Uncle Ho in the eyes of foreign journalists

Uncle Ho planted a banyan tree next to the grave of leader Mahatma Gandhi (India). Photo: Archive

Uncle Ho in the eyes of a Soviet journalist

In June 1923, President Ho Chi Minh set foot in the country of Lenin for the first time. In October 1923, as a representative of the French Communist Party, he attended the First Congress of the Peasants' International organized by the Communist International in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. At the congress, he was elected to the Presidium of the Peasants' International, consisting of 11 members.

After this event, reporter Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) of the magazine “Little Fire” (Ogoniok) was assigned by the editorial board to interview President Ho Chi Minh. The result of this interview was the article “Visiting a Communist International soldier - Nguyen Ai Quoc” published in the magazine “Little Fire” No. 39, released on December 23, 1923.⁽¹⁾.

The magazine “Little Flame” was founded in 1923 in the Soviet Union and is headquartered in Moscow. This weekly magazine specializes in publishing articles about unique characters or characters that are of public interest. In addition to being a journalist, reporter Osip Mandelstam is also a famous writer and poet of the Soviet Union.

The article “Visiting a Communist International soldier - Nguyen Ai Quoc” was published in the magazine “Small Flame” No. 39, published on December 23, 1923. Photo: Historical documents

Reporter Osip Mandelstam of the magazine “Small Flame” was very impressed with President Ho Chi Minh. He distilled those feelings and put them into the article: “Nguyen Ai Quoc is currently the only Annamese in Moscow… He is a thin, agile young man, wearing a knitted sweater… Nguyen Ai Quoc… is radiating something very polite and delicate. From Nguyen Ai Quoc radiates a culture, not European culture, but perhaps a culture of the future… Through the noble demeanor, in the warm voice of Nguyen Ai Quoc, we seem to hear tomorrow, as if seeing the immense silence of world friendship”.

Ho Chi Minh Square and Monument in Moscow, Russia is located at the intersection of Dmitri Ulianov Street and "Sixty Years of the October Revolution" Street.

"From Nguyen Ai Quoc radiated a culture, not European culture, but perhaps a culture of the future... Through the noble demeanor, in the warm voice of Nguyen Ai Quoc, we seem to hear tomorrow, to see the immense silence of world friendship."

Uncle Ho in the eyes of the French press

Right after Vietnam gained independence, the weekly newspaper “Day Paris” published on June 18, 1946 published an article about President Ho Chi Minh’s simplicity. “The extreme simplicity of his life,” the article wrote, was his most obvious virtue. The article cited many examples to prove that statement. For example, President Ho Chi Minh wore only one khaki suit all year round and refused to change into formal clothes because, according to him, many Vietnamese people still lacked clothes in the cold. On normal days, when President Ho Chi Minh had dinner at the Northern Palace, he sat with everyone, from the ministers to the servants.

Thanks to his simplicity, meals were always intimate and joyful, giving the meal a family atmosphere. President Ho Chi Minh's simplicity was also expressed in his speeches and articles. He never appeared to be wise. On the contrary, he only used simple sentences, so that even a rustic and simple person could understand them immediately.

Talking about his feelings for President Ho Chi Minh, French historian Alain Ruscio shared: “This is not like worshiping an unapproachable God or saint. My respect and admiration for Uncle Ho is like that of a child for a beloved father when witnessing his life and career, from which he became my source of inspiration”. Mr. Alain Ruscio is also a former reporter for the newspaper “L'Humanité” (Humanity) of the French Communist Party.

Uncle Ho in the eyes of Indian press

The story of “Uncle Ho’s sandals” which speaks of President Ho Chi Minh’s simplicity was published in newspapers in India and other countries when he visited this country in February 1958.

Upon arriving in New Delhi, President Ho Chi Minh visited the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial - the great leader of India. As soon as he took off his sandals to enter the Memorial, hundreds of Indian and foreign journalists bent down to touch the sandal straps, taking turns taking pictures from many angles, and recording his sandals. They were impressed by his simplicity when they learned that "Uncle Ho's sandals" were made from the tires of a French military car that was ambushed by our troops in Viet Bac in 1947.

