Pain is not personal

People say, “It takes three years to raise an army and one hour to use it.” To have a soldier takes a lot of effort, and to turn that soldier into a general requires countless efforts from the people. Yet, all of a sudden, it all boils down to the word “capture.” Someone said, “Capture is the end.” No, even though everything may pass, the pain remains.

I was lucky and honored to have had many contacts with Uncle Ho’s soldiers. My family has two members who are soldiers. A younger brother sacrificed more than 10 years ago and an older brother recently retired in his hometown. Since I was a child, I lived with the soldiers stationed in the village. They came to live with us and gave us dry food, soap for our parents… Once my sister fainted, the soldiers mixed sugar water for her to drink to revive her. When we were 10 years old, our teacher guided us to write letters to the soldiers stationed on remote islands. We sang the song:“When I was a child, I looked at the soldier/I saw a bright star and I loved it, Mom/You told me to study hard to become a good person/When I grow up, you will let me join the army…”.We also learned by heart wonderful poems from textbooks that I still remember clearly to this day:

“You guys come back/ The house is warm and happy/ The singing and laughter/ The small neighborhood is bustling/ You guys come back/ The excitement in front of the gate/ The younger brothers follow behind happily/ The old mother is clinging to her brown shirt/ The joy of her children returning from the deep forest”.

In wartime as well as peacetime, the image of the soldier who does not fear hardships, is always at the forefront, bravely sacrificing himself. Illustration: Document

So, since I was a child and forever after, I have had a special affection for Uncle Ho's soldiers. When there were floods in the Central region or when the pandemic broke out in the South, seeing the soldiers fighting on the front lines was both emotional and full of trust.

The images of Uncle Ho's soldiers in our generation are always close, dear, simple and extremely pure. There we place all our trust and pure love of youth.

Then life led us to grow up, even though we were only “civilian soldiers”, we were mature enough to recognize the portraits of true generals, great generals, generals who wrote the history of an entire nation and we truly admired them. Whether “our general” or “enemy general”, they all had a common denominator in leadership as well as supreme command responsibility before each battle. There were majestic and thunderous generals like Napoleon, and there were also defeated generals who “ran away with their sandals broken” like O Ma Nhi. “Winning to be king, losing to be bandits” is an idiom associated with the cruel fate of generals who chose to put their future lives on their military talent.

In the list of 10 world-famous generals published in many documents, Vietnam has two people, Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan and Vo Nguyen Giap. The thousand-year history of the Vietnamese nation is closely linked to the constant invasions of the enemy, and it is in such an undesirable situation that from the beloved bamboo hedges and rice fields, from the tradition of never giving up of our ancestors, outstanding and virtuous generals were forged. Whether Ngo Quyen, Ly Thuong Kiet or Quang Trung, whether Ba Trung, Ba Trieu or Bui Thi Xuan, all of them were not only brave and resourceful on the battlefield, but importantly, they dared to sacrifice themselves for the great cause of the nation, for the homeland. The people will never forget, the country will remember. During the two resistance wars against the French and the Americans, the country also produced and emerged talented generals such as Van Tien Dung, Chu Huy Man, Nguyen Chi Thanh, Pham Van Tra...

Looking back at those heroic years, we understand more about history, the great sacrifices and contributions of each citizen, each soldier and even the virtuous and talented generals. Yes, those were wartime generals. Not too many and not too flashy, the greatness behind those uniforms smelling of gunpowder is the image, the beautiful symbol of a time, a generation that will never be forgotten, never be forgotten. A few months ago, the online community excitedly and emotionally shared the image of the old general Nguyen Quoc Thuoc, kneeling to burn incense before the tomb of "Elder Brother" Vo Nguyen Giap in Quang Binh. The image is extremely beautiful and touching. That's it, even though they may be "separated by life and death", they are Uncle Ho's soldiers who fought and died together. The relationship between them is sacred and pure, they are the heroic generals who brought victory.

Image for illustration purposes only

Yet in times of peace, the image of generals is sometimes damaged by some individuals. In just a few years, the news of the arrest of generals has left behind so much pain. The trust in Uncle Ho's soldiers has not disappeared, but the damage in the heart is inevitable. The news last week that five generals of the army were arrested at the same time was extremely painful. So once again, the long-respected generals have been caught up in the law. This pain is not only for them, their families, their units, but also for the people. There are tasks they have completed, there are difficulties they have overcome, but there are enemies they cannot defeat. They have been defeated by themselves. Pity, regret, and pain. None of us want to feel heartache when seeing the image of a former general in court. We only hope that the list of pain will stop. Please do not let anyone else get caught up in the law. A few years ago, the General Secretary made a very reasonable and humane statement: “Discipline is to cure diseases and save people.” He also suggested that anyone who has been involved in wrongdoing should stop, cleanse themselves and make amends to the people.

Someone just bitterly boasted: “The level of prisoners has recently been raised”. Not to discuss right or wrong, but perhaps we should not mock the arrest information. It is a common pain, and since it is a common pain, no one should gloat or consider themselves innocent of responsibility.