PANO - During the annual program “Summer Camp 2012”, 180 overseas Vietnamese students from 25 countries and territories worldwide visited and burned incenses to heroic martyr Vo Thi Sau at the Hang Duong Cemetery in Con Dao District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
At the age of 14, female hero Vo Thi Sau followed her brother to join local revolutionary activities against the French. In April 1951, she was sentenced to death for killing and injuring more than 20 French troops by grenade at Dat Do (red land) market. She was moved to Con Dao Island and imprisoned in the “tiger cage” at the French-built Con Dao Prison and sneakily executed on January 23rd, 1952 when she was only 19 years old.
Immediately after the guide finished her speech, all visitors cried and sang the song “Thanks to Ms. Vo Thi Sau” by her grave.
Vu Thi Phuong My, a Vietnamese student in Moscow, Russia, said that there are a few Vietnamese in her school so she only learns Vietnamese language and culture from her parents. The Summer Camp 2012 is a good chance for her to know the truth. When returning home, she will tell her parents and friends the good example of Ms. Vo Thi Sau as well as her memories during the Camp’s travels.
Students Pham Thuy My from Germany and Do Van Anh from Romania affirmed they will try their best to study to build up the Vietnamese mother country in the future.
Luckily, the delegation of 180 overseas Vietnamese students met Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan at Van Son Temple. Ms. Nguyen Thi Doan emphasized that the visit is a practical activity to mark the 65th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day. At present, 8.8 million people across the country, making up 10 per cent of the national population, are receiving support from the Party and the State. Of whom, there are 1.4 million martyrs. She also hoped that overseas Vietnamese students should continue studying to making contributions to national development and identity preservation. “Studying is a good key to make your ways in the world”, Ms. Doan said.
In full agreement with Ms. Doan’s advice, Phan Bao Ngoc, a student in a Chinese university, said that he feels responsible for helping his friends learn more about Vietnam. In his class presentations, he usually used images of Vietnamese traditional dress and Vietnamese activities in the national resistance wars against French and Americans to translate them into Chinese and then introduced them to his classmates. “After the tour to Vo Thi Sau’s grave in Con Dao Island, I have a new story for my next presentation”, Bao Ngoc said.
Translated by Van Hieu