December 11, 2007
Letter from Richmond, Virginia to Rural Affairs Friends
....Rufus Philips? - Yeah - those were the only words that we exchanged, Rufe
and I, on the late afternoon of October 18, 2007, at the registration lobby of
the Silver Legacy Hotel after 43 years of separation. We were speechless in each
other's embrace for a short while, then we looked at each other, still
speechless.
Happily, Hoat - a friend of mine - was at the scene and took the first memorial
picture of us.
My dear colleagues and friends,
Is it not a wonder and a big blessing that we may again see one another in this
part of the world, half way around the globe, distant from Vietnam, after so
many years, and after so many gigantic catastrophes?
I should have written you sooner, but I just got back to Richmond November 15,
and have been so busy. I stayed a whole month in San Jose in order to attend our
reunion in Reno and afterwards see those colleagues who could not join us, such
as Hai Tran, Tuan-Anh Bach, William Luong and Dinh Nguyen. I also took that
occasion to see my relatives and other friends.
Before going to our reunion, I had believed that I would have so many things to
share with you. About the fall of Saigon, about life afterwards, about my
family, about our effort for survival and particularly to recall the happy time
we had together when in Rural Affairs.
But when seeing you I was so moved that I could not persuade myself to talk
about anything. The fact that I was there among you who represented the happy
part of my life was enough for me. I noticed that we all grow old gracefully,
impregnated with the scent of the muddy ricefields of the Mekong delta, with the
beauty of our romantic beaches in Danang and Nhatrang and with the great
landscape of the highlands. After so many years, I can still feel that we stay
united by our common cause, which was to help improve the life of the rural
people by bringing them new techniques, new facilities -- in short by blowing a
new fresh, strong and benefical wind to the pastoral scenery.
We were different. Yes, we were not only colleagues -- we were brothers and
sisters in the big family of Rural Affairs. And your presence in Reno confirmed
that feeling.
We worked together, we were happy when there was success, unhappy when we met
failure, but we were all the time together. I remember when our staff would come
back from the field the main office in Saigon was like a beehive.
Also, with Rural Affairs the interaction between American staff and local
employees also changed completely, and for the better.
Since I could not talk to you viva-voce, I hope that my booklet, "Hong Ha via
Cuu Long Giang to the James River," would replace me to share my reminiscences
and perspectives. Hong Ha (Red River) watering North Vietnam, where I was born;
Cuu Long Giang (Mekong River) watering South, where my family settled down after
moving down from the North as a consequence of the Geneva Agreement; and the
James River, which flows through Richmond, Virginia, where I now live.
This was the first time that I attended a Rural Affairs Reunion. In addition to
meeting old friends, I made acquantaince with new ones, and I enjoyed them both.
Before closing, I am sending my special thanks to Isabel and Vlad, who revealed
that they are good and dedicated organizers; to all the other old friends, who
reminded me of a time of good cooperation, efficient work, and great joy; and to
my new friends, who have contributed largely to making our reunion more
exciting, more enjoyable. I am addressing my warmest thanks to Thanh-Tinh
Nguyen, Bong & Hoat Tran who helped make my trip to Reno possible. Hope to see
all of you at the next reunion.
I am enclosing some pictures
<click here> taken by our friend Hoat Tran and myself.
Lang Ha
lang_ha@hotmail.com
(804)329-8304 phone
404 Winston St.
Richmond, VA 23222-2112
USA