Telling stories of peace: Small narratives within the grand affairs of the nation.

After more than a month since its launch, the "Stories of Peace" writing contest has received over 800 entries from readers across the country. Some even suggested extending the deadline to allow for more compelling stories.

The author Đoàn Khuyên's parents and older brother (from the article "My Parents' Love Story")

Why does the story of peace receive so much attention from so many people?

Writer and researcher Nguyen Truong Quy, a member of the judging panel, said: "The competition has evoked collective memories and shown the community's deep concern for a major historical event like April 30th, in which they and their families have never been outsiders." According to him, Tuoi Tre newspaper has created a forum where these "small narratives" have the opportunity to be told within that grand historical context.

From over 800 entries, the judging panel selected 16 to receive awards on April 26th. Entries that passed the preliminary round were also included in the book "Stories of Peace," which was launched on this occasion.

Award ceremony and book launch for "Stories of Peace".

Unforgettable moments

Fifty years have passed since April 30, 1975, when the country achieved peace and reunification. But there are some things that perhaps "can never be forgotten in a lifetime."

The reunion report by author Vu Thi Thuy Duong (Ho Chi Minh City) recounts a touching memory of the separation and reunion of the family of Ms. Ta Thi Mai (born in 1951) amidst a turbulent historical context.

Out of anger at her grandfather for his betrayal, in 1954, Mai's grandmother took her three grandchildren (including Mai, 3 years old) "back to their hometown (Ninh Binh) to show him what he looked like." Little did she know that this trip would last over 20 years. Then, on April 30, 1975, upon hearing the news of the victory on the Voice of Vietnam radio , the entire North erupted in joy at the reunification, and Mai wept at the prospect of being reunited with her parents.

The reunion took place in July 1975 at Bach Dang Wharf, a place filled with bitterness, sadness, but also sweetness; and most importantly, mother and child were able to see each other again.

Ms. Duong is Ms. Mai's adopted daughter. Ms. Mai told her this story when she was a child, and it left a deep impression on her. For the past 30 years, she has lived with that story. She told Tuoi Tre newspaper that the story of her adoptive mother's family reunion is both personal and vividly representative of the values ​​and aspirations for peace of all Vietnamese people.

Video summarizing the Peace Storytelling writing contest - Source: Organizing Committee

Or in the article "The Love Story of My Parents," author Doan Khuyen (Ho Chi Minh City) recounts the touching love story of her parents, beginning with a chance letter exchanged during the final days of the war.

At that time, my father painted many portraits of my mother, always marking a black ink dot on her chin to remember her distinctive mole. When the war ended, he was determined to find her and marry her, and they have remained in love for half a century.

In "The Gains and Losses Determined by Fate," author Nguyen Lan Quy (from Binh Dinh) tells a very different story. The article recounts the life of her mother, the wife of a Saigon government officer, who died while pregnant.

At the age of twenty, she sent her child to live with her maternal grandparents to continue her studies. In March, when the Central Highlands fell, she was helped by the soldiers to return to Saigon. Later, despite having the opportunity to board an evacuation ship, she decided to return to Kon Tum to find her elderly mother and young child.

After the war, she started a new life. She met Lan's father – a veteran who had relocated to the North in 1954 and had experienced a broken marriage. They came together, overcoming social prejudices, without distinguishing between biological and stepchildren, building a home and together reclaiming land still littered with unexploded bombs and mines left over from the war. Reading this article, many admire the mother's strong will to live and her refusal to surrender to fate; and reflect on the reconciliation that followed 50 years of peace.

Many other stories are also recounted. For example, a mother about to give birth received news that her husband had been killed in action when peace and national reunification were imminent (in Saigon, April 30th, and the mother of author Nguyen Quoc Dat, Ho Chi Minh City).

Or consider the hurried trips home by fathers, where he doesn't tell his children to be well-behaved or study hard, only to instruct them, "When you hear the sound of an airplane, run quickly to the bomb shelter, understand? Make sure you survive and come back home, understand?" (from "Father's Homecoming Day" by Le Thi Nga, Da Nang )...

And there were also the homecomings, many reunions filled with mixed joy and sorrow. There was also loss, a void that nothing could fill. Above all, what stood out was the vitality and strength of the Vietnamese people during the war, told in a simple, everyday way, where everyone could find a piece of their own soul.

Judge, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau - Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, Secretary General of the Ho Chi Minh City Historical Society - confided that many of the stories resembled her own family's. "While reading, I almost 'relived' the emotions of the period leading up to and after peace, and the moments when my family reunited after 20 years apart, traveling from the North to the South," she said.

The parents of author Le Thi Nga, author of the poem "Father's Homecoming Day".

The feelings of young people

Journalist Nguyen Truong Uy - deputy editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre newspaper - recounted that when creating the special issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of peace and national reunification, Tuoi Tre newspaper immediately thought about how to get more readers, especially young readers, interested in and participate in sharing stories about peace to spread the value of peace to everyone.

Why tell stories of peace, and not stories of war?

He said, "The war ended 50 years ago." After 50 years, Vietnam has a young population. Generations of our ancestors who experienced the war have grown old and are gradually dwindling, requiring a succeeding generation to recount their stories from today's perspective. "These stories not only hold value from the past, but through them, young people will learn lessons for themselves and better understand the value of peace today," Mr. Uy said.

We are delighted that after more than a month since launching the campaign, Tuoi Tre newspaper has received over 800 articles from all over the country, mostly from young people, and many of them are of high quality.

