Forty years ago, the first group of teachers from the Vietnamese Language Department flew to Thu Duc to teach Vietnamese intensively to the first high-ranking officials of the Cambodian National United Front for National Salvation. (Photo: Pham Thanh Long)
The Khmer New Year, Chol Chnam Thmey, begins in mid-April. Amidst this vibrant and joyful atmosphere of Southeast Asia, the Department of Vietnamese Studies and the Vietnamese Language organized an unprecedented gathering to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Vietnamese University's international mission in Cambodia.
This was the first official reunion of faculty members who had previously worked in Cambodia with leaders of the expert delegation from the University, Education, and the Ministry's Steering Committee, along with some faculty members from the Faculty of Literature, the Faculty of Foreign Languages, the University of Hanoi, and some faculty members from the University of Foreign Languages (now Hanoi University) who had shared hardships together throughout their youth.
The idea for this reunion originated from three teachers who had been present in that particular battlefield from the very beginning: Mr. Phan Hoang Manh, former head of the Vietnamese University expert delegation in Cambodia; Mr. Vu Thanh Tung, a teacher who wrote poetry; and Mr. Nguyen Thien Nam, Head of the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language.
It was Cambodia, and nowhere else, that provided the most concentrated and professional training in Vietnamese language teaching, contributing to the creation of a "golden generation" in the field of Vietnamese language teaching at Hanoi University, now part of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
In the grounds of Hall B, building B7bis of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, more than 50 familiar faces from the past reunited amidst a mix of joy and sadness.
Attending and sharing the significance of this meeting, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Vice Rector of the university, expressed his sincere feelings and respect and gratitude to the generations of teachers who have lived and dedicated their youth to maintaining the friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia and the mission of spreading the Vietnamese language.
Forty years have passed since the first group of teachers from the Vietnamese Language Department flew to Thu Duc to teach Vietnamese intensively to the first high-ranking officials of the Cambodian National United Front for National Salvation.
Having endured dark and tragic chapters in its history, Cambodia has truly been reborn thanks to the volunteer soldiers, experts from all fields, and cultural ambassadors from the university expert delegation from Vietnam.
Former Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training Nguyen Dinh Tu pictured with a group of teachers from the Faculty teaching Vietnamese in Cambodia in 1984. (Archival photo provided by Mr. Nguyen Thien Nam)
Since 1981, the first team of experts from the Vietnamese Language Department of Hanoi University has officially embarked on international missions, comprising a mix of experienced teachers, middle-aged individuals, and a group of "new recruits" in the field of teaching Vietnamese.
Life as a "specialist" was like a battlefield, so everything was incredibly scarce. We had to grow vegetables, improve our meals, and at the communal kitchen, we wished we could have half a bowl of rice more, but we couldn't even get that...
At that time, teaching materials and dictionaries were scarce. The group organized the creation of a Vietnamese-Khmer vocabulary list for the textbook…with the help of Comrade Do Huu Tuyet, the group's translator. Although not yet graduates, the group boldly invited the translators to teach translation to second-year students, earning them the nickname "translation teachers."
The second group continued its mission in 1982, the third group in 1983, with additions to the staff in each of those years; and in 1984-1985, four more teachers from the Faculty of Literature were added, and in 1986-1987, teachers from Thanh Xuan University of Foreign Languages were also included.
The number of Vietnamese language teachers sent over gradually increased. Later, the university expert group disbanded, and the groups moved to work at individual schools and regions, with the number potentially reaching over a hundred people.
In the Vietnamese Language Department alone, a total of 47 teachers went to Cambodia, which, multiplied by the number of years, amounts to over 200 trips; the Literature Department had 15 people, and the Foreign Language Department also had more than 10 people.
Back then, those teachers far from home shared a common joy of connection, a love for the Vietnamese language, affection for their brotherly country of Cambodia, and unforgettable stirrings of a youthful time filled with emotion, passion, and romance…
Many cheerful, witty, and humorous stories, mixed with poignant sadness and regret, were shared among the teachers in their 60s and 70s. They held hands, their smiles tinged with age but still retaining the enthusiasm of their younger days.
