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(Baonghean) -During this visit to Champa, we visited two places where Uncle Ho stopped on his way to find a way to save the country and spread Marxism-Leninism, and build the first communist organizations: One in Xieng Vang village, Xieng Muong commune, Noong Boc district, Khammouane province and one in May village, Na Chook village, Non Gian commune, Muong district, Nakhon Phanom province, Thailand. Both of these places used to belong to the country of Laos Lan Xang, located about 3 km apart, one on this side and one on the other side of the Mekong River. At both of these places, two relic sites about Uncle Ho are being built.

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Uncle Ho, with the alias of merchant "Thau Chin" and monk "Hanh Da", went to Thailand twice to organize overseas Vietnamese to save the country (the first time from July 1928 to November 1929; the second time from April to May 1930). Uncle Ho visited 9 provinces of Thailand, including: Bangkok, Phi Chit province, Udon Thani, Sakon Na Khon, Nong Khai, Ubon Ratchathani, Muc Da Han, Amnatcharon, Nakhonphanom... From Tha Khek, Khammouane province, crossing Friendship Bridge No. 3 over the Mekong River, we arrived in Nakhonphanom province and from the border gate, about 19km to the East is May village, Na Chook hamlet, Non Gian commune, Muong district - where more than 80 years ago, Uncle Ho lived with overseas Vietnamese to find a way to save the country and save the people.

From the main road of Nakhonphanom town, turn into a small, flat asphalt road and not far away, you will see a familiar May village gate with red tiled roofs and winding dragons and phoenixes. The scenery here is no different from Uncle Ho's hometown Sen Village, making us feel that this place still retains his warmth. May village was established by Vietnamese people from Ha Tinh and Quang Binh who migrated here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The village currently has 128 households, with over 500 people. People make a living from many jobs such as growing rice, gardening, growing vegetables, growing areca, fruit trees and trading throughout the Northeast region. The languages ​​used for daily communication are both Vietnamese and Thai...

The car stopped in front of the Vietnam - Thailand Friendship Village Museum. Hearing the Vietnamese voices of the people getting off the car, the overseas Vietnamese hurriedly came out to welcome them, shaking hands and greeting each other like brothers who had met after a long time. Mr. Cao Van, in charge of the museum, told the group: Uncle Ho came and stayed here from July 1928 to November 1929. The day he returned, Uncle Ho and the villagers built a house called "cooperative house" to serve as a place for collective activities. The house was built right in Mr. Vo Trong Dai's garden, in the style of a ground-floor house with wooden walls; the cooperative house was about 50 square meters wide, and there were always 5 to 7 members living there regularly. The house was designed with two rather private rooms, with a small path in the middle leading to the back garden. Uncle Ho never slept in those two separate rooms. At night, Uncle Ho often placed a wooden bed in the middle of the house. In front of the yard, Uncle Ho personally planted a sweet star fruit tree and 2 coconut trees. During his stay in Thailand, he encouraged people to ask the local government for permission to open a school to teach the national language to their children, and encouraged adults to learn both Thai and Vietnamese to learn the necessary things for current life, while also creating a foundation for a long-term learning process, to have the skills to self-analyze and self-synthesize and apply them to business.
With his charisma and influence, he broadened the people's horizons and ways of thinking through simple stories that contained profound philosophies of life, and disseminated to them useful knowledge on how to transform mixed gardens into orchards, find low-lying land to dig ponds to raise fish. In his spare time, Uncle Ho often went to the fields to help people grow rice, grow vegetables, catch fish to improve their lives, organize sports, and play volleyball with members. He took the opportunity to learn Thai. Only 4 months later, he was able to use Thai fluently... Mr. Cao Van said: Uncle Ho is a great man of Vietnam and the world but very simple. Although Uncle Ho has been away from this place for a long time, the people of May village still see his image here. Overseas Vietnamese follow Uncle Ho's teachings on saving. During the period when the country waged the resistance war to save the country, the lives of overseas Vietnamese were extremely difficult, but every household made Uncle Ho's Rice Jar. Every day, before cooking rice, I take a handful of rice and put it in a jar. At the end of the month, I collect it and sell it to get money to send back home, contributing to the struggle for national independence and unification.

Nghe An Newspaper reporter talks with Ms. Tran Thi Su

Introducing to everyone the daily necessities that Uncle Ho used in his revolutionary activities in Nakhon Phanom such as a mat, a raincoat, a tea set, a pipe, a tray for serving meals in the Friendship Village Museum and Uncle Ho's memorial area, Mr. Van said: Uncle Ho's relic in May village is an important historical site. In January 2004, from the initiative of General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh - Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, the Governments of Vietnam and Thailand held a Vietnam - Thailand Intergovernmental Conference and decided to establish the Thai - Vietnam Friendship Village in May village. On February 22, 2004, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawtra inaugurated... The autographs of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawtra, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh are placed solemnly in the museum. General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh wrote: “President Ho Chi Minh is not only a great leader of the Vietnamese people, a person who is especially respected by the Vietnamese people, but also an outstanding person known throughout the world. The respect for the leader of neighboring Vietnam, who has a long history of close ties with Thailand, will be a milestone marking the increasingly strong and profound friendship between the two countries, and at the same time, demonstrating the good relationship between the two peoples.”

Since then, the 4-hectare Friendship Village - Memorial Area has become a gathering place for overseas Vietnamese in Nakhon Phanom in particular and the whole Northeast of Thailand in general. Here, on holidays, overseas Vietnamese gather together to strengthen solidarity, love, help each other and preserve Vietnamese cultural identity; becoming a special place for Vietnamese and Thai people to visit... Recently, Nakhon Phanom province and overseas Vietnamese contributed 700,000 baht (more than 450 million VND) to build a new wooden house exactly like the old house where Uncle Ho lived to serve as Uncle Ho's shrine, about 500m from the old house and 300m from the museum.

