The Persuasion of Compassion

(Baonghean.vn) - It is understandable that President Ho Chi Minh not only taught Vietnamese people to distinguish French colonialists from the innocent people of France, but also reminded us to clearly distinguish among the French who invaded our country in order to have appropriate and humane behavior when faced with the dilemma of life and death!

According to statistics, at the Dien Bien Phu front, there were 10,130 wounded soldiers who were rescued or treated by the Military Medical Department. It is worth mentioning and makes many politicians in the world admire that among those wounded soldiers, there were 1,487 French officers and soldiers who were taken prisoner.

French wounded soldiers were treated by Vietnamese military doctors and sent back home after the Dien Bien Phu victory (Photo: Archive)

In the newspaper Cuu Quoc, in May and June 1954, Uncle Ho published 6 consecutive articles on the topic of Dien Bien Phu. There was a passage in which he proudly said: "The whole world knows our humanitarian policy towards wounded soldiers and enemy prisoners of war", while the French commanders, until the last minute of their disintegration, ordered heavy gunfire at more than 1,000 of their wounded soldiers who were suffocating and writhing in the dark bunker, close to the command post.

Later, having the opportunity to read the original text of the 5 battlefield disciplines at the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, approved and signed by General Vo Nguyen Giap, I further understood the power of Vietnamese compassion that has existed since ancient times: “Any person or unit that does not properly comply with the policy on wounded and dead soldiers, destroys or indiscriminately uses spoils of war, shoots, kills, or tortures prisoners of war and deserters, will be punished.” (Article 5). In fact, the above law has been strictly implemented by our side, leaving many good memories in the hearts of the French people...

Mrs. Hue Hong, in a memoir called "A Dien Bien inParis"Tells the story of going to France for an internship in 1988. That year, by chance in the splendid capital of France, Hue Hong was lucky to meet an old lady who had set foot in Vietnam.Male.

Hue Hong asked:

- You must have been to Vietnam.MaleAlready ?

The French old lady stopped and looked at me, her eyes filled with memories:

- Yes, I was in Vietnam.Male, was present at Dien Bien Phu. I was a staff officer at that front!

While thinking, he suddenly asked again:

- So you don't hate us?

- Sir, when you were in Dien Bien, I was still studying at Chiem Hoa Primary School (Tuyen Quang). President Ho Chi Minh taught us to distinguish the French colonialists from the French people of the Revolution of 1789; a France of Victor Hugo, of Vangang Cu-tuy-ri-e, of Pasteur... and it was not until today that I was able to set foot on this country.

Hearing me, the old lady patted my shoulder affectionately:

- President Ho Chi Minh is a great man! He is a friend of the French people, of the people of the world. He is also our benefactor!

On May 7, 1954, at the Dien Bien Phu front, the Party, Uncle Ho, the entire army and people of our country gloriously ended the long, arduous, but heroic resistance war against the French colonialists and the intervention of the American imperialists. Justice, courage, and humanity made an American university professor and journalist, Mr. Bernard Phon, bitterly exclaim: "We have no right to forget this war, whether we like it or not, it will affect us for many decades to come...".

The old lady in Hue Hong's story is just one of many living examples that we have or may continue to read!

Kim Hung