By Bùi Văn Nghị* 

On the evening of May 7, 2024, in the compound event to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ victory, and the 35th year of the Việt Nam - Brazil diplomatic relationship, the Vietnamese Embassy in our capital Brasilia was honoured to pay homage to Hồ Chí Minh - an excellent Vietnamese person.

When he was alive and after death, the Vietnamese people respectfully call him “Uncle Hồ,” a term passed down through many generations. 

“Hồ Chí Minh lives in our cause forever!” is a time-honoured phrase. The vitality of Hồ Chí Minh passes through space and time. Though Hồ Chí Minh was the president of Việt Nam, his prestige and influence are unlimited.

He is the most renowned revolutionist in Asia, and known for many things: travelling abroad for nearly 30 years, fluency in many languages, and having many jobs. No other leaders in Asia could boast of being a journalist, poet, military leader, diplomat, hero of national liberation, and world cultural celebrity at the same time.

If there is one word that sums up Hồ Chí Minh's legacy, it is vitality.

This vitality means that every preschool student in 2024 knows the great man as Uncle Hồ.

This vitality means that primary school pupils still try to perform “Five things Uncle Hồ taught children,” and to become “Uncle Hồ’s obedient children.”

This vitality is the name of Hồ Chí Minh’s Pioneers and Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union.

This vitality is a symbol of the 80-year-old Vietnam People’s Army, with the forces still called “Uncle Hồ’s soldiers."

This vitality is seen in the Hồ Chí Minh medal, Hồ Chí Minh prize for art and literature, and Hồ Chí Minh prize for science and technology.

This vitality is the campaign “Follow the moral mirror of Hồ Chí Minh in living and learning” and the slogan “Follow the example of grandiose Hồ Chí Minh in living, learning and working.”

This vitality is the inspiration, and motivation for Vietnamese people and the disadvantaged worldwide to overcome challenges and storms.

The vitality of Hồ Chí Minh is the strength of international solidarity and the beauty of humanism.

The strong belief in Hồ Chí Minh, the Hồ Chí Minh generation, and Hồ Chí Minh’s thought, gives the Vietnamese comfort, inner fire and strength.

Uncle Hồ’s mausoleum in Ba Đình square is a destination for all Vietnamese people and foreign visitors when they come to Hà Nội.

Vietnamese leaders, and Vietnamese organisations see the mausoleum as the sacred place to report on their achievements after signifcant events. The mausoleum looks upon Ba Đình Hall (The Congress House later), near Thăng Long royal citadel - the sacred land of the capital of a thousand years of civilisation.

The shrines to worship Uncle Hồ are everywhere in my country and across the world. The altars for Uncle Hồ are put in the most solemn places in people's houses, offices, companies, and embassies.

In any place where Vietnamese live, there are pictures, statues, and the worship of Uncle Hồ. Hồ Chí Minh is a great man who is respected nearly absolutely. He is even reckoned to be a “saint” by some.

Vietnamese people are proud that they are children of the dragon, grandchildren of immortal sages, children of Lạc and the grandchildren of Hồng. The people naturally call one another fellow-citizens, and the children of Uncle Hồ.

Hồ Chí Minh is the father of Việt Nam polity today. He enhances the position of Việt Nam, making the country luxuriate in the light of its own peace and culture. The culture of Hồ Chí Minh is the culture for the future. VNS 

*Vietnamese ambassador to Brazil (also covering Peru, Guyana, Bolivia, and Suriname)