Viet Nam Human Rights
Vietnam: The Land of Hope and Prosperity
16/4/15
Those of us who have traveled in
many countries and have visited famous sites such as France's Eiffel Tower, the
USA's Statute of Liberty, the Pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China
have probably admired or even fallen in love with these architectural
masterpieces. Some of them have even been named among the Wonders of the World.
If we happen to be asked by
foreigners about attractive sites in our own country, we might feel inferior or
ashamed since Vietnam does not have any site seemingly worthy of such fame
(some might suggest Halong Bay, however this site is still unknown to many
visitors).
I remember reading the following
paragraph from "Quoc Van Giao Khoa Thu" (National Elementary Language
class) when I was a child: "A frequent traveler, after having visited many
countries was asked which place was most beautiful. He replied: Nowhere is more
beautiful than one's homeland.".
I am fortunate enough to have been
able to travel throughout Asia, America, Europe, Africa and Australia.
Everywhere I visited there were many attractive places. One surprising detail I
discovered is that the largest Catholic church in the world is found not in
Rome or anywhere in Europe as one would think but rather in Africa. When I considered
the magnificent sites I had seen around the world, I thought Vietnam could not
have comparable beauty.
A while back, I was still
questioning myself about my childhood reading. I agreed that in our homeland
have a certain warm relationship with our compatriots. We could speak our
mother tongue and taste our delicious authentic cuisines. But these things
might be invisible to foreigners. So for them, how beautiful is Vietnam?
This question bothered me for many
years. I tried to answer it whenever I had the time (since I was frequently
asked it by foreigners during my trips).
Today I would like to write this
article to officially record the results of my research into this question. I
have indeed found the answer to this tough question .
Welcome all. Together we are going
to discover the beauty of our homeland. Let us go back together in time, into
history... For thousands of years, ever since the birth of our nation, the
Vietnamese people have been exposed to various harsh experiences. Many, many
times our dreams of independence were taken away.
During a thousand years of Chinese
Rule we lived under oppression, injustice, severe control of the armed forces,
and the cultural influence of Great China which wanted to annex our country
into its territory. Through a series of heroic struggles, our ancestors
survived the threat of extermination and proved to the Chinese that their dream
of assimilation would only result in failure.
After Chinese Rule, we gained
independence, but there no end to our struggle after that. Our nation was
caught in a series of wars against the Northern Invader and we succeeded in
repelling all attempts at invasion.
Being Vietnamese we should never
forget our struggle against the Mongols during the Tran Dynasty. Let us
remember that the Mongols were the best warriors in the world at the time. The
Mongol Empire was also the largest conquered territory in the history of
mankind. It spanned from Asia to Europe and included China, Russia, part of
India, and the middle East. The Mongols also made forays into Eastern Europe,
Scandinavia and Prussia. When the famed Mongol army headed south to invade
Vietnam, it met the most terrific defeat of its history. In three attempts to
invade Vietnam, more than a million troops were crushed by the heroic
resistance of our ancestors under the talented command of our venerated Hung
Dao Dai Vuong, Tran Quoc Tuan who led the Vietnamese army at the time. After
these defeats, the Mongols had to abandon their dream of expanding southward.
Thanks to Vietnam, other South East Asian nations escaped the threat of
conquest by the Mongols. The efforts of our ancestors have contributed to the
well-being of not only Vietnamese citizens but also of all citizens in the
region. This achievement was paid for by the blood of our people who waged war
to defend our nation.
In the 20th century, besides the
two World Wars, the Vietnam War is considered one of the most devastating wars
since it resulted in 5 million deaths and causalities. The number of bombs used
in Vietnam was four times the number used in World War II. Many have viewed the
Vietnam War as an unnecessary bloody war which seriously wounded all who took
part in it both physically and psychologically.
In fact the Vietnam War had a
noble mission of its own. The twenty years of the Vietnam War effectively
stopped the expansion of the Red Empire - the Communist Empire. The war has
given the whole world an opportunity to recognize the inhumanity of many
communist regimes. During those 20 years, South Vietnam was a solid fortress
for other South East Asian nations so that they could boost their economic
development rapidly as they are doing today. People from both sides of Vietnam
have suffered and sacrificed their lives. Now is the time to stabilize and
develop this region.
For over two thousand years
Vietnam has had to fight to defend its interests as well as the interests of
all of South East Asia. We did not have the time to build neither luxurious
castles nor skyscrapers. There is no such beautiful architecture in our homeland.
Nonetheless, very inch of our nation, from Nam Quan to Ca Mau point is worth
its weight in gold and jade. Every single inch of our homeland is a tiny
historic monument in itself and the whole country deserves to be called the
"Land of Beauty".
Vietnam is a precious stone which
can never be shattered. Each struggle of this lovely land is like a polishing,
and after each polishing it becomes clearer and brighter. Presently, Vietnam is
far behind compared to its neighbors due to the Communist dictatorship which is
impeding the development potential of the Vietnamese people. But this is just a
superficial flaw. When the wave of democracy washes over Vietnam, it will
polish down all the flaws and the Vietnam Jade will become ten times brighter
and more refined..
Having rediscovered the beauty and
the value of our homeland, let us henceforth consider Vietnam as the "Land
of Hope and Prosperity".
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All comments [ 10 ]
VN will be an amazing place come when you know how to discover it.
The other places throughout the country arouse differents feelings and thoughts. More search for ppl's trip reports will further helps.
Viet nam is graet country. believe me.
Vietnam is still developing as a tourist destination so your expectations should reflect this. Thailand has a big headstart on Vietnam in the tourism race and is much more developed and westernized
interesting post freddy, must say i found it peculiar to say Golden Sun was noisy- Hang Hahn Street is one of the quietest in Old Quarter i would think....
agree with you about the Stop Cafe- we ate there every day either brekky, lunch or dinner- it was all good.
It is reported that there are about millions comments on Google which state that Da Nang is truly endurable and worth-visiting. These opinions compliment on the green environment, less pollution, and traffic restriction of Da Nang. It is added that local people here are living in a favorable conditions with attractive income and high living-standard.
Sixty nine years ago, in the autumn of 1945, the Vietnamese people, under the banner of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, staged the great August Revolution, shattering the chains of the colonialist and feudal regime, regaining national independence and founding the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, a State of the people and for the people
Over the past nearly 70 years, our people have overcome countless hardship and challenges to build and develop our country
in a world with strong globalization and mixture of complicated relations of both cooperation and fierce competition as well as struggle among different countries, politics, economies and cultures, the prosperity, existence and extinction of each country and nation is no longer a matter of that country or nation alone.
Viet Nam is independent! Viet Nam’s mountains and rivers are unified and integrated from Dong Van Plateau to Ca Mau cape, from imposing Truong Son mountain range to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes which brave winds and waves from the East Sea!
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