The University of Social Sciences and Humanities hosted a reception and literary and artistic exchange with an international delegation from the Soldier's Heart organization (USA) on the afternoon of October 10, 2010.Attending the program were representatives of the Board of Directors, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Training Cooperation, the Veterans Association of the school, and teachers and students of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication. The American delegation was led by Prof. Dr. Edward Tick - writer, poet, psychologist - with 19 other members who were American veterans who fought in the battlefields of Vietnam and Iraq, professors and university students. Many poetic works by the members of the delegation, and by Vietnamese lecturers, were read, shared and felt. Poems about war, whether written by Vietnamese or Americans, have very noticeable common points. That is, wars seem to have gone far away, but the memories of them still make those who directly participated in the war worry, feel tormented, hurt, and torment their souls, and war is something no one wants. The veteran poets also shared with each other works filled with love for their families, homelands, and traditional cultural values. An atmosphere of empathy, love, and healing truly spread and filled the hearts of the participants. “This is a cultural and artistic “reconciliation” with the spirit of reconciliation and love between Vietnamese and Americans,” commented Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai (Faculty of Journalism and Communication). Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Minh Thai was also the “bridge” for this artistic cooperation and exchange program. Speaking at the exchange, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (Vice Principal) expressed: “This exchange and working session is very different from the international delegations that have come to work with the school before. Never before have the parties had such an impressive and profound empathy and sharing.” Associate Professor, Dr. Edward Tick affirmed that he and the members of the delegation will do their best to help establish and promote exchange activities, training cooperation, and literary and artistic exchanges between the universities where he teaches (including Kent State University, CWRU University of Ohio, USA) and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Here is a poem by Master Pham Dinh Lan (Faculty of Journalism and Communication, member of the University's Veterans Association) and a poem by a member of the American delegation.
Inch of Ancient Citadel
• Pham Dinh Lan
Step lightly and speak softly, Let my comrades lie peacefully under the grass. The sky of Quang Tri is clear and windy, Though the noise is loud, don't shake the trees. Step lightly and speak softly, The ancient citadel is so wide, yet my comrades lie so tightly. Every inch of land is a real life. Today, I am choked up. Where do you lie? East of the citadel, west of the citadel, or under the Thach Han River. Eighty-one days and nights, the land and sky have been filled with bombs and bullets, The white sand has turned yellow, tilting the river. Light a stick of incense and cry a little! I silently tell myself that. To take a minute to listen to you call... Where do you lie, my friend? You lie in the fields of your homeland, On the front line of the Ben Hai River. Guns in your hands and eyes blazing, Pouring hatred on the enemy and then falling peacefully. Step lightly and speak softly, Let my comrades lie peacefully under the grass. The sky of Quang Tri is clear and windy, Lulling the immortal song forever!
Join hands to heal the wound
Poem byGabz Ciofani(a member of the delegation, wrote while looking at peace paintings by Vietnamese children)
(Translation: Poet, translator Nguyen Phan Que Mai)Last fall I guided high school students to write poems in response to the truth drawn by Vietnamese children We took drawings from the Internet and watched the children's experiences on a projection screen My students and I talked about the overwhelming feelings of war and the truth as drawn by young Vietnamese We opened our eyes together to see that we were all in this together To see that war burned our sons Burned our brothers alive I told my students to write their feelings about the truth in their paintings Write about the futures they will create And what they want tomorrow to be And I read to them the lines from that future The lines I was drawing I would draw people holding hands with leaders who love peace And a camera capturing their gentleness Eggs hatching in the spring Now, as autumn falls The watermarks of war still wrinkle our surfaces I was in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and I still see how our children respond to war with their sincerity.
