Engineer Team No. 2 prepares to celebrate the traditional New Year in Abyei

According to information from the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department (Ministry of National Defense), in order to create a joyful and exciting atmosphere for all officers and employees of the Vietnam Engineering Team on the occasion of preparing to welcome the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024, Vietnam's Engineering Team No. 2 has organized many meaningful and practical activities, thereby contributing to building a spirit of solidarity among United Nations peacekeeping units at the UNISFA mission as well as the people of the Abyei region.

Vietnamese peacekeeping forces depart from Noi Bai International Airport (Hanoi) to carry out the UN mission at the UNISFA Mission. Photo (file): An Dang/VNA

Major Nguyen Mau Vu, Political Commissar of the Engineer Team, said that from the very first days of arriving at the UNISFA mission, the Party Committee and the Team commander had determined a plan to organize activities on the occasion of holidays and Tet, in which celebrating the traditional Lunar New Year of the nation was one of the key contents to create a warm and joyful atmosphere for all officers and employees in the Team. In particular, starting from 2024, Lunar New Year has been recognized by the United Nations as an official holiday, this is a very meaningful mark for us, the blue beret soldiers, the force that often celebrates Tet away from the Fatherland. Therefore, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2024, the 2nd Engineer Team has developed a specific and detailed plan for each activity such as the Chung cake wrapping contest, the Spring room decoration contest of the squads, the tree planting, the organization of folk games, the cooking contest, etc. These are extremely meaningful activities during the New Year, contributing to helping the blue beret soldiers of the Engineer Team welcome the New Year more fully with their comrades and colleagues far from the Fatherland when performing their duties at the mission, where there are no families and relatives. "We have finished decorating the spring room, preparing peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, bonsai, making Chung cakes, practicing art performances, ready to welcome a happy, united, and warm New Year with the international friends we invite to attend this Tet holiday. "While preparing for Tet, the entire team did not neglect the task of organizing and practicing security and safety measures for the base in the context of the complex and unpredictable changes in the Abyei area," Major Nguyen Mau Vu shared. Due to cultural differences, as well as the lack of raw materials to wrap banh chung and make decorative items, the Command of the Vietnam Engineering Team directed officers and employees on leave in Vietnam to purchase essential supplies to prepare for Tet such as decorations, candies, dong leaves, sticky rice, etc. Immediately after the items were delivered to the base of the Vietnam Engineering Team, the Command of the Team organized a banh chung wrapping competition between the teams. The square banh chung were wrapped very quickly by the engineer soldiers who were only used to driving bulldozers and excavators every day, with an average time of less than 3 minutes per cake. While waiting for Tet decorations to be shipped from Vietnam, the Engineering Team used reusable materials to decorate the living rooms and common rooms of the units. Branches of African forest trees were used by Vietnamese soldiers, “transformed” into peach and apricot trees for Tet.

Along with that, the Engineering Team also organized a volleyball exchange with the local people of Abyei and invited some Nigerian soldiers to act as referees. After the match, the Team gave the people some gifts and invited them to enjoy traditional Vietnamese dishes. This is a meaningful activity, encouraging the spirit of the Vietnamese blue beret soldiers after a period of working far from their families and the Fatherland, while contributing to promoting Vietnamese culture and people. At the same time, the officers and staff of the entire Team completed the consolidation, installation of the stage, and Tet decorations at the flag-raising yard of the Command Headquarters to organize cultural and artistic activities as well as folk games such as tug of war, blindfolded goat catching, water balloon hitting, stick pushing, etc. "On the occasion of the coming of Tet, Spring, on behalf of the officers and staff of the Vietnam Engineering Team for Peacekeeping, I would like to send my best wishes to our compatriots across the country and overseas Vietnamese for a new year filled with health, joy, happiness and luck. “Happy New Year!”, Major Nguyen Mau Vu shared.

VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper

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