2025 is a year of many major anniversaries for the country.
On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established. Immediately after that, the young state had to enter a 9-year resistance war against French colonialism. Then, after the Geneva Agreement in July 1954, Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel, and the whole country entered a long march against American imperialism that lasted more than 20 years. During that time, although the Paris Agreement was signed in 1973, opening up opportunities for peace, it was not until April 30, 1975 that the war truly ended, opening the era of Peace - National Unification!
Fifty years have passed, more than twice as long as the time that the regrouped families spent "Northern days and Southern nights", the migrant families who could not forget "winter nostalgia"... My generation was born and grew up during the war and the subsidy period, and matured during the period when the country "opened up" and began to develop, so our deepest memory is the day "the country was reunited". That was the day so many people returned to their homeland, so many families reunited, so many smiles in those first days of peace. But there were also so many tears shed for those who would never return, for those who would leave for various reasons...
However, no matter how long war lasts, it is only an abnormal phenomenon that must and must end! A peaceful country is the first and most important condition for everyone to have a peaceful and normal life. The first years after unification, although difficulties piled up, people's hearts were in turmoil, a life of "peace and unity" was still the most meaningful to each person and to the whole country.
The musical "Legendary Train" opens the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City River Festival. Photo: Hoang Trieu
The reality of the Vietnam War has shown that a country at war will have a destabilizing impact on the whole world, a "small" war can leave long-term consequences not only for the "insiders". It can even create big changes on a global scale. Each country developing peacefully, not causing harm or invading other countries, countries respecting and cooperating with each other will create peace in the world.
Peace is a state of social harmony, humanity and no conflict. Peace is the thread that connects people and communities because humanity has stable conditions to invent, create, develop all aspects of material and spiritual life, enhance understanding of cultures and cooperation with all countries. Peace facilitates economic, social and human development on a regional and global scale.
The generation who have experienced the fierce war years truly feel deeply the meaning of the two words "peace" that have resounded since 1975. Peace is also the most important premise for the unification of the country, for the harmony and solidarity of the entire nation. A country that has experienced more than 200 years of history "inside and outside", nearly 100 years of being divided into 3 regions North - Central - South, more than 20 years of division between North and South... is even more aware of the need for unification "North and South reunion, what spring is happier than that" as in the poem "Spring 1969" by President Ho Chi Minh.
It can be said that the highest goal of our nation's wars against foreign invaders is to unify the country, peace goes hand in hand with unification to be truly complete! Unification is not only the integrity of territory and territorial waters, but most importantly, the consensus of more than a hundred million Vietnamese people at home and abroad, sharing the common goal of building a democratic, equitable society, a prosperous, happy people, a powerful country "standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers".
At noon on April 30, 1975, the entire capital Hanoi poured into the streets to join in the joy of "liberating the South" with the loud speaker singing the song "As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day". After May 1975, I left Hanoi for Saigon, following my mother's agency bus to take cadres to the South to take over. My family returned to my grandparents' house in Phu Nhuan and have lived there ever since.
Fifty years of peace, no matter how much the city has changed, the geo-cultural and geo-economic position of Ho Chi Minh City has not changed. From Nha Be, where the two great rivers Dong Nai - Saigon meet, is a "heaven-sent" location that was "chosen" by people to build Gia Dinh citadel and then Saigon city, creating typical characteristics and identities for the Southern region.
How is that position maintained today? Ho Chi Minh City is now the "central crossroads" of many important traffic routes: to the Central region, the North, to the East and Central Highlands, to the West - the Mekong Delta. From there, you can go deep into the mainland to many Asian countries and beyond... Not only in the road connection position, the riverine nature of a Southern urban area is also elevated to a higher level in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is a sea-oriented city, reflected in a modern port system that is among the top in Southeast Asia. Currently, along with the existing port system in the Southeast region, in the future, Can Gio transit port will be a new center of Southeast Asia. Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City continues to develop its openness, flexibility, innovation, and acceptance and development of new economic - cultural - scientific and technological achievements of the world.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has projects to develop both banks of the Saigon River, aiming at the highest goal of sustainable benefits for the community. The Saigon River can be considered a symbol of the flow of the city's history. It was once the place where the city was founded and built with symbols such as Ben Thanh Market, Bach Dang Wharf, Nguyen Hue, Ham Nghi, Dong Khoi, Le Duan streets... Further to the sea, the Saigon River also bears the evidence of the fierce "Rung Sac war zone" during the war. Or the "World Biosphere Reserve" is the mark of a time of hardship to replant mangrove forests, opening the way to the sea of the coastal district at that time.
"No one bathes twice in the same river", because every river refuses to be turned into a "stagnant pond". Clearing the Saigon River, Dong Nai River and canals in the city also clears the thinking, will and actions of "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City people" - people who do not let the past hold them back but dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility.
This city has always been a confluence of population, economic and cultural flows. In 2025 - 50 years of unification, and in just 20 years - 2045 - the country will have completed a century of democratic republic, Ho Chi Minh City must become a modern - civilized city, a symbol of peace - harmony. How I wish!
Ho Chi Minh City is a place where the realities that require the whole country to "reform" are concentrated. It is also a place where "good land attracts birds", residents from all over the country come here to contribute to the change of this city.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/uoc-mong-cua-mot-the-he-196250121135103387.htm
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