President Ho Chi Minh was one of the few revolutionary leaders in the world who paid special attention to and devoted affection to the young generation. He wrote many letters to the youth, as well as gave many speeches to encourage and educate the young generation. Even when he was lying on his sickbed in the last days of his life, he still wrote a few lines to the World Federation of Youth and Students, in support of the meeting of delegates from various countries in Finland.
Youth Union members learn about Ho Chi Minh Heritage books at the Book and Reading Culture Festival in Tay Ninh province
More than anyone else, with his far-sighted vision, Uncle Ho understood and appreciated the role and position of the youth force in the revolutionary cause and the work of protecting, building and developing the country. March - Youth Month, rereading Uncle Ho's profound teachings helps young people understand Ho Chi Minh's ideology to apply it to practical life.
In a letter to the youth and children nationwide on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 1946, Uncle Ho wrote: “A year begins in spring. A life begins in youth. Youth is the spring of society”. Because from a young age, beloved Uncle Ho was aware that the mission of youth is extremely great. He commented: “Youth are the future masters of the country. Indeed, whether the country is prosperous or declining, weak or strong, is largely due to the youth. If the youth want to be worthy masters of the future, they must train their spirit and strength right now, and must go to work to prepare for that future”.
Together with the Communist Party of Vietnam, Uncle Ho founded, led and trained the Indochinese Communist Youth Union (now the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union ). That shows that Uncle Ho always had strong faith in the young generation and believed that the youth needed to be the locomotive and role models in the patriotic emulation movement. The great leader of the nation repeatedly promoted the slogan: "Wherever there is a need, there are youth, whatever is difficult, there are youth to do". Typically, at the conference of cadres of the Vietnam Labor Youth Union (1959), he advised: "Where there is difficulty, there are youth. Wherever there is difficulty, there are youth". Until today, Uncle Ho's four immortal verses are still the guiding principle, strongly influencing the thinking of young people:
“Nothing is difficult,
Just afraid the heart is not steadfast,
Dig mountains and fill seas,
"Where there's a will, there's a way"
During his revolutionary leadership, President Ho Chi Minh paid great attention to the issue of youth. In 1925, when writing the work "The Verdict of the French Colonial Regime", Nguyen Ai Quoc included two pages of the appendix "To the Youth of Annam" with a warning in the last line: "Oh pitiful Indochina! You will die if your aging Youth do not soon revive."
In his speech at the Congress of Active Socialist Youth Workers (March 17, 1960), He said: "To be truly worthy of being the masters of a socialist country, our youth are determined to do the following:
- Must be imbued with revolutionary ethics, that is, modesty, solidarity, practice collectivism, love, help each other, the advanced help the poor, the poor must strive to advance, strive to be frugal and build the country.
- Must strictly fight against individualism such as selfishness, self-interest, arrogance, complacency, only wanting things that bring fame, looking down on ordinary jobs. Must fight against corruption and waste.
- We must strive to learn to constantly improve our political, cultural and technical qualifications to serve the Fatherland and the People".
He also reminded: “Our youth need to be imbued with the spirit of mastering the country and must cultivate the ethics of a revolutionary. Revolutionary ethics means that no matter what position you hold or what job you do, you must not be afraid of difficulties or hardships, and must wholeheartedly serve the common interests of the class and the people, all with the aim of building socialism.”
Young people read books and study following Uncle Ho's example.
At the opening ceremony of the Vietnam People's University (January 19, 1955), Uncle Ho motivated and inspired generations of young people: "The task of young people is not to ask what the country has given them. But to ask themselves what they have done for the country? How can they benefit the country more? How much have they sacrificed and strived for the country's benefit?"
At the 2nd National Congress of the Vietnam Youth Union, Uncle Ho said: “I love the youth very much. Because the youth are the ones who give revolutionary strength to the older generation of youth, and at the same time are the ones in charge of and guide the future generation of youth - that is, the children”. He once admitted: “I always talk about the youth, because in all work, our youth are always enthusiastic volunteers and they deserve to be the right arm of the Party”.
