Homeland and Mother

(Baonghean) - Where did the word "compatriots" originate in our country? Was it from the legend of Mother Au Co's egg sac – that we are born as brothers and sisters from the same mother? The homeland and mother have been bound together since ancient times. Fifty children went to the mountains, fifty children went to the sea. The sea and the forest share the same heartbeat, the same bloodline of our shared origin: "compatriots."

In the middle of Ba Dinh Square, on September 2, 1945, the image of the leader shortened the distance to the people, making them feel close, simple, and proud. As President Ho Chi Minh read the declaration of the nation's founding, he paused and asked, "Can you hear me clearly, my compatriots?" The two sacred words "compatriots" were honored, warming hearts in the historic autumn sun of Ba Dinh. With just those two words, millions of hearts responded in unison. It is because of those warm, affectionate words that we see Uncle Ho: "Oh, the father – the kind eyes of a mother." (To Huu). Those eyes followed the entire length of the country, sending love into every blade of grass, every branch of tree…

Of all our rivers, no one is unfamiliar with the Red River – the main river – the Mother River of our nation, with its winding, twisting currents, yet bursting forth with the heavy red hue of love and resonance. These rivers also constantly remind us of the image of Mother. Mother rowing the boat to ferry soldiers across the river. Mother singing amidst the rhythmic rowing of the oars…

The tears of wartime farewells evoke the image of an elderly mother intertwined with the image of the homeland. No other country in the world has the image of the Vọng Phu mountain, where a wife waits for her husband, etched into the white clouds, like in Vietnam. Nor is there a monument more glorious than the Monument to the Heroic Mother in Quang Nam, in the steadfast land during the war against the Americans, the homeland of Mother Thu, whose nine sons went to war and never returned. Tears flowed back into the mother's heart. The homeland and the mother became one. Or perhaps the homeland is the heart of a mother, both forgiving and incredibly resilient.

Isn't that so, that no matter where we stand on this earth, we silently call out the name of our homeland with all our love and pride?

NNP