Remembering the story of Uncle Ho and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong with children

Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, until he retired from his position as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (the same title as the Prime Minister now), had not yet held his grandchild because his son got married very late. Therefore, he also loved children very much.

+ "Okay, just 5 more minutes, so we can finish, so the kids can welcome the delegation, if we wait too long, the kids will be tired from the sun!".

Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Van Doan (standing on the left of the Prime Minister with a white collar), former Bodyguard of President Ho Chi Minh (from 1967-1969), former Director of the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site and Dr. Nguyen Thi Tinh, former Director of the Ho Chi Minh Museum (sitting right next to but lower on the left hand side of Prime Minister Pham Van Dong and their son being held by the Prime Minister in the Presidential Palace) - archive photo.

About ten years ago, I happened to hear a tape recording of the late Ambassador Phan Van Kim, former Vietnamese Ambassador to the German Democratic Republic (1981-1984), former Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , which his daughter, Ms. Phan Thi Thu, let me listen to. Mr. Kim was a person who worked in the diplomatic sector for nearly 30 years. In his documents, there are many memories of Uncle Ho. There is a story that if heard briefly, not many people would pay attention to, but in fact it is very worth pondering about his behavior towards children.

Mr. Kim did not mention the time, so I will only mention the core of the story. The term of the Chancellor of the German Democratic Republic that he mentioned was from 1949 to 1964, so this story most likely took place in the first half of the 1960s.

According to Mr. Kim, that time, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong attended a meeting with the delegation of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany led by Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl visiting our country. Because the Presidential Palace was located right next to the Prime Minister's Palace, Uncle Ho was also near the meeting place. He knew that the meeting time had passed the scheduled time, and in fact it could have ended. He turned into the meeting hall and asked to call Prime Minister Pham Van Dong out of the room, whispering: "Okay, just 5 more minutes, so let's end! The children out there have been waiting at the Botanical Garden for a long time! Let them welcome the delegation, they're tired from the hot sun after waiting too long!"

A very small, simple story, but through it is enough to help us understand how Uncle Ho felt about children. Throughout his life, Uncle Ho always loved and cherished children, giving them the greatest attention, because as Uncle Ho said, "Children are like buds on a branch."

Mr. Nguyen Van Doan (former bodyguard of Uncle Ho when he was about to "pass away") had a memory with Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

Tet Nguyen Dan in 1976 was the first Tet after Vietnam's reunification. Our agency (at that time, Mr. Doan - who later became the Director of the Ho Chi Minh President Relic Site and his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tinh (a classmate of his at the University of History, later became the Director of the Ho Chi Minh Museum) was very happy that year because Prime Minister Pham Van Dong wished him a Happy New Year and let him take a commemorative photo with Uncle Ho, and his family alone had the honor of being in the photo, and now, his son is 49 years old.

On that occasion, Mr. Doan and his wife had just given birth to their first son - Nguyen Tuan Dung. At that time, he was only over two months old. He was also able to participate in that event because he was present at the Presidential Palace, where both his father and mother were working.

While everyone was settling down to take pictures, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong saw the little boy so he called Mrs. Tinh to ask about him and then caressed him, holding him in his arms. Because the boy was still a few months old, his skin was not yet white and smooth but still a bit dark. Therefore, the Prime Minister humorously said: "When you grow up, try to study hard to become the Minister of Electricity and Coal!"

Hearing Uncle Ho speak, everyone burst into applause and laughed heartily because they knew the Prime Minister often had a humorous way of speaking because he saw my skin color.

Next, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong called: "Where is Mr. Vu Dinh Hong (a photojournalist of VNA who specializes in accompanying the Prime Minister)? I'm about to receive international guests. Take a quick photo, or else if my child pees now, I won't be able to receive guests in time. I'll make you pay!"

Another round of applause and happy, excited faces of everyone gathered around the beloved Prime Minister...

"It has been nearly 50 years, our grandson Tuan Dung is now 49 years old. We and he are sorry for not being able to fulfill what the Prime Minister wished, because the Fatherland needs truly virtuous and talented people to shoulder the country's tasks. The little grandson who was loved by the Prime Minister that day has only just become an honest communist party member, a doctor, and an architect. He was educated in Moscow, Russian Federation. But for our small family, we will always consider that Spring day in 1976 as one of the most profound and happiest memories when we had precious moments with the senior leaders of the beloved Party and State of Vietnam" - Mr. Doan confided to me.

Source: https://danviet.vn/nhan-ngay-khai-giang-va-sap-tet-trung-thu-nho-chuyen-bac-ho-va-thu-tuong-pham-van-dong-voi-tre-tho-20240905091645774.htm