The heartfelt feelings of a person from Nghe An living far from home...

The land of Nghe An, the people of Nghe An, the culture of Nghe An, the character of Nghe An, the heart of Nghe An, and even the sunshine and wind of Nghe An... All of these, since time immemorial, have formed a "Nghe An Identity." Therefore, no matter how far away one travels, no matter where one lives... the heart of a Nghe An person always returns to their homeland. I feel this very clearly through the Nghe An Online Newspaper.

Opening ceremony of Nghe An Online Newspaper. Photo: Tran Hai

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Xuan Luong views the online version of Nghe An Newspaper at the Spring Press Festival 2008. Photo: Minh Thong

On July 3, 2008, I received an email from Mr. Vo Van Binh, which read: "My daughter, Dao Ngoc Mai, 17 years old, whose mother is from Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province, and currently lives in Dresden, Germany, has won first prize in the 'Google Website Logo Design' competition. This is an international competition for teenagers under 18 years old... This honor is not only for this Vietnamese girl, but also a joy for many Vietnamese people abroad and even Germans. I want to share this news with Nghe An Online Newspaper to celebrate this joy."

Vietnamese citizen - Vo Van Binh([email protected]) .

The four words "Vietnamese citizen" moved me to tears. It took me more than a week to gather the material to write the article "The girl from Nghe An shines brightly in Germany" (Nghe An Online Newspaper - July 13, 2008).

Just four months after its launch, the Nghe An online newspaper received 1 million visits, and to date, it has over 2.4 million. Many readers are from abroad, including France, the USA, Russia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Hungary, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. Currently, readers from abroad account for 49.6% of all visits to the Nghe An online newspaper. I am certain that the majority of them are from Nghe An. This shows just how much people from Nghe An living abroad miss home!

What about those people from Nghe An who live far from home but within the country?

Here are a few excerpts from the many letters sent to Nghe An Online:

- "Reading the Nghe An online newspaper truly instilled in me a love for my homeland, Nghe An. Through the Nghe An online newspaper, I want to express the feelings of a child far from home, yearning to bathe in the gentle Lam River, to climb the majestic and imposing Quyet mountain peak..."

"Hopefully, through this newspaper, those of us who are far from home can once again join hands and contribute to building a stronger and more prosperous homeland..." (Chu Ngoc Cuong - Da Lat University)

- "Currently, many people from Nghe An are living far from home. Despite being far away, they always long for their homeland, including their children born in foreign lands. I hope Nghe An Online Newspaper will provide more information to help educate our children living far away about the traditions of their homeland." (Nguyen Phuong Son - Linh Xuan, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City).

- "As someone from Nghe An who has been living and working in Phu Yen province for 25 years, I often follow the news on the Nghe An online newspaper and am very happy to see my hometown changing... I would like to ask your newspaper to inform me about some investment incentives in our province. Currently, our company is producing goods for export to the EU, the US, and Canada... Having been away from home for so long, we want to do something for our hometown..." (Nguyen Van Khoi - Hoang Khoi Co., Ltd. - Phu Yen).

- "...The newspaper could film video clips of the areas damaged by natural disasters and upload them to the Nghe An online newspaper so that our colleagues far away can see and know about the situation, and we can send gifts and support directly to them..." (Nguyen Van Long - Minh Tan Town, Kinh Mon District, Hai Duong Province).

- .....

These are the heartfelt sentiments of thousands upon thousands of people from Nghe An province who are living, working, and studying far from home. Their words are sincere, warm, and heartfelt, expressing both a release of penance after years of shelter, and a fervent hope and expectation... yet tinged with a touch of reproach, all of which are endearing and worthy of respect. Reading these heartfelt messages daily, we (the online journalists from our hometown) feel deeply guilty for not having done enough to reciprocate their kindness.

Teenage readers with Nghe An Online Newspaper. Photo: Thanh Hao

..."In the early days, wandering the streets, if I suddenly heard a faint, heavy, slightly accented voice somewhere, I would be startled, looking around as if I had suddenly encountered something sacred – the voice of my homeland…! Perhaps the most joyful and meaningful moments in our student lives were the gatherings of fellow countrymen in a foreign land, dozens of people chatting, singing songs from our homeland, and offering incense and flowers to the most outstanding fellow countryman of our homeland – Ho Chi Minh."At those times, I felt such love for my homeland!"(Nguyen Thanh Tra - K29, Hue University of Science)

And there are many other students such as: Vi Van Choong, Vu Thi Huyen Trang (Hanoi University of Culture), Ngo Thi Hieu (High School College No. 1, Phu Ly Town, Ha Nam), Pham Trong Le Nghia (Vung Tau Vocational School of Tourism), Ho Viet Thinh (Academy of Journalism and Communication), Nguyen Van Toan (Hue University of Science),... who often send letters of confession and contribute articles to Nghe An Online.

People from Nghe An living abroad not only share their feelings and thoughts but also express their love for their homeland through active collaboration with the Nghe An online newspaper. They tell each other about the newspaper, show off their articles to friends, introduce and promote successful people from Nghe An, the activities of people from Nghe An, and the Nghe An region in foreign lands. The list of collaborators living far from home is growing longer: Ba Thi (Tra Vinh), Nguyen Thanh Hoang (Can Tho), Le Minh Hoang (Tien Giang), Vo Thi Hong To (Binh Thuan), Hoang Bich Ha, Vo Hoang Nam, Khue Viet Truong (Khanh Hoa), Nguyen Van Binh (Gia Lai), Dao Xuan Hau (Dak Lak), Le Anh Phong (Quang Binh), Bui Van Hoang (Thanh Hoa), Tran Van Loi (Nam Dinh), Tran Van Hac, Nguyen Truong Tam, Luong Van Thiet (Hanoi), Tran Dinh Dung (Bac Giang), Le Huan (Quang Ninh),...

The Nghe An online newspaper also receives many letters from far away, asking questions, requesting data-driven information about their homeland and province, offering sincere suggestions for the online newspaper to grow stronger, and even letters requesting help, including personal stories... For those from Nghe An living far from home, the Nghe An online newspaper has become a close friend, a bridge connecting them to joyful places....

One year has passed since its launch (January 2, 2008), and Nghe An Online Newspaper would like to acknowledge the kindness, suggestions, and cooperation of friends near and far.

The New Year has arrived, spring is here again! Nghe An Electronics will continue to strive to bring you new flavors of home to warm the hearts of those far from home...

Nguyen Minh Thong