Book Review: Family, Friend, and Country – Nguyen Thi Binh’s Memoir
Author
: Nguyen Thi Binh
Reviewed by : Doan Thi Ngoc
Recently,
readers nationwide were very eager with anticipation to hold in their hands the
book entitled: “Family, Friends, and Country – Nguyen Thi Binh’s Memoir”
published by Tri Thuc. Moreover, many people excitedly waited and tried to
arrange their time so that they could meet the author in person as well as
attend the book-launching ceremony at the Phuong Nam Vincom bookstore in Ho Chi
Minh City, on July 3, 2012. The review by Doan Thi Ngoc brings out the
highlights of Nguyen Thi Binh’s journey through life.
Background
Madame Nguyen Thi Bình, former Vice
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, was born in Đong Thap province
in 1927. During her childhood, she lived in the southern Vietnam countryside
and then, together with her family, moved to Cambodia while her father was
working there. Madame Binh studied French at the most famous Lycée Sisowath
High School in Cambodia. After graduation she initially worked as a tutor and
then as a teacher. Later, in 1948, she joined and participated in Vietnam’s
Communist Party. Her great-grandfather was Phan Chu Trinh, an excellent social
leader who was opposed to using violence to bring democracy to Vietnam. He was
straightforward, argumentative, hard-working, and never easily bowed to a
tyrannical regime. More importantly, he was dedicated and worked to bring
modern education to the country. Madame Binh inherited her great-grandfather’s
character [3].
During the period from 1945 to 1951,
Madame Binh took part in many intellectual movements against the French
authorities that subsequently lead to her arrest and imprisonment in Chi Hoa
Prison in Saigon from 1951 to 1953. After serving her prison term, Madame Binh
joined the peace movement for the implementation of the Geneva Agreement. As a
member of the Communist Party she was appointed to Vice-Chairperson of the
South Vietnamese Women’s Liberation Association during the Vietnam War [3].
People admired her not only because
of her beauty, grace, gentleness, and versatile manners; but also because of
her outstanding and talented achievements as a female Vietnamese politician. At
the United Nations 4th World Conference in Beijing, China on
September 4, 1995, many people were profoundly impressed by Madame Binh’s
speech as reported with Dr. Gertrude Mongella, the General Conference Secretary
and the attendees. Madame Binh said, “Like many other countries, my country,
Vietnam has lived through long years of wars which have ravaged this
already-poor land and left behind millions of orphans, widows, disabled and missing-in-action.
Vietnamese women as part of their nation have been tested by harsh trials and
countless hardships. From their exceptional endurance and tenacity, they
learned and achieved the ability to survive and to persist with that full
identity through the storms of life, just like the Vietnamese bamboo tree,
which is supple but unbreakable, which bends under the wind but does not break
and which stands straight again afterwards and is as proud as before” [3].
Furthermore, in the 1960s, she was appointed Foreign Minister of the
Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and
represented the country in participating in the Fourth Conference of Peace in
Paris in 1960.The Paris Peace Agreement on Vietnam entered into force, on January
17, 1973 and the war in Vietnam was finally declared over April 30, 1975.
When North and South Vietnam became
unified in 1975, Madam Binh continued to undertake many important positions in
the Central Government and State such as: Minister of Education (1976-1987), first
female Foreign Minister of Vietnam (1987-1986), a member of the National
Assembly (1976-2001), and Vice-President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(1992-2002). Currently she is retired but is very busy with her new roles as
Chairperson of Vietnam’s Children’s Fund, Honorary President of the Association
of Victims of Agent Orange, and President of the Peace and Development
Foundation. Madame Nguyen Thi Bình is highly regarded today as a symbol of
women’s role in the “Resistance War” and has become a role-model for Vietnamese
women.
An Inspiring book
The book “Family, Friend, and
Country - Nguyen Thi Binh’s Memoir” narrates in brief the life of
Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh from the time she was born in 1927 to the
present. In addition to expressing her deep gratitude to family, friends
nationwide and worldwide, and showing her abiding love for the nation, Madame
Binh’s memoir shares valuable historical lessons and significant landmarks and
victory in unification of the country with young generations and the world. Due
to the generalization of her entire life in one book, it was very difficult for
the author to convey all events, thoughts, and feelings in detail. Madame Binh
candidly confided that it took her quite a long time to begin writing the memoir
because she did not have any records or notes from the past and that her memory
has become somewhat diminished due to age. The book has 300 pages and 14 themes
on: My Homeland, The Childhood, I’m the Happiest Person, The Longest
Peace-Talks in History in Paris, How I Engaged in the Field of Education, Back
to People Diplomacy, etc, and yet whoever has the book in hand cannot take
their eyes off it and they have to read it completely before putting it down.
