The two words CK, to me, were once very mysterious. As a professional, I heard that the Ministry of Universities had a CK department, like a department, but I did not know what it did. One time, when the Ministry had some work, a friend pulled me into the CK department for a drink. The people there were very enthusiastic with me, and I understood that this department was in charge of helping the Ministry of Education of Laos (C) and Cambodia (K) train staff. Then, as if by fate, the following year I was able to participate in the CK department of Hanoi National University.In the fall of 1985, I was assigned to be in charge of the Vietnamese Language Department. This department is officially the department that trains Vietnamese for foreigners in Hanoi. I eagerly hoped for an opportunity to promote Vietnamese to my friends with a rough plan for development. One afternoon, I was called by the Organization Department of the Ministry, accompanied by a school leader, I did not expect that a Deputy Minister would also attend. There was also a Department of Education. Very briefly, the Deputy Minister told me: “The current foreign affairs situation is very tiring, hostile forces are besieging and embargoing us everywhere, there are very few international students coming to study in our country. The Ministry assigned you to be the Head of the Foreign Affairs Department not to worry about Europe, America, or Japan, it is true that we have to think about that day, but for now, your Department must worry about foreign affairs, worry about it urgently and worry about it well. No matter what, we must help our friends. This is public duty, it is an order.” I immediately understood the importance of the issue. Since the Khmer Rouge was driven out, a number of my fellow teachers had been in Phnom Penh to help train Vietnamese language personnel for the aid relationship between the two countries. The first classes that went there lived in a wartime style, without salary, without benefits, and in extremely miserable conditions in a devastated country. My brothers (I remember Do Thu, Ngoc, Hien, Thi, Cu,...) had worked very well with responsibility and heart. When I met them back, my heart ached when I saw them thin, pale, and unlucky. Some even carried persistent malaria from the battlefields years ago. But teachers there were increasingly needed. To increase Vietnamese language teachers for Cambodian universities, two years ago, the Ministry increased the number of 25 ad hoc staff (under the CK payroll) to the Faculty. So my Faculty had a whole team of young, healthy teachers who were formally trained in Literature to go on international missions. The brothers and sisters were innocent and eager to do their duty. In fact, it was very hard and dangerous, no one dared to say it, but I always worried about the young soldiers going to a country full of risks: bombs, mines, lurking enemies, terrorists, "no food, no medicine for coughs". Every time at 4 o'clock in the cold morning, I came to the gate of the Ministry of Education to see a team off, I hesitated to see the brothers and sisters with backpacks climbing onto the old command car to the airport, my heart was filled with anxiety. They were like going to the front, and the front is "ancient war, many times received", thinking about it, I did not dare to think about it anymore. Then for many years, the teachers of the Vietnamese Language Department took turns teaching at the General, Pedagogical, Economic, Polytechnic, and Agricultural and Forestry schools in Phnom Penh. Not only did they have to teach many classes and many hours, but they also had to write lectures and create their own textbooks to suit the target groups. Although they were experts, life was very hard, "they had to take care of their own salt, oil, rice, and firewood", some had to drain ponds to find fish, go to the city to find firewood in wild gardens, some had to "go to the market", but life was still full of laughter. There were friends who still learned Khmer language and script well, which later, when they returned, they demonstrated in their own research papers. At the peak time, for a few years, due to the needs of their friends, we in the rear had to take care of more volunteer teachers. Teachers of the Faculty of Literature, many of whom were old, such as Nguyen Cao Dam, Le Khanh Soa, Tran Khuyen,... also enthusiastically volunteered, and some of the staff of the Institute of Linguistics also volunteered. There was still a shortage of teachers, so the Ministry decided to mobilize a large number of foreign language teachers to teach Vietnamese. They were very surprised. We had to open many crash courses on Vietnamese practice before leaving. Fortunately, they were foreign language teachers, so they absorbed and got involved very quickly, and worked effectively. We did our best with the spirit of “being unchanging, adapting to all changes”, taking enthusiasm as the basis to deal with all situations. CK that day also had happy and sad stories, now they have become unforgettable memories. Brothers and sisters were far from home, despite