Palestinian Ambassador Saadi Salama: I love the Vietnamese language like my mother tongue.

Palestinian Ambassador Saadi Salama - student of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language from 1980-1984

You'll find Saadi uses many insightful words like: "close to death," "fate," "running for power and position," "nepotism," "people's hearts are turning cold"... Through his story of learning and using Vietnamese, one is captivated by his distinct personality. When researching something, he always goes to great lengths, understands it thoroughly, and always makes comparisons between Vietnamese and other languages ​​like English or Arabic. For example, he says: the word "fate" is very difficult to translate into English or Arabic; or the word "thank you" is not often used by Vietnamese because it's too formal and polite... Saadi not only aims for correct Vietnamese usage but also wants to use it in a truly "profound" and expressive way. He opposes speaking Vietnamese "like a machine" without emotion. It must be an interesting Vietnamese, not only in meaning but also in pronunciation and storytelling. Therefore, if you only heard his voice over the phone, few people would realize that this was a foreigner speaking Vietnamese because of the fluency and captivating intonation in his voice.

He carefully asked us about the purpose of the interview and the key points we needed to address. He said it was to prepare himself to speak concisely, impressively, and to the point, because he knew that each person's screen time was limited. And throughout the more than 10 minutes of the recorded interview, he perfectly demonstrated fluent Vietnamese, without even the pauses or hesitations that Vietnamese people often make during interviews. No retakes were needed. Everything was neat and professional. Besides his excellent language skills, it must be acknowledged that he has exceptionally good thinking abilities, making his ideas always clear and concise. On that foundation, his solid command of the Vietnamese language truly shone.

Saadi caused a media sensation with his impressive knowledge of the Vietnamese language and culture, history, and geography when he participated in the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" program on the 4th day of Tet (Lunar New Year) in 2017, winning a prize worth 40 million VND. He answered a series of difficult questions related to cuisine (such as Cao Lau noodles, sticky rice cakes, ginger cakes, etc.); geography (related to Dong Xuan Market and the Lo River); and history (related to the revolutionary Tran Phu) with ease and clarity. The most interesting detail was when Saadi encountered the question "What does 'Bu' mean?", he asked the studio audience, and the most popular answer was "A song." But then he immediately chose "Mother" and successfully passed the challenge to resounding applause from the viewers.

Palestinian Ambassador Saadi Salama and Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam (Head of the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language) at the Ambassador's Office during a filming session for an interview with the Ambassador in preparation for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language.

To learn Vietnamese effectively, one must understand Vietnamese culture; perseverance and not giving up when facing difficulties – these are the secrets of Saadi Salama. But we also discovered another secret of his: his Vietnamese wife, whom he married at a very young age in Vietnam – a country he first visited when he was only 19.

"I am proud to be one of the few foreigners who can speak Vietnamese like their mother tongue," he said. Another source of pride for him is that all four of his children are successful, contribute to society, and are particularly multilingual: Vietnamese, Arabic, French, English, and Spanish.

“I am a lucky Palestinian boy to have come to Vietnam to study at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language.” He kept offering his opinions, analyzing, and boasting about how lucky and happy he was – a self-confidence that always showed his value, his understanding of himself, and his firm grasp of the issues he needed to express, making it impossible for anyone to outsmart him. This was complemented by the sweet elegance of a diplomat, with a radiant face and smile. No wonder our photographer had no difficulty capturing his best features in the photos.

With outstanding alumni like him, it's no surprise that the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, after 50 years, still holds a leading position in the country for training in Vietnamese language and Vietnamese studies.