 The wedding of Tran Ngoc Quynh Anh and Guillaume Richard (Photo: VOV) |
In the stream of people coming to the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the great Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7), there were very special guests: two Vietnamese and French families. They came here before holding a wedding for the young couple Tran Ngoc Quynh Anh and Guillaume Richard.
The Museum is the place where they first met 7 years ago when Quynh Anh worked as a volunteer here.
“We met when he traveled here. We exchanged a lot about history and culture. His family has a peace loving tradition. During the Indochina War, his grandparents participated in strikes and movements to protest the fighting. We share one thing in common: the love for peace. For us, this is the land where I was born and also the place where everything started,” Quynh Anh said.
Stories revolving around the Dien Bien Phu Victory which “resounded throughout the five continents and shook the globe” 70 years ago and the historical memorabilia in the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum bound the two young people together regardless of their geographical distance, ethnicity, and the past war.
“We met each other by destiny and decided to hold the wedding on the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory. Our love began when I visited this special historical land. We maintained our relationship for four years and experienced a long-distant love due to geographical distance and the COVID-19 pandemic. When Quynh Anh went to France to study we decided to get married,” Guillaume Richard said.
Groom Guillaume decided to take his grandparents from France to the bride’s hometown right before their wedding day, visiting historical sites as a way to bond the two families and better understand the culture and history of Vietnam in general and of Dien Bien in particular.
“Vietnam and France relations have turned a new chapter after decades. The war belongs to the past. We cannot forget the war because generations of our predecessors have laid down their lives. After blood and tears, we have a great appreciation for the happiness and joy we enjoy today. Hopefully, they will learn more about Vietnam and Dien Bien after this trip,” Quynh Anh’s father Tran Ngoc Suong said.
“We loved Quynh Anh very much as soon as we first met her. She is very nice and her family are friendly and get along with us. I thought about the special history between the two countries and both our family’s peace-loving tradition. We took to the street many times to protest wars. It is fate that connects the two young people. It also fosters the bond between the two nations and opens a future of hope,”Guillaume’s grandfather, Michel Gagne Richard said.
70 years after the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam and France have put aside the past and look forward to the future. Dien Bien Phu has turned from a place of war into a “rendezvous of peace, friendship and cooperation”.