the difficulties, but they still gave us, the people at the rear, good feelings. Every time they came back on leave or returned permanently, they often gave me small gifts as souvenirs, but the love was great. I remember, a friend gave me a piece of python glue because he saw that I was thin and pale. I sliced the glue, tasted it and it was sweet, it turned out to be a piece of “genuine” malt, sweetened with palm sugar and dyed the same color. I was craving sugar, so I put it in a pot to cook black bean sweet soup, which was extremely delicious. But what was sweeter was my friend's heart. Another time, Mr. Dang Quang Hung flew home on leave, brought a mini tire back to give me because he remembered that I often rode a “duck Peugeot” with worn-out front tires. I am touched to this day. Another time, a friend of mine came back and gave me a pair of pants. In the situation of “even when I am hungry, I am not full”, I refused to accept it and even joked back: “If you ask me for pants, I will only dare to ask you for one tube!”. My friend quietly left. Being an honest person, he thought I was telling the truth so he took the pants to the market to sell, and a few days later brought the money back to give me exactly half. I hugged my friend and almost cried. I also received enthusiastic support from the school leaders, without which the work would certainly not have gone smoothly. Although they had to take care of many things, they still regularly paid attention to the work of the CK, creating the most favorable conditions and even the smallest things for the department. One time, before Tet, Mr. Nguyen Van Buu asked me: “Have you got anything for the CK association away from home yet?”, I said: “Not yet, I am still trying to find a way”. He immediately said: "When you come to school, I will lend you some "green rice", go to the intershop to buy a ton of MSG, write down the debt, when the faculty has money, pay the school back". I was so happy, that year's Tet was more lively during the difficult time. The following year, when a new principal was elected, he remembered the matter, he called me: "The new principal has not yet taken up the job, I am in "power", bring the debt paper here and I will erase it". When he met me, he said: "We do not owe the CK brothers, so why do you say they are debtors of the school. Give me the debt paper for me to see". After saying that, he wrote in the school's debt book: "The TV Faculty has paid in full", signed, then tore up the debt paper and threw it into the wastepaper bin. Another time, I was sitting in the faculty office when the deputy head of the organization department brought some documents down to work on the principal's orders. I asked what was going on, and he said that the expert team from K. had sent back their opinions requesting the school to handle several cases of undisciplined cadres, such as a teacher who pryed up the floorboards of a hotel to get firewood to cook rice, a teacher who cast a net to catch fish in a public place and then grilled it to drink alcohol, a female teacher who was far from home and made a mistake,... I hesitated. All of these were real human stories. And our brothers and sisters were far from home. I leaned in to whisper a few words to him, and he laughed and shared with me, then returned to school. I was afraid that the principal would reprimand me. Unexpectedly, a few days later when I met him, he smiled and said: "I told the Ministry exactly what you said and returned the file to the Ministry. The Ministry must have told the expert team about what you said." The new principal was also very enthusiastic about CK work. As soon as he was new, he called me to report on the work at K. and asked me to think about doing a few more drastic things in the work to make a change. I saw that he was right, but I hesitated because there were things that were beyond my responsibility. As if realizing, he slowly told me: “Are you shy? Working for CK, for the international mission of the school, there is nothing to be shy about. As for responsibility, no one shares it with you. In our country for four thousand years, only Le Lai died in place of Le Loi, there has never been a second person. If you think it is right, then you take responsibility and do it. I believe you will do well.” Until today, I still think that is a heartfelt opinion of a capable leader. Twenty years have passed, our country is many times more generous to friends than it was then, the CK cadres of that time have gray hair, some old teachers have passed away, most of the young people have become doctors. When I met them, they were still as excited and enthusiastic as before when remembering a time, a time of CK. However, I also feel sad: our brothers and sisters strive so hard, have such achievements, and make such contributions, but until today, the emulation agencies have never once remembered them, not even a single medal or certificate of merit has been given to them, and it is true that our people always work for the greater good, and have never calculated the pros and cons when the country needs them.
May 2003
