Prof. Dr. Yang Dao clearly remembers that when he was only 4-5 years old, he and his family had the honour to welcome Uncle Ho and the Viet Minh delegation in Meo Vac district and was impressed by his simple and close gesture.
Uncle Ho with ethnic minority people (Documentary photo)
At Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s reception for overseas Vietnamese in the US during his working visit to the US and the United Nations, he added that when he grew up, he understood more valuable things about Uncle Ho’s life and cause for national liberation.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Dr. Yang Dao, from the H'Mong ethnic group, expressed the deep and sacred affection for his country of a person far away for a very long time, as well as his pride in the changes and growth of Vietnamese people and country.
He was also particularly impressed with President Ho Chi Minh's thought on the role and solidarity of groups in the country. The professor repeated the saying expressing Uncle Ho's vision that in a flower garden, there must be many different kinds of flowers, just like in the country there must be different ethnic groups living together.
This has also been mentioned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in his speech to the Vietnamese community in the US, about the good implementation of President Ho Chi Minh's wish that Vietnamese people should love each other.
Prof. Dr. Yang Dao also expressed emotion when recalling the first time he visited Uncle Ho's Mausoleum and, like other Vietnamese far from home, he always remembers Uncle, hoping to have the opportunity to return home every year and visit Uncle Ho's Mausoleum.
His family belongs to H’Mong ethnic minority in Meo Vac District, Ha Giang Province. He was the first H’Mong ethnic minority person to receive a doctoral degree in social sciences from the Sorbonne University, France. After that, he and his family moved to live and work in Minnesota, the US.
He taught Southeast Asian anthropology at the University of Minnesota, Minnesota, until retirement. He has always made active contributions in uniting the H'Mong community and the Vietnamese community in order to promote the national cultural identity and connect people with the homeland./.
Compiled by BTA