Updated date: 04/30/2025 10:14:41
"Whoever comes to Dong Thap , stop by the ferry,
Hear the shouts from one side of the landslide, the other side of the deposit.
Tien River is slow, Hau River is immense,
Carrying heavy love over the years...”
April is back. April of historic days. April of 50 years of memories that cannot fade in the hearts of every Vietnamese person, of the children of the Land of Pink Lotus.
Lotus Dream (Photo: Ngo Quang Tuyen)
Although I have gone through many rice seasons, I still have vivid memories of the day the country was reunited, April 30, 1975. A junior high school student in Cao Lanh, I was immersed in the bustling crowd, jostling at the ferry dock, along the roads, and in the markets. The voices calling each other, the cries bursting out when meeting relatives after many years of separation. I too, in the arms of my parents returning from the war zone, felt both familiar and strange to the point of choking. Relatives who had gathered in the North returned to their hometown, bringing with them both the joy of reunion and the unfinished stories of a time of bombs and bullets during the division.
But the joy of unification did not mean that peaceful days would follow. I still remember the sleepless nights, sitting by the riverbank under the flickering light, listening to the sound of wheels grinding on the ground, the distant rumble of guns. So an army continued to march to the southwestern border, entering a new war after a war that had just ended, continuing the mission of protecting every inch of our homeland.
At that time, Dong Thap Muoi was still a wild, acidic land. The people of my hometown, from old to young, from women to men, all became soldiers in the new war: the war to reclaim wasteland, open up land, dig canals, build dikes, and bring fresh water to the fields. I was also one of the silent witnesses, rolling up my pants and wading in the water, digging canals and building dikes with my friends, with the dream that one day this place would be covered with green rice plants. Duong Thet canal, Hong Ngu - Vinh Hung canal and many other canals and roads leading deep into Dong Thap Muoi. Wherever the fresh water flowed, the rice plants bloomed and the fruit trees bore fruit.
Then, we witnessed another period, when the centralized and subsidized mechanism was like a tight shirt, blocking rivers and markets, restraining the people's strength and the country's strength. Hunger and shortage lasted for a long time, etched on the faces of each person and each house. In those days, the memories of deserted markets and bare fields still lingered in our hearts, the memories of meals mixed with potatoes, corn, and millet right in the middle of vast rice fields.
Then came the historic floods in 2000 and 2011, the raging waters broke the newly built dikes and flooded the streets. The water reached the attic, children carried school bags on their heads to school, adults went to the market by boat. The water surrounded the fields, the dead in the flood were reported in the daily news, people and cattle took temporary shelter on high mounds. But also from that hardship, the hearts of the people in my hometown became more steadfast, the love of the village and neighbor became more intimate.
Then the country entered the renovation process. The first green shoots sprouted from the barren land of Dong Thap. I saw with my own eyes my hometown changing day by day. Catfish swam all over the river, mango, orange and longan gardens competed to bear fruit; rice was not only enough to eat but also went out into the world with the dream of clean rice, organic rice, rice with reduced emissions for a sustainable future.
From those concerns, my brothers, comrades, and people thought of something different: we had to communalize our strength, we had to connect hands. That was how the Farmers' Association, the Entrepreneurs' Club, the Startup Space, and the Entrepreneurs' Coffee were born. From being isolated and fragmented, we gathered together, shared knowledge and experience, and supported each other to go further. Many new cooperatives and many industry chains were born from those meaningful handshakes.
Now, when faced with the policy of merging the two provinces of Dong Thap and Tien Giang into a new province but still keeping the name Dong Thap. Like a bridge of memories, I think of the Tien and Hau rivers. The two rivers are like two endless sources, depositing alluvium for the motherland, depositing faith in people. The river has connected the two banks, and the hearts of the people of Dong Thap today also connect the past, present and future. "The river water is immense. Who sent the folk song to make people's hearts flutter...".
The day of reunification is not only the day of reuniting the lands, but also the day of reuniting the aspirations, the dreams, the hearts of Vietnam, the hearts of Dong Thap people today and Dong Thap people after unification, beating together. So we are proud and confident to continue writing the “Lotus Dream”, to continue writing the heroic epic in the era of national growth.
In this emotional moment, I would like to express my gratitude to the previous generations who shed their blood to regain independence and unity for the country. I would like to express my gratitude to the people who persistently reclaimed Dong Thap Muoi, each hoe stroke, each drop of sweat to build the homeland. I would like to express my gratitude to the entrepreneurs and businesses who have dedicated themselves, breathing creativity into each product, each crop. I would like to express my gratitude to the officials and civil servants who are dedicated day and night, taking the satisfaction of the people and businesses as a measure of service, taking social happiness as their own happiness.
We, the followers, let us continue together, continue the long journey of faith, of community spirit, of dreams to reach far, so that Dong Thap is not only green with fields, but also radiant with hearts. We have overcome the curse of a "remote" land to together create a "Dong Thap - There is such a place" in the hearts of people far away.
On this important day, I would like to send my beloved Dong Thap people and friends everywhere my best wishes for every home, every village, every bridge in our hometown to always be filled with laughter, love, and faith in an open future! From the oars of the past, the people of Dong Thap - Sen Hong confidently set sail to the open sea.
"Dong Thap my hometown,
Birds of a feather flock together in good land, people gather together,
On the immense Tien River, on the full Hau River,
Continue the journey, continue the dreams...”.
Le Minh Hoan - Son of the Land of Pink Lotus
Source: https://baodongthap.vn/chinh-tri/tu-mai-cheo-nam-cu-den-canh-buom-ngay-moi-131128.aspx
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