The victory of people of conscience supported the just cause of Vietnam.

To Hong Hai - Member of the Standing Committee, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department.

(Baonghean) -On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on Vietnam, Comrade Nguyen Thi Binh - former Vice President, former Head of the Negotiation Delegation of the Provisional Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, made a very profound comment: "That is a great historical victory of the Vietnamese people and also of all people of conscience in the world who supported the just cause of the Vietnamese people".

For me, that comment reminded me of the extremely noble feelings that the Russian people and friends from other countries shared and rejoiced with us exactly 40 years ago, when I was still an international student in Russia.

I remember, at that time, I was a second-year student at the Forestry Technical Academy in Leningrad, the former Soviet Union, now Saint-Peterspur (Russia). We were on a 2-week winter break due to the extremely cold weather, where we were at that time the temperature was around -150C to -200C (every year Russian students and pupils have summer and winter breaks).

Early in the morning of January 28, 1973, because of the cold weather, we woke up late. Before we knew what was going on, about ten Russian veterans, who were our usual acquaintances, came into the dormitory and waited for us. As soon as they saw us open the door, the veterans enthusiastically shouted: “The Paris Agreement has been signed! Vietnam won! The Soviet Union won! Socialism won!” The veterans could not hide their joy, they came to shake hands and shake hands, and with tears in their eyes, they repeated over and over: “The Paris Agreement has been signed! Vietnam won! The Soviet Union won! Socialism won!” At that time, at the age of 19-20, seeing the kind, elderly veterans happily reporting the news and enthusiastically congratulating us, we were both surprised and very grateful. The veterans each carried a bottle of vodka in their cloaks, entered the room, poured wine and invited us to drink a small glass, according to the local custom when there was great joy. The faces of the old veterans spread bright, excited smiles. Later, we learned that the veterans watched the news on TV and knew that the Paris Agreement was officially signed on January 27, 1973, they were just waiting for the morning to come to the dormitory to congratulate the Vietnamese students.

That day, my two Vietnamese students and I celebrated by going to the subway station to go to the General Store in the center of Leningrad, about 20 km from our academy. On the way to the subway station, we shook hands with everyone we met and congratulated Vietnam. When we approached the subway station, a taxi stopped, the driver rolled down the window and asked where we were going, we said to the General Store, the driver waved his hand and told us to get in the car. Taking a taxi was a luxury for us students, after a moment of hesitation, we got in the taxi. When we arrived at the General Store, the taxi stopped, we paid, the driver squinted, smiled, waved his hand and said, "The Paris Agreement has been signed, we won, no need to pay, consider it my treat to your three!"

After two weeks of winter break, we returned to the lecture hall. An unprecedented sight for me was that all my classmates ran to congratulate us. There were 27 students in my class, and I was the only Vietnamese. At that time, both my boyfriend and girlfriend came to hug and congratulate us warmly: Vietnam won the US, We won the US! The first class after the winter break was Chemistry. Teacher XvetLanna walked into the classroom and the first thing she said was: “Today, the whole class congratulates Hai, congratulates Vietnam on the victory and ours!” That afternoon, we lined up to eat. I remember that in the school cafeteria, that day, everyone had the intention of giving up their seats for us – the Vietnamese students – to receive our rations first. Russian friends and friends from other countries all gave us looks, handshakes, and sincere words of joy.

For me, the years of studying abroad also had another unforgettable memory, that was in 1975, when the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign was completely victorious, on April 30, 1975, far away we lived in an indescribable joy, unable to sleep all night because Russian friends and other countries came to congratulate us, dancing all night until morning. The veterans living near the dormitory also came to congratulate us. But I felt that this time the level of joy of the veterans was somewhat not as good as in 1973. I asked this concern to a veteran whose house was near the dormitory that I often visited, and he told me: “We were happier about the 1973 Paris Agreement! Winning the American imperialists was difficult, that was what we were so happy about. And having won the American imperialists, winning the puppets was natural, it was only a matter of time.”

40 years have passed, looking back, we cannot forget the days when our country created conditions for us to study in very good training environments. At the same time, we cannot help but be moved by the feelings of our friends in faraway Russia, of our friends studying abroad who informed us about the signing of the Paris Agreement, and who celebrated with us. Even through their joy, we could fully feel the great stature and significance of the Paris Agreement on January 27, 1973. It was truly a common victory, a common joy of people with conscience who supported the just war of the Vietnamese people.