Quang Tri, deeply imbued with the word peace

Peace, that aspiration is deeply rooted in the land of Quang Tri, bearing many traces of dedication and pain that are not easy to describe. That is not another mysterious world that we have in the consciousness of millions of people who have gone through or fortunately have not known war. Because, behind the tragic traces of the past, we clearly recognize the alarm bells of violence and invasion, of division and separation, of opposition and hatred, to further fuel the desire to preserve peace as well as to preserve the most beautiful value of life.

The shimmering Thach Han River - Photo: NK

The Vietnamese sea seems more immense and more abundant when Nguyen Tai Tue's Xa Khoi was published. Oh, the immense waves push our boat far from shore. The echoes of the oar's call and rhythm we await. The boat goes far out to sea, the oar's rhythm connects. The path of the sea, the oars share the same path from both regions...

There is a girl from Mai Xa village (Gio Mai, Gio Linh) who sings this song very well, her name is Tan Nhan. Her soprano voice is clear and passionate. The song seems to have been made for her. Singing in the days when the country was still at war, Ben Hai became a border river. Knowing that, The sky is still the same blue color of Quang Tri/The clouds and mountains at the horizon are not divided as poet Te Hanh confided in his poem, but still heartbroken, sad, worried. Far away like a message of peace that was raised half a century ago.

The sorrow of “Northern days and Southern nights” is now only a memory of the nation, but when mentioned, many people still feel nostalgic. The sadness is profound and the desire is immense. Far away, is not just a love song but a prayer for peace with lasting vitality. Starting from Quang Tri. Why do I say that, although musician Nguyen Tai Tue started writing Far away in Hoa Binh. Because, the idea of ​​writing a song with the scope of the vast ocean but deep inside it is still the love for the homeland, the love for life from his field trip to Vinh Linh, Quang Tri in 1958.

The river has healed. Still so throbbing. I remember, my mother brought me the bridge at the 17th parallel with its sad lyrics and melody. Like a lullaby, a folk song across the sun and wind of the Central region. I heard the song Cau ho ben bo Hien Luong by Hoang Hiep before I was in first grade. Ho o... even though the river separates the wharf. How can I stop the fate between you and her? Part the clouds to let the golden moon shine.

Opening the river to connect the wharf for her to return to him. At that time, I did not understand the meaning of the song, nor did I feel the pain of “the wharf is separated by the river”, but I seemed to be saddened by my mother’s song from the creaking hammock swinging in the thatched house by the sea.

Like Xa Khoi, Cau Ho Ben Bo Hien Luong contributed beautiful melodies to my life's luggage. I realize more and more that, there is no other way to say it, the desire for peace and reunion does not belong to anyone, nor to any warring party. It is the peaceful melody of the nation that has arisen from here, this beloved and sorrowful land of Quang Tri.

War relics (Bo De School wall, Quang Tri town - Photo: NK

The grass is also in spring. As if trying to mend the cracks, the brokenness, the desolation, the melting in the hottest summer. The grass is wet with dew as I walk in the night of Quang Tri Citadel. The fragrant scent is near and far and faintly there are murmurs somewhere. How many youths are still lying under the green silk. Each youth is a life that has been happy and sad, happy and miserable, pessimistic, hopeful. Now they are yesterday, the part we are remembering. Silently drifting under the grass, "The silent soldiers melt into the ground, the life continues to flow in the rivers".

Those two lines of my poem were used by musician Vo The Hung as the theme for his famous song “The River of Fire and Flowers”. Where the war was once the most fierce, the revival was extremely strong. Quang Tri town is a testament to the vitality of Vietnam after the war. Hatred will destroy and burn everything. Only peace and harmony can create a new peaceful life full of love and sharing. That message, echoing from this land - Quang Tri, is very vivid and very convincing of that great revival. Life is happening extremely beautifully under the wings of peace.

I am still surprised to know that Quang Tri, a small land, small population, average economy in Vietnam, harsh climate, frequent natural disasters, is the place with more martyrs' cemeteries than anywhere else in our country. Seventy-two martyrs' cemeteries, including two nationally ranked addresses: Truong Son and Road 9 cemeteries.

No one expects or is proud of that. But history is history, and every piece of land has its share of responsibility. Quang Tri once bore the fierce and painful burden of a twenty-one-year war because of its “frontline” position. Both our side and the enemy were aware of the importance of this narrow piece of land, which was scorching hot because of the evil Foehn wind season and the persistent and irritable wetness of the rainy season because it was the junction between two regimes.

The confrontation ended fifty years ago, the peaceful country has been reunited, but Quang Tri has also become a war museum containing all the contrasting nuances, levels, objects and intangibles. Pride and pain. Achievements and consequences. The visible, the invisible. There is something hidden deep in every drop of red blood cell, whether soldiers or civilians.

In water sources and soil veins, there are still traces of war. In the most ordinary things of life, there are also the unusual. Therefore, there is no other way but to take love and tolerance as the foundation of life.

But to have it, first of all, we must know how to preserve peace, preserve the most beautiful human values ​​of mankind, of each nation. A nation, a homeland that has suffered much pain from war cannot help but love peace.

Organizing a memorial ceremony and releasing flowers on the Thach Han River - Photo: NK

Peace, I hear that call from thousands of war graves, right where I live and write. In the touching harmony of two worlds, half spiritual, half real life, we clearly hear the common stream flickering with the light of peace.

From Truong Son, Road 9, Ancient Citadel, Hien Luong-Ben Hai banks, Vinh Moc tunnel, Vinh Quang tunnel, Tan So citadel, Lao Bao prison, Lang Vay village... Everywhere is imbued with the word peace. Peace is the most worthy symbol of Quang Tri land. This land of many sorrows deserves to represent the Vietnamese people to speak about peace in the most honest and passionate way.

As expressed by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri Province, Vo Van Hung, in response to the Vietnam Writers' Association of Quang Tri Province in the book "Aspiration for Peace" No. 1: "Humans are living in a world of light and darkness intertwined. There are many hopes but also many worries. On this "green planet" called Earth, although humans have entered the third decade of the 21st century, every day, every hour we still have to witness many sorrows, losses and immeasurable immediate and long-term socio-economic consequences due to wars, ethnic and territorial conflicts... Humanity has experienced many devastating wars, more than anyone else, peace-loving people understand the pain and consequences of them, from which they love and cherish independence, freedom and peace even more. For Vietnam in general and Quang Tri province in particular, it can be affirmed that there is no greater, more passionate aspiration than the aspiration for peace. Because Vietnam and Quang Tri have suffered very heavy consequences from brutal wars. In the wars to liberate the country to regain independence, freedom, peace for the nation and unify the country, there were tens of thousands of martyrs, tens of thousands of wounded and sick soldiers. The more proud we are of the miraculous feats, the more heartbroken we are with the incalculable loss of the nation. Therefore, the love of peace and the determination to preserve peace are always burning in every Vietnamese person in general and Quang Tri in particular.

Yes, that’s right, Quang Tri will forever be steeped in the word peace! I hope that, in addition to the “For Peace” festival held every two years to meet peace lovers in the country and around the world, Quang Tri will build a Peace Park (possibly in Quang Tri town or on the banks of Hien Luong-Ben Hai). In that park, there will be a simple and beautiful Peace statue like the noble aspiration of the Vietnamese people and humanity.

Essays by Nguyen Huu Quy

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/quang-tri-dam-sau-hai-tieng-hoa-binh-185789.htm