Symphony of a resilient Vietnam

“Faced with images of war, I only hear the symphony of a resilient Vietnam.” That was the feeling of French-Vietnamese female writer Line Papin in the Liberation newspaper (France) during the days when Hanoi was preparing for the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2. For the young French female writer, Hanoi today seems to have never experienced war, but still bears the deep mark of the country’s history, between independence, fierce wars, and the lifting of the US embargo.

Hanoi is a city that resounds with song. Every morning, I wake up to the sound of loudspeakers broadcasting the news of the day. It starts with a tap to check if the microphone is working, “tap tap”, then the test, “one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four”. Finally, a voice rings out.

When I was little, that voice reminded me of the greatness and might of Vietnam, of the bravery and strength of the country; that voice said, the Vietnamese are the best in the world , and that was a wonderful way for my little heart to start a new day. I felt excited. Then the street vendors' cries: "Hot bread here!"… I often bought a hot bread from them.

I studied at the French school named after Alexandre Yersin, an explorer and doctor who had settled in Vietnam… In the morning, the yellow and white school bus picked me up. I carried a teddy bear-shaped school bag and light-up shoes that played music when I walked. The US trade embargo on Vietnam had been lifted a year before I was born, and now consumer products were available in the Vietnamese market.

In 1945, young soldiers carrying the Viet Minh flag returned to Hanoi. Photo: Liberation

I had no idea then how much Vietnamese history had shaped me, a child of mixed French and Vietnamese descent, attending a school whose name evoked Indochina. The lifting of the embargo and the sale of American goods in Vietnam signaled the normalization of relations between the two countries. It was an era of peace and victory. I grew up in a city hungry for aspirations, some eager to make up for 50 years of deprivation, others eager to discover a thousand new things….

On TV, I often see images of Agent Orange victims: Men with peeling skin, women with amputated arms, deformed children... The horror of war still pervades even though Hanoi always resounds with songs... Thousands of motorbikes rush through the streets, as fast as rushing water, driven by an endless source of energy. Hanoi often gives me the feeling of being in the World Cup, an atmosphere after the match, the sound of horns blaring in victory parades.

This year, I celebrate my 30th birthday, coinciding with the time when Vietnam celebrates the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2; and the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification.

President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is located at the historic Ba Dinh Square, where 80 years ago he read the Declaration of Independence and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945 in front of hundreds of thousands of people... President Ho Chi Minh's Declaration of Independence in 1945 led the country through years of fierce war before winning victory in the spring of 1975, liberating the South and unifying the country.

Line Papin with his brother and mother on a cyclo in Hanoi, 2000. Photo: Liberation

In the summer of 2025, I visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Leaving here, I listened to the sounds of the city: the cries of street vendors, the blaring of motorbike horns, the crackling of loudspeakers, and the voices of people calling each other from afar. The Hanoi Symphony Orchestra was playing hundreds of pieces, gentle and powerful, blending with the dances of a country that always stands firm.

PHUONG LINH (brief translation)

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-te/doi-song/ban-giao-huong-cua-mot-viet-nam-kien-cuong-842395