Ho Chi Minh Highway
Fwd. Waarheid.nu - 14.08.2002 18:27
The War Evidence Museum in Ho Chi Minh City was the last destination of a international youth’s delegation in July. This is one of the delegations whose members are very young, mostly aged between 20 and 25. The youngest is only 15.
They came to Vietnam to exchange and do volunteer works. The delegation had 92 members who are pupils, students, workers and intellectuals coming from various countries. They included 81 people belonging to the youth’s movement of the Belgium Workers’ Party, one of the left-wing parties with over 3,000 members. The remaining were UK, French, Spanish, Dutch, Cuban and Indonesian volunteers. Their work and exchange in Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh Highway’s construction site, which is the road section to be built by youth, help many members more understand, love and admire more the ‘country of wonderful things.”
Coming to Truong Son in late dry season, most members of the delegation were not used to the heat there. The day temperature was up to 41 or 42 degrees Celsius. Besides, there is much dust from the construction site. The young volunteers were arranged to live in workers’ camps. Their work, starting from 7.30 am to 17 pm, included carrying stones. These tasks are especially hard for the foreigners who have not been familiar to manual works. Many members of the delegation said that the workaholic spirit of Vietnamese young volunteers had encouraged them very much. Ms Nele Crutzen, 25, a Belgian, said she was a receptionist therefore the work in Ho Chi Minh Highway was really hard to her. However, she still liked the work because she could do something useful for Vietnam
For Ms Veronica Veronique, 26, it was a special case. Before her arrival in Vietnam, she had a minor accident which injured her knees. Although this restricted her movement, she tried to practise so that she would not miss the chance to go to Vietnam. We were really moved when seeing her, with her injured leg, enthusiastically working with her friends.
Wouter Van Damme, member of the executive of the Belgium Workers’ Party, head of the delegation, happily said it was not accidental for him and other members of the organising board of the delegation to choose Ho Chi Minh Highway as the place for their volunteer activities in Vietnam. This is the road bearing the name of the great leader of Vietnam, who is also the world’s cultural celebrity, he added. This is the road linking the past and the present, and besides its economic significance, the Ho Chi Minh highway has also brought about the pride of a Truong Son trail in the struggle against the aggressors, Mr Damme. Volunteer works there means making contributions to a big work of the country. Living and working on the highway, volunteers can thoroughly understand the land and the people of Vietnam, he concluded.
The young foreign volunteers have composed a song while working on the road. The song, along with others about Uncle Ho and peace were loudly sung in their exchanges with Vietnamese young volunteers. The most impressive one was an exchange between the foreign volunteers with Vietnamese youth in Hien district. Around the camp fire, the foreign volunteers were hand in hand with Vietnamese volunteers joining in an art performance to mark the 52nd anniversary of the young volunteers’ day. The exchange was like a big festival. Overhearing the art performance, people across villages gathered at the district’s cultural house. Some of them had walked over 15 kilometres to the exchange night. The foreign volunteers were surprised to find that the Vietnamese youth knew foreign songs which they loved.
"Vietnam, a symbol of peace" is the remark of many international volunteers who worked and exchanged in Vietnam. After nearly one month stay in Vietnam, the delegation visited famous places of interest including Ha Long Bay, Non Nuoc-Ngu Hanh Son tourism resort of Da Nang and Nha Trang. They called at memorials and historical relics of Vietnam such as President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Army Museum, the War Evidence Museum, Cu Chi tunnel. They presented gifts to disabled children of Hoa Binh Peace Village in Hanoi and orphans of Sun Flower Charity House in Nha Trang. Vietnam’s landscapes have left much impression to them but what Vietnamese people have done in the past and at present made them more surprised. Doctor Harry Dewitte, 54, a member of Belgium Workers’ Party, the oldest member of the delegation, said he had known much about Vietnam since the war time. He is still astonished at the victory of Vietnam, a small country, over the most powerful country in the world. In his opinion, the victory could only come from the wise leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the support of peace-loving people in the world. He all the more admired Vietnam when witnessing Vietnam overcoming the war’s consequences, restoring and fast developing. He said he hoped that the young Vietnamese generation would follow the glorious tradition of the nation to create a new future.
Saying goodbye to Truong Son, to Vietnam, international friends promised to come back one day. Many of them expressed their solidarity with Vietnam when they saw with their own eyes Vietnam’s achievements on the road to build a strong and prosperous country. More than that, perhaps, many want to return because of an unexplainable attraction of the country.
 Website: http://www.nhandan.org.vn/english/20020810/bai-social2.html
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