Indeed, the book “Family, Friend,
and Country - Nguyen Thi Binh’s Memoir” is very fascinating and bewitching
throughout each chapter. Readers are attracted not only by a very simple and
sincere writing style, but also by the real and lively stories that move
smoothly into people’s hearts and souls as they read. Throughout the book,
readers will be delighted with tales telling about the unconditional love of
mothers for their children, the love of sisters for their siblings, the love
for comradeship, the love for the homeland, the love for the nation, and the
love for peace and international solidarity. The more they read, the more
intensely readers feel the toss and turns concerning spiritual strength
and the will of the entire nation during the war, in which the author portrayed
herself, edges of her family life along with sacrifice, loss, damages, and
unity-solubility of many Vietnamese generations who fiercely struggled for
liberation and died for the nation’s independence.
Madam Binh stressed that "With
this book I recall the time I lived with my family, friends, and took part in
revolutionary activities. There were so many unforgettable moments. I feel that
I’m extremely lucky that my life was closely associated with important historic
20th century events such as: the war of resistance against the
French colonialists, the US imperialists, and then 30 years of peace after the
war."[2] Writer Nguyen Ngoc cited that it appears readers are very
curious about the untold circumstances at the Paris Conference because Madame
Binh played a key role in the negotiations which were considered as the
longest world peace talks in the history of diplomacy. Readers may be
disappointed in their expectations because the author does not reveal many
details about the peace talk; however, as they read, their curiosity will soon
shift to other persuasive determinants and exciting factors such as
sharp, solid, flexible diplomacy, and yet determination. At the negotiation
table, Madame Binh used her special ability in dialogue to firmly express her
convictions to the opponents (prior enemies of Vietnam) with regard to
reuniting the North and South to once again have a united Vietnam. She was so
convincing that her opponents had no other choice except to sign the Paris
agreement.
After that significant and
successful negotiation, the international mass media called her "Madame
Binh". In order to win the longest five-year peace talk she employed the
spirit of humanity, so clearly found in her Vietnamese predecessors, "Lay
chi nhan ma thay cuong bao”, meaning, “to stop brutality and violence we are
better off in using human values and qualities that bring about benevolence and
kindness”. On behalf of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the
Republic of South Vietnam, she represented the country as a participant in the
4th Paris Conference and eventually the Paris Agreement was signed
on January 17, 1973.
Putting missions of the country
ahead of personal love and family
Every page of Nguyen Thi Binh’s
Memoir is about war intertwined with the responsibilities and life of an
incredible Vietnamese woman of the nation. Madame Binh had to give up her
studies towards a baccalaureate degree and return to Saigon from Cambodia to
join the war of resistance. At that time, she found her first love, however,
due to the call of duty from her country when the war was getting stronger and
more importantly she was temporarily separated from her man, Dinh Khang who was
also a soldier. He had to go north while she was doing her work in the south.
They temporarily parted without any promise as to when they would be reunited.
Yet, they silently loved each other, silently waited for each other, and were
faithful to each other throughout nine consecutive years; in the meantime, she
received only one short note on a piece of crumpled paper from him, "Wishing
you and your family safety and health" (p.26). Their love, during the
war, did not die, did not fade, did not change, in fact their love became as
deep as the ocean, and as intense and strong as a volcano.
Finally, in 1954, she and her
husband were married. Like any other women, she expected days of happiness to
come and that they would unite to build a safe and happy nest. Unfortunately,
due to circumstances of the war, their wedding was simple and happened
hurriedly. Following the wedding, they were hardly able to meet and be with
each other. They had two children, Mai and Thang, but they seldom had the time
to care for them as well. In the book she shared with us, in a touching tone,
“My children had to live at the kindergarten school from the age of two and
they returned home only once a week. When I was away, one of their uncles would
drop them off. However, if the uncles were busy with work, my children had to
stay at the school for weeks. I was away on business most of the time, so I
eventually had to send them to boarding school. Their father was a soldier, so
he was also unable to take care of them. When I was on business trips, I
was extremely nervous and worried when hearing that there were bombs dropping
nearby where my children lived. At times my stomach was gripped in pain because
I missed them so much… War, war makes people die and sacrifice, however, there
is no other choice; we are all the same"(p.29).
Her stories are representative of
the many stories about what the Vietnamese people experienced during the war.
This also indicated that regardless of whatever the circumstances of war,
individuals always put country ahead of family. Patriotism remains the
cornerstone for the Vietnamese people all over the world who fight for national
reconstruction, defense, betterment and development. This is the tradition and
ultimate truth. Thanks to the tremendous sacrifices by many previous
generations that Vietnam has overcame the many severely destructive wars and
bloody and tearful journeys to protect the independence and sovereignty of the
their nation. Writer Nguyen Ngoc said: “Madame Binh is such a popular
Vietnamese woman who has friends from all over the world from normal residents
to well-known heads of state of different political regimes. Over the years,
she went to many countries as a diminutive, humble but sage, friendly, noble
and consistent female representative of a Vietnam struggling in times of war.”
[1]
Challenges and Opportunities to build the country through education
A crucial point in Nguyen Thi Binh’s memoir is her concern about education.