"Vietnam's assistance to Cambodia is unprecedented in human history. A nation facing hardship has wholeheartedly helped a neighboring nation rise from the brink of death."
Mr. Phan Hoang Manh, former Head of the Vietnamese University Expert Delegation in Cambodia, speaks at the meeting. (Photo: Pham Thanh Long)
Veteran intellectual Phan Hoang Manh began his remarks with such words. He is a living witness, a cheerful and kind-hearted delegation leader, jokingly referred to by the audience as "re-nominated as Head of Delegation" to occupy the most honorable position at the gathering.
At the age of 93, he still confidently holds the microphone and recounts countless memorable moments, the years that, according to him, were the most meaningful in his life as an educator.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam, Head of the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, who has over 7 years of teaching experience in Cambodia, recounts his unforgettable experiences in his 20s.
These reminders give listeners much to think about: For example, the 2017 news report from the Royal Cambodian Government designated May 20th as "Memorial Day" for the victims of the Pol Pot genocide without mentioning Vietnam;
It was both a coincidence and not a coincidence that Professor Nam finished Volume 3 of the "Vietnamese for Cambodians" series on May 20, 1989; this was a mimeographed book intended for thousands of his students at the Phnom Penh University of Medicine and Pharmacy, with an introductory note implying that as Cambodia transitioned into a new phase, Vietnamese experts also had many thoughts and concerns.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam teaching Vietnamese in Cambodia, when he was only 23 years old.
The phrase "The book was completed under extremely difficult circumstances" implies this; it refers to classes with thousands of students learning Vietnamese, writing books solely for students to learn from, without any remuneration, grading thousands of papers, diligently working with illegible handwriting, and being a skinny person (50kg) who speaks Khmer in a way no one would believe is Vietnamese, even though it's 100% self-taught, except for one week of evening alphabet lessons organized by the youth union with the help of Le Minh Dien as an interpreter.
It was a sleepless night, staying up until 5 a.m. to translate 30 pages of Khmer documents for the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, my fingers numb with pain. The sharing ended with a lingering exclamation: “Oh, it can only be ‘Beloved 20s’! How can I believe it?”; “Oh, a time so far away. And the sacrifices of Vietnam, sometimes, are also so far away…”.
Vice Rector Hoang Anh Tuan (left) converses with Mr. Phan Hoang Manh (middle), 93 years old, former head of the University expert delegation, and Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghinh, 95 years old, former head of the education expert delegation. (Photo: Pham Thanh Long)
The "most cheerful panel in the Gulf of Tonkin," consisting of Vice Principal Hoang Anh Tuan, Mr. Phan Hoang Manh, and Mr. Nguyen Thien Nam, discovered and honored three teachers who had previously received the Labor Medal and the Friendship Medal from the Cambodian government for their achievements in teaching and promoting the Vietnamese language and culture.
The most outstanding performance for the final moments of the gathering was the song "Regulations," sung in the Nghe Tinh folk style, with lyrics written by teacher Phan Hoang Manh and adapted by teachers Nguyen Thien Nam, Vu Thanh Tung, and Nguyen Trong Tan.
TTeacher Nguyen Thien Nam performs the song "Rules" sung in the Nghe Tinh folk style (Photo: Pham Thanh Long)
The song, performed by Mr. Nam, evoked the innocent laughter of cheerful young people, recreating the bygone years of hardship and optimism, a time filled with the volunteer footsteps of a generation of intellectuals who accepted sacrificing their youth for the international cause, a golden generation of Vietnamese language teachers in Vietnam.
“We must build a life of hard work! We must build a life of hard work!”… The Nghe Tinh folk song in Cambodia sends a message of “perseverance and dedication” to future generations in the journey of spreading the Vietnamese language. The path to the international stage is also the path back home – living a life of hard work to nurture a Vietnamese language that is affectionate and chivalrous.
(Notes from the reunion commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Vietnamese University Expert Delegation's international mission in Cambodia, organized by the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language)
Author:Dr. Le Thi Thanh Tam
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