The silent preservers of Ho Chi Minh's legacy

Keep the "warmth" of Him in every souvenir

One May afternoon, when the summer sun was shining golden on the old thatched roofs in Lang Sen, I met Mr. Tran Dinh Thuc - an employee of the Collection, Inventory, Display and Preservation Department, Management Board.Kim Lien Relic SiteAt this time, he and a few colleagues were quietly burning incense at the ancestral altar of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Nham - President Ho Chi Minh's grandfather.

Amidst the light incense scent, the Kim Lien landscape appears like a quiet painting. There, 19 staff members of the Collection, Inventory, Display and Preservation Department, Kim Lien Relic Site Management Board are like 18 members of a big family, silently representing Uncle Ho's family members to look after each house, take care of each relic, and cultivate the ancestral incense. That work, seemingly simple, but requires special feelings, cannot be done just out of duty.

As one of the people who have been attached to the relic site for the longest time, Mr. Thuc was born and raised in Kim Lien. His mother was from the Nguyen Sinh family, so since childhood, the image of Uncle Ho has been close and familiar like flesh and blood. During his 32 years of attachment to the relic site, he does not see it as just a job, but also as a source, a place to belong.

Every day, before 7am - the time the relic site opens to visitors, Mr. Thuc and his colleagues have finished sweeping, cleaning, and checking each thatched roof, wooden frame, and artifact. The work is not noisy but full of discipline, requiring meticulousness and carefulness in every smallest detail. On rainy, sunny or stormy days, the "housekeepers" for Uncle Ho must carefully check and adjust each pillar, beam, and wall to ensure everything is intact and sturdy as in the beginning.

Talking about his memories at work, Mr. Thuc recalled: Once, while guiding tourists, a Japanese politician asked him for permission to touch the bed where Uncle Ho used to rest. "I want to feel the warmth of President Ho Chi Minh" - the guest said, unable to hide his emotions. At that moment, Mr. Thuc understood more clearly than ever the meaning of the work he was doing.

Not only preserving artifacts, Mr. Thuc was also assigned the task of choosing trees for heads of state to plant as souvenirs at the relic site. When asked why he did not choose a banyan tree when choosing a tree for General Secretary Do Muoi to plant, he replied: "Because every time on Uncle Ho's birthday, this tree will bloom, like a good wish sent to him." That answer made the General Secretary very pleased. The golden phoenix tree that year is now taller than the surrounding trees, showing off its brilliant colors every May.

Among the young generation of the Collection, Inventory, Display and Preservation Department, Tran Thi Hoai Thuong - born in 1997, is the youngest. When she first started her career, she felt bewildered by the strict requirements. But gradually, during each dusting session, each time checking the items, Thuong realized that working in this space imbued with historical values, listening to and retelling stories about Uncle Ho, is a rare fortune.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hue, Head of Collection - Inventory - Display and Preservation Department, shared: "The relic is like our second home. Every time we welcome groups of guests, every time we burn incense, we carry with us a silent pride. We understand that preserving relics is not only preserving material things, but also preserving intangible values ​​- memories, emotions, lessons about the personality of the person".

The person who helps the souvenir "tell the story"

At Kim Lien Relic Site, among the 19 people who silently preserve each thatched roof and each artifact every day, there is one person who takes on a more special mission: to preserve, systematize and continue telling the story of Uncle Ho through each document, each photo, each piece of memorabilia. That person is Ms. Vuong Thi Nga - a small but persistent woman, as quiet as the work she pursues.

Graduated from the History Department of Vinh University, having worked for more than 10 years at the Ho Chi Minh Museum (Hanoi), at the end of 2023, Ms. Nga decided to return to her hometown Nam Dan, applying for a job at the Collection, Inventory, Display and Preservation Department of Kim Lien Relic Site. Here, she is the only person responsible for all the work of archiving, inventorying artifacts, documents and building specialized exhibitions about Uncle Ho.

Ms. Nga's work starts with seemingly simple details. That is managing the archive, arranging, classifying, updating each artifact, each original file. But behind that is a silent pressure, how not to miss any piece of memory, how to preserve each artifact most accurately, most standardly, when all carry the breath of history.

For her, each time she organizes an exhibition is not a simple journey. She said the hardest part is not the display, but the selection of the topic and the outline. “When I haven’t thought of an idea yet, I sometimes have to stay up all night, because each topic must reflect the depth of Uncle Ho’s personality, and must be new and close to the people,” she shared.

Once the outline was formed, the next task was even more rigorous: Searching, synthesizing, verifying each line of documents, each photo, ensuring absolute authenticity. There were times when, to select a few representative photos for a topic, Ms. Nga had to review thousands of documentary photos, work simultaneously on many computer screens, take notes, and compare every small detail. If she hadn't finished working at the office, she would bring it home. The long evenings spent by the desk lamp, the long days of diligently checking each printout, each small annotation under each artifact, had become a familiar part of her life.

"Every photo, every exhibit must be able to tell a story about Uncle Ho - simple yet profound" - she said, her eyes shining with passion.

Not only stopping at displaying, Ms. Nga also pays special attention to conveying values ​​about Uncle Ho to the audience.children– the future generation of the country. She skillfully interweaves small stories and simple everyday details about him, so that the image of Uncle Ho appears familiar, close and exemplary in the pages of Nhi Dong newspaper. Ms. Nga's work is not noisy, not colorful, but contributes significantly to the fact that each guest, each generation, when returning to Kim Lien, can see there a close, great but very ordinary Uncle Ho.

Amidst all the changes, there are still people who choose to stay here to preserve. Preserving not only the roof and the souvenirs, but also the memories of a person, a nation. So that every step backKim Lien, can still hear the echoes of the call from history./.