They were even more impressed when they learned that when marching, visiting people and receiving domestic or international guests, President Ho Chi Minh often wore those sandals.

President Ho Chi Minh witnessed the signing of the Joint Declaration between North Korea and Vietnam by Prime Minister Kim Il Sung and Prime Minister Pham Van Dong in December 1958. “Uncle Ho’s sandals” and khaki pants were worn by him. Historical photo

Uncle Ho in the eyes of two Japanese journalists

In an article published in the Akahata newspaper (the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Japan) on September 5, 1969, two journalists Haramada Satomi and Yonehara Itaru also mentioned the simplicity of President Ho Chi Minh: “During our visit to Vietnam in 1964, President Ho Chi Minh told us: “Comrades, please come to my place anytime.” This is a wooden stilt house, simple and small like the houses of low-ranking workers and civil servants in Tokyo. There is a bell on the stairs. Visitors ring the bell in advance. President Ho Chi Minh made this bell himself. He showed it to us and said: “Very convenient, comrades!”

President Ho Chi Minh’s clothes were similar to those worn by Vietnamese peasants. It seems that President Ho Chi Minh had no other clothes besides those. He wore sandals without socks. They were rubber sandals cut from car tires. He wore these sandals during the time when he had to climb mountains and wade through streams to fight against the French colonialists. Today, they have become a famous thing called “Uncle Ho’s sandals”.

The surprising thing is that when meeting the Conference of Communist and Workers' Parties in snowy Moscow in such clothes, still with proper rubber sandals entering the Kremlin, completely like a simple Vietnamese farmer... The above things make me truly understand why President Ho Chi Minh is respected, trusted and loved infinitely by more than 30 million Vietnamese people in both the North and the South.

Uncle Ho in the eyes of the American press

Other American newspapers also mentioned the Dien Bien Phu victory (May 7, 1954) associated with President Ho Chi Minh. The New York Times (USA), in its May 9, 1954 issue, commented that: "Today, no name in Asia is as famous as the veteran communist and nationalist Ho Chi Minh."

Photo of Uncle Ho on the cover of Time Magazine on November 22, 1954. The photo was published after Vietnam won the Dien Bien Phu victory.

Time Magazine (USA) issue on November 22, 1954 published on the cover a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh and devoted 5 pages to his life and career, along with Vietnam's victory over France in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. This magazine emphasized: "With the victory, Ho Chi Minh's prestige reached a new peak in Asia. Nationalists in many countries... were proud of the feat of an Asian army defeating their former "bosses" from Europe."

After meeting President Ho Chi Minh in 1967, American journalist Harrison S. Salisbury wrote: "He lived simply and austerely in a small and simple annex behind the old governor's palace in Hanoi, was very polite when drinking tea with guests, gave a rose to female guests, and told a humorous joke to male guests."

American journalist David Halberstam in his book about President Ho Chi Minh published by McGraw-Hill in 1971 in New York also highly appreciated his simplicity. The author wrote that he was a polite, modest, gentle-spoken Vietnamese, indifferent to status and always wore the simplest clothes. However, his style was ridiculed by Western authorities for lacking formality, no uniform, and no fashion. Until one day they woke up and realized that it was that simplicity, that worship of simplicity, that ability to blend in with the people that was the basis for his success on the revolutionary path.

Uncle Ho in the eyes of the pressCzechoslovakia

Admiring the pure and noble international spirit of President Ho Chi Minh, the Czechoslovak newspaper “Red Rights” on September 9, 1969 published an article about his historic Testament, emphasizing: “Uncle Ho and his Testament belong to all communist, workers’ and revolutionary movements in the world. He is listed among those whose lives and careers have gone beyond the borders of his Fatherland.”

(1) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, Volume 1, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, pp. 460-464