After more than a year of working in an unstable and dangerous land, Captain Vu Nhat Huong's biggest difficulty was the loss of his country. "From the beginning, we determined that when we accepted the mission and set out to do it, we would not be afraid of difficulties."
Representing Vietnam, Captain Vu Nhat Huong participates in the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic for the 2021-2022 term.
In an interview with Nhan Dan Newspaper, Captain Vu Nhat Huong could not hold back her tears when mentioning the words “Central Africa”. Her voice trembled slightly: “The 379 days working in the Central African Republic were every memorable day of my life.”
PV: Up to now, how long has it been since the Captain finished his special assignment in the Central African Republic?
Captain Vu Nhat Huong: Today marks 2 months since I returned from the Central African Republic.
On December 4, 2021, I left for Africa to take up my assignment. Until now, every time I mention the Central African Republic, I still have an indescribable feeling: excitement, nostalgia, and a little regret.
379 days working in Central Africa were every memorable day of my life! The best 379 days in 5 years of military service! This trip left me with a lot of experiences.
I still remember: Children walking barefoot, people carrying everything on their heads and bags of water balloons were the first images I saw when I set foot in the Central African Republic.
Instead of selling or drinking water in bottles like in Vietnam, Central Africans sell drinking water in white plastic bags. The sellers stand on the street. The drinkers also stand on the street. They drink water directly from a plastic bag. The Central African Republic is not only lacking drinking water but also lacking domestic water.
The main roads in Central Africa are still dirt roads. The red dust is so thick that I can't see the car in front of me when I'm behind.
Life in Central Africa was completely overwhelming. It was like stepping into a documentary from the 80s.
PV: So is life in this "documentary from the 80s" difficult for an officer from the 20th century?
Captain Vu Nhat Huong: The most terrible thing is probably having the water cut off.
On normal days, we can still have water cut off but only from 7am to 7pm. But when the weather is extreme, the water is cut off for a whole week! Can you imagine? If you don’t have water for a day, you’re already miserable, but in Central Africa, you can be without water for a whole week. And the weather is always at 40 degrees Celsius.
During a week of water shortage, we only had 1 20l can of water to use: to brush our teeth, wash our face, shower, and do laundry.
I still remember clearly the night the water came back. It was 3am. The water came slowly, a trickle, not a torrent. I had to wait and collect water from midnight until morning to get 2 full basins of water. I was so happy! The first thing I did was wash my hair.
The same goes for people's lives. If it rains, you run inside, right? But people in Central Africa run outside to catch the rain, to catch the rainwater.
But that joy only lasted for the first few days. Because the rainy season came, which meant floods. The rain eroded everything, even the roofs of people's houses.
The rains were longed for but did not entirely please the people.
PV: After more than a year working in an unstable and dangerous land, is your only difficulty the loss of your country?
Captain Vu Nhat Huong: When I came to the Central African Republic, I wanted to bring the image of a strong, resilient Vietnamese woman.
From the beginning we determined, accepted the mission, set out to do the mission without fear of difficulties.
Some say the battlefield is not a place for women. But when women come, what happens? We can do everything men can do. Complete tasks that people don’t think “women” can do. Know our value and truly bring value to the organization.
When my colleague and I finished our term and were preparing to leave the mission, the Chief of Staff told us:
- It would be nice if there was a photocopier here.
I want to take a photo of you - the female officers of Vietnam.
You have brought a light, comfortable and somewhat more emotional working spirit. You have connected many things together: Connecting people to people. Connecting work to work.
I say this without knowing if you believe it or not. But what scares me the most is not the danger or the pressure of work, but time. I am afraid that time will pass so quickly that I will not have time to feel the end of my one-year term.
And it happened.
PV: I was deeply impressed when the Vietnamese delegation organized the Mid-Autumn Festival for orphans in Central Africa, especially the image of you wearing ao ba ba hugging the children. What does it feel like to hold an African child in your arms?
Captain Vu Nhat Huong: Great! I am Asian, you are African. It was strange for you to see us. Then you came closer and talked to us with very simple sentences.
This is a children's village that takes in children abandoned after conflict.
To bring Vietnam closer to the children, the Vietnamese delegation and I organized the Mid-Autumn Festival for the children. We wanted to let them know how children are treated in Asia and in Vietnam, and how they receive love.
We hope that what Vietnamese children enjoy, Central African children will also enjoy. The tray also has food, moon lanterns and lion heads (which we made ourselves). The children's eyes look at the colorful star lanterns with strange and curious eyes.
The children innocently asked:
- What is Cuoi? Who is Hang?
With all our cultural knowledge, we explain to the children about the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival legends.
The image of the children holding star lanterns is very interesting. Because it is an African child, not a Vietnamese child.
Born in the city, my Mid-Autumn Festival was just about having a feast at home, at school and watching TV. But when I came to Central Africa, I had experiences that I had never had before: Carrying lanterns and singing Mid-Autumn songs from a place far away from my homeland. That feeling was very different! Through a Mid-Autumn Festival in a strange country, I seemed to understand my own culture better.
At the end of the party, the Director of the Children's Village whispered to me:
- Besides Mid-Autumn Festival, do you have any other holidays?
And the children started learning the sentence: "I thank you" in Vietnamese.
PV: Having experienced the hardships and deprivation in Africa in the Central African Republic. What do you think about life?
Captain Vu Nhat Huong: Only by going to places with much political instability and many difficulties can one understand the value of the word peace.
I grew up in a well-off family, if I didn’t eat a meal, my mother would worry: “Why haven’t you eaten yet?”. Yet people in Central Africa can go without food for days, without water for days. They are so tired of facing the harshness of life, with their own safety. Therefore, eating and drinking becomes a luxury.
2,000 VND in Vietnam can hardly buy a piece of candy. But that is the amount of money that Central African parents wish they had to send their children to school.
At that time, I thought about the value of peace and my job responsibilities. I must work hard to find the best solution for the mission. Only when the mission develops, will the people's lives be stable.
Like the self-comment of each Vietnamese officer at the end of his term: Wishing the people of the mission to live in peace.
I want Central African children to go to school, I want women to have a position. I want Central Africa to be free of conflict, free of guns.
I want children to stop walking barefoot.
- Production organization: Viet Anh
- Performed by: Thi Uyen
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