In his Testament, he did not forget to say: “Our union members and youth in general are good, they are enthusiastic in everything they do, not afraid of difficulties, and have a spirit of progress. The Party needs to take care of educating them in revolutionary ethics, training them to become successors in building socialism who are both “red” and “expert”. Nurturing the next generation of revolutionaries is a very important and necessary task.”
According to Uncle Ho, education has a great influence on the future of young people. He always emphasized studying so that young people can reach out to the ocean, using their youth to enrich the Fatherland. He said: "To build socialism, we must have machinery, technology, culture... young people must study and study well". At the 3rd Congress of the Vietnam Youth Union, Uncle Ho advised: "Our young people must try to study. Due to the limited circumstances in the old society, the majority of our young workers and farmers had little opportunity to study. If we want to build socialism, we must be educated".
It can be seen that Uncle Ho had high expectations for the youth since they were still in school. On the first school opening day of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Whether Vietnam becomes beautiful or not, whether the Vietnamese people can step up to the stage of glory to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers or not, depends largely on your studies”. Therefore, despite being busy with a thousand and one things, he still regularly cared for the country’s education, considering education the most important method of “cultivating people”. In the article “The mission of our youth” published in Nhan Dan Newspaper on December 20, 1955, Uncle Ho concluded: “The youth will be the masters of the country. We must study forever, progress forever, to be truly young”. Besides, Uncle Ho also advised: "Taking good people and good deeds as examples to educate each other every day is one of the best ways to build the Party, build revolutionary organizations, build new people, and a new life."
Regarding the youth movement, Uncle Ho commented: “The Party, the Government and I pay great attention to the youth. I am pleased to praise the efforts of the youth. But the youth movement still has many shortcomings that need to be overcome. The youth must volunteer to go to the most difficult and arduous places, where others have achieved little results, the youth must volunteer to do it well”. There were also times when Uncle Ho frankly criticized and pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of our country's youth. In a letter to the youth (April 1951), Uncle Ho wrote: “The advantages of our youth are enthusiasm and a spirit of volunteering. The disadvantages are a fondness for formalities, a lack of practicality, individualism, and heroism. I sincerely hope that all of our youth will strive to develop these advantages and eliminate these shortcomings”.
Tay Ninh Youth Union members consult the bookshelf about Uncle Ho.
Regarding labor, Uncle Ho expressed his opinion: "If young people want the industries to respect them, they must first work well themselves." He also mentioned: "A large number of young people do not fully understand that all labor that is useful to society is glorious, so they are not passionate about their jobs, often "standing on this mountain, looking at that mountain"... Our young people need to understand that: any job that requires effort to overcome difficulties and complete the task well is glorious and heroic."
“Young people must be close to the masses. Being far from the masses will make them lonely. For example: In a factory, youth volunteers are good, but they must respect and learn from the old workers. Young people must unite everyone, young and old must be in agreement, and enthusiastically volunteer together… Whenever they encounter difficulties in their work, they must know how to rely on the Party's guidelines and policies, on the initiatives and strength of the masses, and have high determination, then any difficulty will be overcome and everything will definitely be successful” – excerpt from Uncle Ho's speech at the Conference of cadres of the Vietnam Youth Labor Union in the whole North (September 22, 1962).
Although Uncle Ho's teachings are very simple and rustic, they will always be a bright torch, guiding the way for young generations to move forward. Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style, young people in the new era need to make more efforts to build a model of life with ideals and dreams, demonstrating a steadfast character, and being responsible for themselves, their families and society. And always remember his words: "Vietnamese youth, world youth! Be enthusiastic in moving forward to build socialism, build communism!"
Anh Thu
References: Letter to the youth - Selected articles by President Ho Chi Minh on education and nurturing revolutionary ideals for the youth (a book in the Ho Chi Minh Heritage book series of Tre Publishing House).
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