The "tall trees" of journalism

The three journalists I met were all past the "rare" age threshold, but still intelligent and concerned with their profession.

Journalist Pham Van Tri, residing in Ward 8, Ca Mau City. People remember and call him Uncle Bay Minh, former Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association of Ca Mau Province. This year, Journalist Pham Van Tri is over 80 years old. In his youth, he worked in the education sector in his hometown (Cai Nuoc District), then became a journalist. Memories of wartime are still imprinted in him through many written pages. “I remember so many times crossing rivers and forests, we shared hardships with guerrillas, soldiers and people fighting against the enemy. A life of integrity and love during wartime helped me accumulate a lot of life experience to share through many articles, as well as to become a management officer later on,” Mr. Bay Minh confided.

The memoir “The Season of the Windy Season” and the poetry collection “Homeland - The Road of Dawn” are two of his brainchildren, preserving many memories of the resistance war, as well as gifts of gratitude to life, his homeland, colleagues and readers.

From left to right: Journalist Pham Van Tri, former Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association of Ca Mau province; Journalist Truong Thanh Nha, former Editor-in-Chief of Kien Giang Newspaper; Journalist Ngo Thanh Phong, former Editor-in-Chief of An Giang Newspaper, review Ca Mau Giai Phong newspapers published nearly 50 years ago, on the occasion of the meeting of former Editors-in-Chief of Mekong Delta newspapers in 2022. Photo: MINH TAN

Journalist Pham Van Tri has been out of work for a long time, but he is still “addicted” to reading newspapers and listening to the radio. Therefore, he closely follows all current news in the province, the country and even internationally.

Many readers have read more than once the articles and stories of author Nguyen Minh or Minh Nguyen. That is the pen name of Journalist Nguyen Minh Noi, currently residing in Cai Nuoc town, Cai Nuoc district. Born in the homeland of coconut (Ben Tre), but working and attached to Ca Mau for many years, Journalist Nguyen Minh wrote many articles about Ca Mau; then collected, edited and printed into books. Of the three published books, he is most satisfied with his brainchild called "Homeland in the days of war", reflecting, recording, and summarizing the land and people of Ca Mau during the war. With 30 articles, the book recreates the canals, ferry terminals and the honest, passionately patriotic Ca Mau people, determined to preserve every inch of their homeland.

This year, Journalist Nguyen Minh Noi is 73 years old, his body is suffering from a serious illness, but he still writes diligently every day. The results of his labor are admirable, he has published three books, each with about 30 articles, most of which are notes and memoirs about a time gone by. Just reading the titles of the books "Remember", "My Village in the Old Years", "Missing a Teacher" can make you feel that his soul is always nostalgic and cherishes the past days. A colleague wrote that he is a "journalist who lives on memories". Talking about the work he is doing and will do, he confided: "I just hope I have enough health to complete two books and a book of poetry".

Photo: HO TRUC DIEP

At Hamlet 3, Ward 5, Ca Mau City, Journalist Nguyen Huu Hiep welcomed me like a long-lost relative. With the pen name Nguyen Hiep, he has devoted more than half of his life to the profession, writing many articles that touched the hearts of readers. This year, Journalist Nguyen Hiep is 86 years old. Although his health has declined significantly, he is still lucid. Born on the banks of the Trem River (Thoi Binh), Journalist Nguyen Hiep lost his parents when he was young. Before he was a full moon, he worked as a liaison, then joined the resistance. In his twenties, Journalist Nguyen Hiep started writing for newspapers, and his first agency was the U Minh Anh Dung newspaper (under the Ca Mau Provincial Military Command); then the Ca Mau newspaper. Since his retirement (in 1984) until now, Journalist Nguyen Hiep has actively contributed to the newspapers: Ca Mau, People's Army and Vietnam Veterans.

During those years, Journalist Nguyen Hiep's journalistic products had many photos. In his "store" of memories of hunting for photos, Journalist Nguyen Hiep proudly said: "In 1982, I went to Bai Can (Ca Mau Cape), and accidentally "captured" a series of photos of the "sugarcane" festival - a product that now seems to be extinct in the Ca Mau sea area". Holding black and white photos, recording the image of nets being set up to catch "sugarcane" on the beach, drying "sugarcane" bladders in front of his house, Journalist Nguyen Hiep's eyes sparkled. Perhaps memories of his profession were rising in him. In addition to taking photos and writing articles, Journalist Nguyen Hiep also created many wartime sketches about the life and activities of soldiers, people and military doctors in the swamps and seas. Despite being seriously ill for many years, Journalist Nguyen Hiep still persevered in writing for the newspaper. Only from the Lunar New Year of Quy Mao 2023 until now, he has put down his pen to recuperate.

Journalist Nguyen Hiep with his "treasure" that has been cherished and preserved over many years. Photo: TRAM NGHI

In addition to the published wartime films, books and sketchbooks, the assets that Journalist Nguyen Hiep cherishes and preserves like treasures are the medals, commemorative medals and certificates of merit awarded by the industry and agencies. Among them, the “Excellent Resistance Journalist” Medal, awarded by the Vietnam Journalists Association, is placed in a prominent position in his house.

Saying goodbye to the three senior journalists, I silently wished them good health and peace so that every year on the “Ancestors’ Day”, we would have the opportunity to meet again. Saying goodbye to the journalists, I also carried with me the trust and expectations that they had entrusted to me: In every period, Ca Mau has had good and passionate male and female journalists. Currently, there are quite a lot of retired senior journalists, everyone hopes that the Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department will organize a meeting so that we can meet and chat./.

Quynh Mai

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