People expressed their deep condolences to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the moment of farewell. (Photo: THANH TRA)
Since the afternoon of July 25, thousands of people in Hanoi have been lining up to pay their respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The orderly lines of people line up on five roads leading to the Funeral Home. They come from all over the country, with the wish to bow and bid farewell to the respected leader for the last time. As the silent crowd slowly moves into the Funeral Home, we feel the sadness rising on the faces, the red eyes...
Many young people held the General Secretary's portrait in their hands, respectfully looking towards the General Secretary's coffin. Nguyen Huong Giang, a student at the Banking Academy, registered to visit after a day of serving at the outer perimeter of the Funeral Home, and emotionally shared with us her respect for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for what he had done for the country and the people.
In the quiet line of people waiting to pay their respects to the General Secretary, we met an acquaintance. He was Nguyen Van Trung, 75 years old, former Chief of Office of Mai Dong Mechanical Factory (now Mai Dong Joint Stock Company), a member of the Hanoi self-defense team that shot down an F111 over the Red River on December 22, 1972.
Mai Dong Mechanical Factory was honored to welcome General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to visit many times, during the period when he held the position of Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Mr. Trung emotionally recalled the time he came to congratulate Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong on his birthday, when he was just holding the position of Chairman of the National Assembly.
Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong still remembered everyone's name, calling everyone "boys" and addressing himself as "brother" very affectionately. That day, the delegation from Mai Dong Mechanical Factory presented Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong with an embroidered portrait of himself.
Respectfully receiving the painting, the comrade recounted many memories associated with Hanoi and the Mai Dong Mechanical Factory - one of the heroic units of the capital during the years of resistance against the US to save the country. Mr. Trung's voice dropped: "I was very moved when watching videos on the internet, people across the country expressing their feelings for comrade Nguyen Phu Trong.
Many people have never met the General Secretary, but they all admire the leader who has devoted his whole life to the Party and the people. I have met him many times, so I understand that his feelings come from the bottom of my heart." Although he has been in poor health recently and has difficulty traveling, Mr. Trung was still determined to come and say goodbye to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for the last time.
The people's feelings for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are very special. Among the people who came to pay their respects to the General Secretary, many had never met him before, but did not mind the long distance, hoping to bid farewell to the leader they respected.
Mr. Thach Trung Kien in Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province, immediately after hearing that the Funeral Organizing Committee would create conditions for people to visit the General Secretary, he took the night bus to Hanoi, waiting from early morning until late afternoon to visit the General Secretary.
Many people like him, regardless of distance, waited, including Mr. Tran Van Cam, 70 years old, in district Y Yen, Nam Dinh province. Mr. Cam shared that the Party's fight against corruption and negativity initiated and led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has brought about positive changes in the locality.
With a sincere heart, he wanted to come to this place, light an incense stick to express his infinite condolences and gratitude for the General Secretary's contributions to the country, the Party and the people.
Sharing with us, the women, who are small traders from Duong Noi ward, Ha Dong district, Hanoi city, said that they stopped their family work to stand in front of the National Funeral Home waiting to pay their respects.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau shared that although they only do small business every day, they are very concerned about the social situation. She said that over the past 10 years, the country's socio-economic situation has had many outstanding achievements. The material and spiritual life of the people has improved day by day.
She said: "Buddha taught that people must know the "four graces", in which the grace of the country and the grace of compatriots must be repaid and remembered." In recent times, along with the development trend of the whole country, the people of Duong Noi, although not yet rich, are always happy.
The people are grateful to the Party and State for leading the whole nation forward, and for giving the people a prosperous and fulfilling life. The people's grief for the leader of the Party is proof of the gratitude that the people send to our Party and State.
Since early morning on July 26, people have continued to flock to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's hometown in Lai Da village, Dong Hoi commune, Dong Anh district (Hanoi) to burn incense and pay their respects to the General Secretary's spirit.
Not only from districts of Hanoi, many people from other provinces and cities, even abroad, also came to bid farewell to the virtuous and talented leader of the people and the country.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Vinh (91 years old), who taught General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in grade 10 at Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, is currently residing in Germany. After hearing the news of the General Secretary's passing, despite his advanced age, he was eager and supported by his children and grandchildren to return home, in time to go to Lai Da village to burn incense in memory of and send the General Secretary off to his final resting place.
Mr. Ngo Huu Nghia is from Van Ha commune, Dong Anh district, and is living and working in Ho Chi Minh City. As soon as he heard the news of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's passing, he returned to his hometown and went to Lai Da village to pay his respects to the General Secretary. "I am extremely saddened and regretful about the passing of Uncle Nguyen Phu Trong. We, the people of Dong Anh in particular, and the whole country in general, have special feelings for him. The General Secretary's passing leaves behind much regret for the nation, for the country, for the people," Mr. Nghia sadly shared.
From Nam Sach district (Hai Duong province), Mr. Le Van Tung and his relatives arrived at Dong Hoi commune at 5:00 a.m. Although he had to wait in line, he did not feel tired or annoyed.
Thousands of people also patiently lined up in an orderly manner to offer incense to pay their respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and to leave touching words expressing their respect and condolences to the General Secretary.