According to journalist Nguyen Truong Uy, young people who participated in the past 50 years witnessed a part of their grandparents' and parents' lives and recounted those stories from their own perspectives. Besides the past, they reflected on the present and looked towards the future. The content and expression were not merely one-sided or individualized, but also had a general, representative quality.

For today's young people, war is not just a closed page in a history book. It is present in their grandmother's old radio, in the bomb craters in the countryside, in the fleeing roads their grandparents once traveled...

Reading the article "Bomb Craters in My Hometown," author Nguyen Van Phuc offers some interesting reflections. More than just a physical indentation, a painful mark left by war, a bomb crater is also a "legacy" that helps young people understand that peace doesn't come naturally. And what must people today do to transform the voids left by war into places where new life can be sown?

In concluding his article, author Nguyen Quoc Dat recounts that on April 30th, his birthday, he took his mother to visit Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City. This is the place his mother always said was in her heart, where she had lived, received medical and educational support, and been cared for by strangers who were incredibly kind. It is also the place where her loved ones had fallen, but the two of them would travel there in the beautiful days of peace.

The Peace Storytelling Contest, organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper and sponsored by Vietnam Rubber Group, commemorates the 50th anniversary of peace in the country.

The judging panel for the competition included: journalist Nguyen Truong Uy - Deputy Secretary-General of the Tuoi Tre newspaper editorial board, Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau - Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, Secretary-General of the Ho Chi Minh City Historical Society, and researcher and writer Nguyen Truong Quy.

As a result, the first prize went to author Doan Khuyen for his work "The Love Story of My Parents". Two second prizes were awarded to author Nguyen Quoc Dat for his work "Saigon, April 30th and Mother" and author Nguyen Lan Quy for her work "The Gain and Loss Arranged by Fate".

The three third prizes were awarded to Vu Thi Thuy Duong for her work "Reunion Newsletter," Bao Nam for "The Storyteller of April," and Huynh Toi for "Tears Burst Out on the Noon of April 30th of that Year."

Ten consolation prizes were awarded to the following authors: Hoang Don Nhat Tan (The Last Hour of War), Pham Thi Ngoc Diep (That was April 30th), Truong Thi Hien (Peace, Remembering Mother), Hoang Viet Hang (There Are Invisible Wounds), Nguyen Ngoc Tue Minh (My Grandmother's Old Radio), Le Thi Nga (Father's Return), Tam Nguyen (My Homeland Still Waits for My Father to Return), Phan Khuong (9X Thinking About Peace), Tran Hong Hanh (How Joyful, Yet Tears Well Up), Cao Hy (The Peace of a Soldier).

The best entries were selected and published in the book "Stories of Peace," which was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of peace.

The competition was very meaningful.

While casually reading the Tuoi Tre newspaper, I came across the "Stories of Peace" writing contest. The name immediately captivated me. It was a simple, evocative name that allowed participants to tell their stories in the most relatable way possible.

During those days, I reread my father's memoir (about 200 pages long). Having heard about my parents' love story before, rereading it was even more moving. April 30th is an important milestone, and I thought I needed to tell that story, for myself.

Most notably, my entry was published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national peace and reunification, which also marked the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents.

Author Doan Khuyen's joy upon seeing her entry published in Tuoi Tre newspaper.

To celebrate their anniversary, the family organized a "golden wedding anniversary" for my parents in Con Dao (where they also live), inviting close friends to attend. I brought 100 copies of Tuoi Tre newspaper with my articles from the mainland to the island, giving each guest a copy to read for fun. Everyone at the wedding laughed heartily. My father was visibly happy, while my mother kept blushing.

I suddenly felt a strong connection between the story in my memory, the newspaper article, and today. April 30th was like a pivotal milestone, opening up a truly different future. In that flash of fate and history, my parents had a timeless and admirable love story. Their love for each other inspires their descendants to live beautifully, overcoming all the difficulties in life.

Thank you, Tuoi Tre newspaper, for organizing such a meaningful competition. I hope there will be many more competitions like this because Vietnamese people still have tens of millions of stories to tell. And every story is as important as the next.

I believe that individual stories, the small tales of each person, contribute to completing the portrait of Vietnam during wartime. It's not a picture of iron and blood, but one that also includes flowers, suffering, and burning, fluctuating happiness. Through these stories, we see how much the Vietnamese people yearn for life, love, and peace. These are also the secrets and the fascination of our country's history.

Author Doan Khuyen, first prize winner of the Peace Storytelling Contest.

War memories offer a glimmer of hope.

On April 30th, war and peace are not just anyone's personal story, but a shared story of many Vietnamese people and of this nation.

The entries in the "Telling Stories of Peace" writing contest show that readers share a common reflection on the past 50 years of peace, recognizing how precious peace is and how it must be preserved for the future.

Journalist NGUYEN TRUONG UY

As the contest title suggests, "Telling Stories of Peace," peace and unity remain the highest values ​​that the Vietnamese people strive for.

That is why many articles mention the lingering, even painful, memories of war, but in the end, there are still glimmers of hope, of reunion, and of the future.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau

Recounting the past can be difficult, and not everyone has the courage or the ability to express themselves well.

But thankfully, the quality of the writing improved significantly over time, with articles featuring more compelling stories and vivid character experiences, and some even evoking strong emotions.

The competition attracted stories from many different perspectives related to war and reunification. I was particularly impressed and sympathetic to the personal stories or those about healing.

In my opinion, the ordinary person's perspective on the past is also very important and can create a balance between different viewpoints in society when discussing a significant historical event like April 30th.

Writer NGUYEN TRUONG QUY

TIEU TUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ke-chuyen-hoa-binh-nhung-tieu-tu-su-trong-dai-su-dat-nuoc-20250427183804593.htm