At 7pm on February 11 in South Sudan, 5 time zones away from Vietnam, more than 60 officers and soldiers at a field hospital straightened their costumes, saluted the flag and sang the national anthem to see in the New Year. On the TV screen was a video of fireworks exploding over the skies of Hanoi. With hands on their chest and eyes looking towards the motherland, they offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh and listened to General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong’s New Year greetings. The soldiers, away from home, were moved upon hearing the top leader extend his wishes to all Vietnamese people both at home and abroad. Raising their glasses, giving warm hugs and making wishes of peace, Vietnamese doctors on the UN peacekeeping mission looked to the small stage and watched a home-made arts programme. “We called back home to inquire after our family members on New Year’s eve. This is the second Tet of the hospital staff in South Sudan although the tenure was expected to be just one year”, said Lieutenant Colonel Vo Van Hien, director of the field hospital, explaining the tenure has been lengthened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, guests invited to the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebrations included a large number of service members on the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. But this year, the celebrations were only held internally to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Earlier Senior Colonel Nguyen Ba Hung, a military observer, and a number of officers working in the capital Juba, had managed to complete their work and returned to the Bentiu base, 900 kilometres from the capital, to celebrate Tet along with military doctors. “A shipment of supplies was dispatched from Vietnam to South Sudan at the end of the year so that soldiers here could have a warm Tet. In addition to medical supplies and protective gear, we also received essential food such as vermicelli, shiitake mushroom and cloud ear fungus”, said Senior Lieutenant Le Trong Nghia, …
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