The South is always in people's hearts

Uncle Ho with the Heroes and Brave Soldiers who defeated the Americans in the delegation of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam visiting

North, February 28, 1969. Photo: Document

He took care of organizing, motivating and encouraging the mass movements in both regions. Whatever he did, he reminded the people to remember the South, so that each action had practical significance for the cause of liberating the South. He worried: "A day when the Fatherland is not unified and the people still suffer is a day when I cannot eat well or sleep well."

His feelings for the people of the South were always consistent. Whenever there was a delegation from the South, Uncle Ho invited them to meet him to inquire about the war situation, the lives of the people, and the difficulties and hardships that the army and people of the South had to go through.

During the resistance war against the US, many cadres and soldiers from the South (including many from Hue ) were able to go to the North, meet Uncle Ho, and receive his care and kind visits. These are touching stories and sacred memories not only for each individual but also become a source of warm affection from an old father for millions of children in the South. That was a great source of encouragement for the army and people of the South to overcome difficulties and fight heroically for independence and national reunification.

In 1962, the delegation of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam visited the North (including poet Thanh Hai - a native of Hue), and was able to visit and present gifts to Uncle Ho at the Presidential Palace. When they met, Uncle Ho was very happy and hugged everyone like his own children returning from a faraway place. During this intimate meeting, he placed his hand on his left chest and emotionally said: "I have nothing to give back, only this: The beloved South is always in my heart."

During the meeting with the heroic and brave soldiers of the South who visited the North in 1965, he was moved and said: “I miss you very much, I miss my compatriots in the South very much”. Then he was interested and kindly asked about the battlefield and the living conditions of the people there and learned about the thoughts of the compatriots, cadres and soldiers in the South “not afraid of hardship, not afraid of death, but only afraid of one thing… not being able to see Uncle Ho in the future”. After hearing this, he was moved and wiped away his tears because he missed the South so much.

Uncle Ho and the brave children of the South visited the North on February 13, 1969. Photo: Document

From 1968 onwards, seeing his health decline, Uncle Ho requested that whenever a comrade from the South came to visit him, he must let him know and invite him to meet him. Therefore, many cadres and soldiers from the South who came to the North were able to visit him. Each time they met, he asked very carefully about the situation in the South and he was very happy when the South won a great victory.

Every time he met the cadres and soldiers from the South, Uncle Ho had gifts for each person, sometimes just a flower, a candy... but all of those gifts became sacred souvenirs for each person.

There are countless stories about Uncle Ho's heart for the South, containing so much deep affection. Especially in the last years of his life, when his desire to go to the South was not yet fulfilled, that feeling still contained an unceasing torment.

In 1968, due to poor health, Uncle felt that if he did not visit the South right away, he would not have another chance. He repeatedly requested the Politburo to arrange for him to visit the people of the South. On March 10, 1968, he wrote a letter to comrade Le Duan with the hope of arranging for him to visit the South. Due to his health, the comrades in the Politburo asked him to postpone the trip. So every day, Uncle took care of his health, persistently practiced walking and climbing mountains, hoping day and night to have enough conditions to go to the South. When he felt a little better, Uncle mentioned going to the South again, but to ensure his safety, the comrades in the Politburo still did not agree.

The desire to visit the people of the South was always strong in him. Once, Uncle Ho told comrade Vu Ky: "There are three ways to go to the South now. One is the public way to Cambodia, this way is risky, not necessary yet. The second is to walk across Truong Son, although I have trained, it is not good. The third is the sea route". Then Uncle Ho decided: "Prepare the sea route, you disguise yourself and follow me".

Comrade Vu Ky had to report to the Politburo : You must report to Uncle Ho to prepare for him to enter. If he refuses, he will prepare to go alone. You should prepare carefully, let the engineers arrange the arrangements, so that Uncle Ho can point to a certain place in the South, because he will not go everywhere. There will be representatives of soldiers and people from all over to meet Uncle Ho, because Uncle Ho wants to go to the right place and return safely.

But his last wish could never be fulfilled, on August 24, 1969, Uncle Ho suddenly suffered a heart attack. These days, Uncle Ho was very tired, but next to his bed, he still hung a map of the South. When comrades who followed the situation in the South came to visit, he asked: "Where did the South win today?"

During the last days when Uncle Ho could not eat, he told comrade Vu Ky: I want to drink a sip of coconut water, from the coconut tree that the people of the South gave me, those were the moments when I missed the people of the South so much.

While the cause of building socialism and the struggle to liberate the South and unify the country were achieving great victories, at 9:47 a.m. on September 2, 1969, his heart stopped beating, leaving behind endless sorrow for the entire Vietnamese people and international friends. The most sorrowful days had come to the entire nation.

Turning grief into action, the entire Vietnamese people are determined to carry out his last wish to liberate the South and unify the country. Six years after Uncle Ho left for the world of the virtuous, on April 30, 1975, the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign was completely victorious, and the country was reunited.

LE HA

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/theo-dong-thoi-su/mien-nam-luon-trong-trai-tim-nguoi-153735.html