The story of the man who stayed up all night typing to serve the Geneva Conference

TGVN. “The documents and materials for the Conference were mainly in French, but finding someone who could type in French was not easy. I still remember that in order to prepare documents for the Conference sessions, there were days when we had to stay up all night to type...”, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuy (aka Nguyen Lanh) recalled when he worked as a clerk - typist, assisting the Delegation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam attending the Geneva Conference in 1954.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Van Dong and the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam received democratic journalists after the Geneva Conference ended, July 1954. (Photo archived by BNG)

The conference began in 1954, but many members of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam's negotiating delegation had been preparing for the "battle on the diplomatic front" since late 1953. The young man Nguyen Lanh was then in charge of clerical work - typing, assisting at the Prime Minister's Office in the Viet Bac resistance zone when he was called to join the delegation to the Geneva Conference.

At that time, typists who could speak French were rare, and there were only a few people in the office. The conference documents were mainly in French, so thanks to his good foreign language skills, Nguyen Lanh was selected to join the Vietnamese delegation to the Geneva Conference. “When I learned that I would become a member of the delegation, my feelings at that time were both surprised and excited. I told myself that I had to try my best to complete the task,” Lanh recalled.

Dear friends

Recalling the arduous journey from Vietnam to Switzerland to attend the Geneva Conference, Mr. Nguyen Lanh said that there were very difficult times that seemed impossible to overcome without the friendly help from China and the Soviet Union.

At that time, the Dien Bien Phu front was still extremely fierce. To avoid being detected and captured by the enemy, the Vietnamese delegation was forced to secretly move at night. Crossing the border of Nanning, China, the Vietnamese delegation was arranged a separate train car by the Chinese side, dressed like Chinese people to avoid being detected. Arriving in Beijing, the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing arranged for the delegation to stay in a separate area and received them very attentively.

“I still remember the preparation time for the trip to Geneva was very urgent. The meeting was held on May 8, and on May 4, the delegation flew from the Soviet Union to Switzerland. Before leaving for the Soviet Union, each member of the delegation was equipped with a new suit,” Mr. Nguyen Lanh recalled.

The warm welcome and support from the Soviet Union for the Vietnamese delegation also made a special impression on the members of the delegation that year. Mr. Lanh said that upon arriving in Switzerland, the Soviet Union had thoughtfully helped rent a hotel for the Vietnamese delegation to stay and rest near the center of the Conference. Afterwards, the delegation was transferred to a villa located on the outskirts of the city. A part of them still stayed at the hotel.

Unforgettable memories

More than half a century has passed, but Mr. Lanh still remembers all the members of the delegation. In addition to the main members, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Van Dong (head of the delegation), Mr. Hoang Van Hoan, Mr. Tran Cong Tuong, Mr. Ta Quang Buu, Mr. Phan Anh, the logistics and support team included about 30 people. Besides the military delegation, there was also a propaganda team, press, clerical staff, typists, doctors, security guards, etc.

After the negotiation sessions at the Conference, the Vietnamese delegation often received many delegations from other countries, overseas Vietnamese in France, etc. At those times, all the doctors, typists, etc. members of the delegation were mobilized to welcome them.

The delegation also paid great attention to the service and logistics for the Conference. Because he was fluent in French, Mr. Lanh and another officer in the delegation trusted him with the task of typing. “I still remember that in order to prepare documents for the Conference sessions on time, there were days when we had to stay up all night to type. Although it was extremely hard, we always thought it was natural and happily completed the task,” Mr. Lanh recalled.

The days in Geneva also left many memorable memories for the young man Nguyen Lanh. He said that during that time, the relationship between the Vietnamese delegation and the delegations from the Soviet Union and China was very close.

“Before each meeting, our delegation leader Pham Van Dong, the Chinese delegation leader Zhou Enlai and the Soviet delegation leader Molotov all had a meeting with each other. And every Sunday morning, the Vietnamese delegation moved to the Chinese Embassy located on the outskirts of the city to rest, have fun and entertain. The delegation was very attentive. The atmosphere was extremely intimate and close. That shows the closeness between us and our friends at that time.”

After long and tense negotiations, on weekends, some members of our delegation often invited each other to visit the Swiss countryside, both to relax and to promote to the people of the neighboring country about our country and the just struggle of our people," Mr. Lanh recalled.

In his memories of the 1954 Geneva Conference, Mr. Nguyen Lanh still clearly remembers the moment on May 7 - before the Conference opened - when the Vietnamese delegation received the news of the victory at Dien Bien Phu. Recalling that moment, Mr. Lanh still had the same choked emotions: “We were all happy and joyful. That joy is probably indescribable by any pen. That night, our delegation stayed up all night to celebrate the news of victory. And the next day, entering the Conference, we took the initiative because we were in the position of the victor.”

Special Head of Mission

Among the members of the Vietnamese delegation that year, Mr. Nguyen Lanh still could not forget the impressions of the Head of the delegation, Pham Van Dong. He recalled: “I was especially impressed with Deputy Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, whom we often affectionately called To. To was very good and serious at work but also a close, simple, and down-to-earth person. In negotiations, To was an experienced person with intelligent and clever responses. I still remember a saying of his at the Conference that made the head of the French delegation, Bidault, “pale” and was later quoted in many documents: ‘The French delegates called the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam a ghost government. Why did you have to bring tens of thousands of troops to fight ghosts? And, tens of thousands of troops died because of ghosts? Now, that ghost government has come here, sitting in front of you.”

Mr. Nguyen Lanh said that despite his busy reception and work schedule, Mr. Pham Van Dong still did not forget to regularly visit and encourage his colleagues in the support and logistics team.

“At a gathering of all the brothers, Mr. To asked us if we had any wishes. I quickly replied: 'Sir, if any of you smoke, you will get free cigarettes. So what do you give to those who don't smoke?'. Mr. To humorously replied: 'Then I will give you candy,' Mr. Lanh recalled.

Mr. Nguyen Lanh's real name is Nguyen Van Thuy, born in 1932 in Tao Khe village, Duong Van commune, Ung Hoa district, Hanoi. He was one of the people who did clerical and typist work in the Vietnamese delegation attending the Geneva Conference (Switzerland) to discuss the restoration of peace in Indochina (1954).

He was Deputy Director of the Information and Documentation Center of the Central Institute for Economic Management Research; Deputy Head of Training Department, Central Institute for Economic Management Research.

For his contributions during his work, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister; Third-class Resistance Medal; Second-class Resistance Medal; Second-class Labor Medal.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chuyen-cua-nguoi-thuc-trang-dem-danh-may-phuc-vu-hoi-nghi-geneva-97788.html