Proud of the past, confident in the future

BAC GIANG - Forever echoing in our hearts are the verses affirming sovereignty over the Nhu Nguyet River when our ancestors established a defense line waiting for the Northern invaders to come: “The mountains and rivers of the Southern country belong to the Southern emperor/ Their fate is clearly determined in the book of heaven/ Why do the invaders come and invade/ You will be utterly defeated” . Independence and freedom are always the aspirations of the nation. That is why beloved Uncle Ho once wrote “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom” and called on fellow soldiers and people “As long as there is one invader in our country, we must continue to fight and wipe him out”.

The resistance war against the US to save the country lasted 21 years (1954 - 1975) with many painful sacrifices and losses. Just look at the martyrs' cemeteries lined with tombstones stretching from North to South and you will see that clearly. There is no other way to say it, that is the price of victory, of independence, freedom and peace to unify the country. So the whole country burst into joy when 50 years ago, at 11:30 on April 30, the liberation flag fluttered over the Independence Palace in Saigon. That was a great historical moment, when we choked up thinking that the war had ended, the door to peace had opened and the two regions of the South and the North were united under one roof.

General Vo Nguyen Giap and his comrades in the Central Military Commission reviewed the combat plan for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign (April 1975). Photo: VNA.

On that historic day, there was a poet wearing Uncle Ho's soldier's uniform and having dinner with his comrades at the Independence Palace. That was the poet Huu Thinh, former President of the Vietnam Writers' Association for many terms. I know that he and the tank soldiers, the lucky soldiers who reached the end of the war, were ecstatic with the joy of great victory and the poet chose poetry to sing the song of victory. "Dinner in the Independence Palace" is a song of peace. Peace is not something lofty, it is here, in the green grass that serves as the tray for the soldiers' meal, green like the dream of people, green like layers of love that endlessly overlap.

Peace is here in the gathering around the dinner table of brave soldiers, in the harmony of sympathy between the scene and the people... At the final destination of the two-decade-long tragic war, the meal plays a peaceful melody, like a triumphant song that does not want to be too loud or resounding, but only wants to penetrate the land and people of Vietnam. "Green tray - endless green grass field / Gathering comrades to celebrate together / The row of chopstick trees is with us / Eating a meal at the final destination"... To have such a meal at the Independence Palace, the soldiers had to go through twenty-one years, or more accurately, the nation had to go through twenty-one years of hardship and countless sacrifices. And the final stage is the campaign named after Ho Chi Minh "faster, faster; bolder, bolder".

"Here, pick it up, everyone urged/ There was nothing to pick up, just looking at the sky/ Freedom was so blue, so immense/ It took thousands of bombs to get there" . The poem was simple but said so many things. It turned out that the desire for freedom, the longing for peace was much greater than the waiting for full meals and warm clothes. Writing up to this point, I suddenly remembered a poem by Pham Tien Duat written when the resistance war against the US was very fierce: "Even if I eat salt all my life/ It's better than having enemies" . Actually, that poem was said by a mother from the Central region to the author on a war night.

For 50 years, the country has gone through many twists and turns. How can we express all the ups and downs, the twists and turns, the uncertainties in the half century after the war that we have gone through? It makes me tearful to think that in the vast mountains, rivers, seas and islands, there are still many bones of comrades and compatriots; in the hearts of many people, there is still an unending war. The haunting of war is real as well as its consequences are still exposed here and there in every village, neighborhood near and far. No one can stop the pride of victory because it is also a way to recognize the noble dedication of our ancestors, but I think that greater than victory is choosing national harmony and reconciliation as a consistent humane response.

A corner of Ho Chi Minh City today.

We take up arms and accept hardships and sacrifices for that. As Uncle Ho affirmed: "Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese people are one. Rivers may dry up, mountains may wear away, but that truth will never change." From Uncle Ho's words, we are thinking more deeply about the national and human values ​​of the legendary victory. We bridge the divisions, the distinctions, the "borders" of people's hearts so that Vietnamese people can blend into Vietnamese people, so that the country has a present and future that is truly tolerant, understanding, and shares the will to build and protect the country our ancestors left behind to be rich, civilized, and on par with the world's great powers. If we cannot do that, no matter how glorious the past is, no matter how glorious the victory is, it will become meaningless.

All thoughts and actions are directed towards patriotism and love for the people. That is the great banner to gather all people. The nation's victory over the invaders, who are "giants", is thanks to the will and strength of the people. The will and strength of the people are multiplied when the Party leads. When the Party becomes the vanguard leading force that gathers the nation's elite children with virtue and talent, and the Party is truly moral and civilized as Uncle Ho once said, then that is naturally the great strength of the Vietnamese nation.

The resistance war against France and then the resistance war against the US are strong evidences of that. To have Dien Bien Phu "famous in five continents, shaking the world" and the Great Victory of Spring 1975, our Party must rise up strongly to fulfill its noble mission. We must know how to lead comprehensively and directly, but we must also know how to be a truly loyal servant of the People.

What will the nation be like in this new era, this era of rising up? Every revolution needs a correct theoretical foundation to guide it; every movement needs a brave and wise leader; the present and the future should not overlook or take lightly the inheritance. The sacred spirit of the mountains and rivers seems to have given the nation heroic energy in the new journey.

When we see within ourselves a proud and tragic past that resonates with the spirit of the present, that is when our inner strength is multiplied. It is just the beginning, the destination of the new era is still far away, but I think our people are full of faith and hope. It is never a false hope, but it is life that is flowing towards the bright future of the country. We must still be faster, faster; bolder, bolder like 50 years ago so that one day is equal to twenty years, each year is equal to a miraculous decade with the spirit of the Great Spring Victory.

Essays by Nguyen Huu Quy

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/tu-hao-qua-khu-vung-buoc-tuong-lai-postid416925.bbg