Not far from May village, about 3 km, on the other side of the Mekong River is Xieng Vang village, Xieng Muong commune, Noong Boc district, Khammouane province of Laos. During his days of activities in Thailand, Uncle Ho repeatedly summoned Lao comrades in Vientiane to Noong Khai (Thailand) to hear reports on the situation in Laos. He surveyed the living conditions of Lao people and overseas Vietnamese, the brutal reality under the yoke of French colonialism, the people's dissatisfaction but not yet finding a way to liberate the nation... From these realities, he helped Lao comrades to step up propaganda, enlighten the people about patriotism and build a base. While in Nakhon Phanom, Uncle Ho took a boat across the Mekong River to Xieng Vang village, met with Lao and Vietnamese people living there. Talking to the people, he promoted patriotism and hatred of the colonial regime, and advised the Lao and Vietnamese people to unite and help each other, join forces to drive the French colonialists out of Laos and Vietnam, and liberate the two countries from slavery. He shared with the people his experience in organizing patriotic and revolutionary organizations in Laos.

Mr. But Da - Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the Khammouane Provincial Party Committee said: Xieng Vang is being built by the leaders of Vietnam and Laos to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh. The memorial site of President Ho Chi Minh was established based on the wishes of the cadres and people of Lao ethnic groups, expressing gratitude and acknowledging his great contributions in opening up and cultivating the special, loyal and pure Vietnam-Laos friendship. The Lao Minister of Culture and the Chairman of Noong Boc district were assigned to direct the construction, inspect and urge the construction of the project... Xieng Vang is located about 15km south of Tha Khek town. This is a purely Vietnamese village in Laos, located close to the Mekong River. Xieng Vang - in Lao language, is a village in the Mekong River delta. The village has 68 households with more than 300 people, people originally from Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Ha Tinh, Nghe An provinces of Vietnam came here to establish the village. During the period of 1940-1945, the population here was quite crowded, sometimes up to 500 households and more than 5,000 people. Xieng Vang is famous as the base of Lao and Vietnamese communists, resilient, indomitable, fighting against the oppression of feudal colonialism.

The people of Xieng Vang village still maintain the village in Vietnamese style. It is known that the Lao Party and Government have created many favorable conditions for people to establish villages, maintain Vietnamese customs and practices on Lao soil, and consider this a symbol of Vietnam-Laos friendship. Now, the people have Lao nationality, but all activities are still purely Vietnamese, from dishes to communication. During major Vietnamese holidays of the year, the people organize many exciting activities. In particular, in Xieng Vang village, many families and individuals have received anti-French and anti-American resistance medals from the Vietnamese and Lao governments. At this time - when we arrived, the President Ho Chi Minh Relic Site was in the final stages of completion, expected to be handed over at the end of December this year; Vietnamese workers (construction unit) carefully wrote each line, straightened the photo frame, plastered the final decorative patterns... The memorial area has a total investment value of about 36 billion VND, with a total area of ​​3 hectares; currently only half of the area has been built, and the outer area will be planted with trees and a backyard. The memorial area was built with a harmonious combination of Lao and Vietnamese architecture, including 3 blocks of buildings: a church, a house displaying artifacts, and a guest house. The guest house and church have been completed; the house displaying artifacts, images, and documents about Uncle Ho's activities in Laos, his life and career, and the solidarity between the two peoples of Vietnam and Laos is being completed. In the memorial area, there is a flower garden and ornamental plants brought from Vietnam to be planted interspersed with some typical Lao tree varieties, and especially a fish pond of Uncle Ho that has been put into operation. Lao friends and overseas Vietnamese organized a procession of fish from Uncle Ho's fish pond in Hanoi to here...

To build the memorial site, in addition to the funding from the two States, overseas Vietnamese and Lao people here voluntarily donated the entire 3-hectare land area. We met Mrs. Tran Thi Su, 82 years old (originally from Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong, Nghe An), now living in Tha Khek town, who came to Xieng Vang to burn incense for Uncle Ho and his parents. Mrs. Su's family was one of 13 families that donated land. Mrs. Su said: When Uncle Ho went to Xieng Vang, she was not yet born, she only heard her parents tell the story of how Uncle Ho often came to the house and stayed here. Her brother, Mr. Tran Kim Cuong, followed Uncle Ho in revolutionary activities, returned to Vietnam to participate in gaining power and building the country. Sharing the story of donating land without receiving any compensation, Mrs. Su said: “Uncle lived a simple and noble life, with a great love for his country and people, and the spirit and qualities of a great man, great wisdom, and great courage remained. The people here all respected and loved Uncle Ho, and wished that he would stay close so that his mind would be bright and his heart pure, and he could learn from him.”

In the yard of the Memorial Site, filled with the golden sunshine of the Lao dry season, Mr. But Da emotionally said: From the red seeds passed down by Uncle Ho, Lao cadres were enlightened with Marxism-Leninism and led the Lao revolutionary movement to victory. Thanks to Uncle Ho, the Lao people have independence, freedom and peace today. The Memorial Site of President Ho Chi Minh is the red address for the young generations of Laos and Vietnam, a symbol of the special and loyal solidarity between Vietnam and Laos that President Ho Chi Minh and President Kaysone Phomvihane have worked hard to cultivate.

Thanh Chung