children, and wish you good health." Those are the sincere feelings of a great man who devoted his entire life to national independence and international solidarity.

Every May, the image of Uncle Ho lives forever in the hearts of the Vietnamese people and international friends - the great teacher of the revolution, an outstanding cultural figure, a shining symbol of 20th century revolutionary heroism./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/135-nam-ngay-sinh-chu-cich-ho-chi-minh-mua-thang-nam-nguoi-lai-tro-ve-post1039996.vnp