According to Madame Binh, education is a core industry fundamental to the
advancement of the country and its citizens and to the generation of resources
for society. She strongly focuses on the truthfulness, soundness, integrity,
transparency, theory and practice, and advancement of education. People are
solely good when they are honest with themselves, their friends, their family,
and with their country. During any number of newspaper interviews, Madame Binh
discussed the illness of virtual achievement in education or the weaknesses of
education that is more likely to emphasize knowledge and less likely to teach
discipline, values and moral support which has been the case for many years.
Therefore, for those reasons it is far more important that Vietnam has a basic
and holistic reform of education. Madame Binh also sent a message to the
Vietnamese youth telling them that they need to be studious, study well
and all together explore various levels of knowledge while learning values.
They must set clear and specific objectives for not only educating themselves
but also for development of the country.
Madame Binh entered the field of
education in 1976; she had no previous experience and encountered numerous
difficulties because of work overload. Yet she still completed her work
successfully and gained the trust of the Party and the State. While handling
the highest management position as Minister of Education, she was willing to
learn from and about her colleagues and she always listened and showed great
respect for teachers and scientists. Numerous outstanding achievements in the
field of education were realized during her term. Several of those recognized were
as follows:
- Educational management and leadership for North and
South Vietnam was unified,
- Thousands of teachers voluntarily moved from the North
to the South to work in remote areas at schools and institutions and they
voluntarily lived under poor conditions,
- Resolution 14 that was passed which aimed to reform
education and build a progressive, comprehensive educational system that
promoted the belief that studying and practicing take place at the same
time,
- A National Education Conference was organized in Yen
Dung to improve the conditions of daily life for the teachers,
- Adjust the salary scale for the education system was
adjusted and seniority mechanism for teachers was instituted,
- A Teacher’s Day to be celebrated on the 20th
of November each year was instituted to honor those teachers who
contributed to the country’s educational system and recognized them with
titles such as People's Teacher and Outstanding Teacher Of the Year
(1983),
- Declaration of Sam Son on determination of educational
reform, combination between education and career orientation, and
- The Educational Services Company was established and
placed under the management of the Ministry of Education where the head of
distributing educational products to schools is located.
As a result of such tremendous
efforts by the educational system during Madame Binh’s ministerial term of
office from 1976-1987, the knowledge and educational levels of Vietnamese were
increased and advanced. For example, there was a requirement that
soldiers enlisting in the army must have completed grade 7 which was equivalent
to a “baccalaureate” degree. Due to the differences in methodology, educational
philosophy, and education curriculum between the North and the South, the
educational mission to eliminate illiteracy for all became very urgent and very
complex. In short, to have such success in improving education to achieve a
great victory demanded excellent leadership and great sacrifice, silent
dedication, and great contributions by thousands of volunteer teachers from the
North to South the from 1977 to 1987. Indeed, the very specific examples given
above is evidence showing that regardless of whether being in war or peace,
Vietnamese people with all their different ways and different specific actions
were ready to rebuild and defend the country, which created a strength that
resonated throughout the entire nation.
It would be a serious mistake if we did not learn one of Madame Binh’s precious qualities: that is the spirit of "self-criticism and criticism." She often reflected on what she had done and then corrected herself. She admitted that during her ministerial term of office, there were some issues that were not resolved, and yet they were solid which led us to a contemporary time. She replied to a reader in the book-launching ceremony that "there was nothing to feel regretful about; however, mistakes that I made were due to my limitations and subjective and objective conditions. I still feel sorry about those things that were so far off because they were things that I could have done better if I would have had more knowledge and if conditions had been more favorable. Yes, I feel very sorry but not regretful. In her chapter “Many things that I must take responsibility for is to give readers more specific”, Madame Binh referred to her perspective on the spirit of national reconciliation and brought out her views on fairly assessing the patriotism of politicians, intellectuals, and artists in the South of Vietnam for their contributions to the peace of the nation. Readers admire and sense her sincerity and courage when they read the following lines: “I, along with other brothers and sisters in the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, often discussed the policy of reconciliation … That is the moral principle of the Vietnamese people. For Americans, who caused suffering and loss to our people, we were able to effectuate a policy to “set aside the past and look to the future”. There is, therefore, no reason why people within the same country cannot reconcile with each other, love each other, come together, and work together to build our homeland. Writer Nguyen Ngoc also added, "Madam Nguyen Thi Binh was a very steadfast person with big ideas, and was always flexible to accept change ... Working with her, we always found her innovative in mind, soul and deeds."
In summary, the book “Family, Friends, and Country - Nguyen Thi Binh’s
Memoir” is a message of the Viet’s spirit who know how to be proud; how to
be appreciative; how to be grateful to previous generations who struggled for
peace, independence, and national liberation; how to listen and learn about
history; how to show kindness to all; how to secure peace and stability; and
how to take advantage of opportunities to develop the country's economy and
international integration. The message sounds very simple but also very special
because it is an eternal truth that each person should have to contemplate in
order to put it into practice in their daily life. Madame Binh concluded her
book with a message to the youth, “Remember the valuable history lessons of our
forefathers, put common interests over all, despite all barriers and hardships,
to follow a chosen path with a perseverance that has brought freedom and
happiness to many people. The happiness of the country will be the happiness of
our children." (P. 292)
References