In the emotional moment, tears kept falling, expressing infinite grief for the nation's outstanding son, the leader who devoted his whole life to the revolutionary cause, to the country and the people.
According to the representative of Dong Anh district leaders, during the two days of the State funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, 1,588 delegations and 56,600 people came to pay their respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Lai Da village, Dong Hoi commune. The people's affection for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a valuable recognition of the General Secretary's contributions to the country and the people.
Due to the large number of people coming to pay their respects to the General Secretary, the Organizing Committee arranged a parking area quite far from the Lai Da Village Cultural House to avoid traffic jams, and also arranged a shuttle bus system. However, most people chose to walk to pay their respects to the outstanding leader of the country and the people.
Ms. Ngo Thi Thuan's house, opposite the cultural house where the memorial service for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is held, is always open to welcome everyone to stop by and rest. Thoughtfully offering drinks, Ms. Thuan emotionally said: "We consider this a common task for the whole country, not just our own. Everyone wants to express the feelings of the people of Uncle Nguyen Phu Trong's hometown."
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra, also a resident of Lai Da village, walked along the kilometer-long village road to invite the delegation to visit: “People coming here and showing affection for the General Secretary makes us very touched and grateful. Everyone is working hard, we don’t know what to do to support and repay them.”
At nearly 10 p.m. on July 25, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chang, 73 years old, from Trang Bang district, Tay Ninh province, and her younger sister sat waiting at the exit of the Reunification Hall, Ho Chi Minh City. Her group was one of the last to pay their respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the Reunification Hall.
Ms. Chang said that although she has arthritis and has difficulty walking, she still tries to join everyone to burn incense to say goodbye to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader who left in their hearts an inconsolable regret for a great personality, devoted to the country and the people.
She appreciates the General Secretary's simplicity and integrity and hopes that young people in the future will follow his example to live better and build a stronger country.
During the two days of the funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Ho Chi Minh City, many people from all over the provinces and cities did not mind the long distance and the rain to be able to pay their respects to the General Secretary.
During the morning visit on July 26, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet (66 years old, living in Ben Cat city, Binh Duong province) woke up at 3 am to catch the bus to the city. She held in her arms a portrait of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and a few lines of poetry she composed herself: "For the people and the country, completely / Remembering Uncle's merits, forever engraved in my heart" - Ms. Tuyet was moved when reading her two lines of poetry.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trinh (living in Tan Phu district), a veteran, arrived here very early. He waited for his comrades in the Ho Chi Minh City Resistance Traditions Club. Although the ceremony to pay respect to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong did not begin until 7am, many people were already present in front of the waiting area before dawn.
As a native of Hanoi, who came to Ho Chi Minh City to start a business in 2002, Nguyen Phu Huynh (living in Hoc Mon district) was heartbroken when he heard the news of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's passing. He brought with him a portrait of the General Secretary, which he made himself from mother-of-pearl, meticulously and delicately carved over the course of more than 2 months.
Mr. Huynh shared: “Based on my love and admiration for a dedicated, simple, and approachable leader, I spent a lot of time and effort to create this work. And today, with all my respect, I want to say goodbye to him for the last time.” Chief Coordinator Huong Phuong, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Cao Dai Minh Chon Dao Church (in Ca Mau) and a number of representatives of the Church departed for Ho Chi Minh City at 11:00 p.m. on July 24 to be in time for the funeral on the morning of July 26 at Thong Nhat Hall.
The delegation wanted to burn incense to bid farewell to the respected General Secretary, who always devoted himself to the people and devoted himself to the nation until his last moment. Together with the Party Central Committee, under the leadership of the General Secretary, the State and Government have made decisions to develop the country's economy, care for the people's lives to become more prosperous and happy, and religions are allowed to express their beliefs in accordance with regulations, Chief Patriarch Huong Phuong expressed.
On the afternoon of July 26, after the memorial service for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Funeral Home, No. 5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi, the motorcade brought the General Secretary's coffin to its final resting place amid the emotion and tears that filled the eyes of many people.
During the entire journey from the National Funeral Home to Mai Dich Cemetery, people stood on both sides of the road in the sweltering heat of the northern summer. Their eyes lingered as the flag-draped hearse carrying the General Secretary's coffin moved farther and farther away. Among the crowd was Lieutenant Colonel and veteran Tran Tuan Phuong, 75 years old, who followed the hearse to bid farewell to the respected leader.
Tears rolled down his cheeks, his voice choked: “At this moment, I suddenly remembered what General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said not long ago, that he really liked the sentence of writer Nguyen Dinh Thi about President Ho Chi Minh, on this shirt there is not a single medal, but under this thin shirt there is a heart. Farewell, comrade!”.
On the routes the convoy passed, we witnessed touching images and moments that expressed the people’s feelings for those traveling far away. There were “xe om” drivers willing to transport people for free to the route the convoy would pass; old people willing to share free bottles of cool water; young people who were always cleaning up and tidying up the things left by the crowd. Humanity seemed to be more connected on a day when tears fell together…
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