After years devoted to the mountains, villages and ethnic minority communities, they met again at the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the traditional day of the state management agency for ethnic affairs (May 3, 1946 - May 3, 2026), overcome with emotions too deep for words.
Tears rolled down faces marked by time as memories resurfaced of a journey filled with hardship yet immense pride for Vietnam’s ethnic affairs sector.
It was a path built on dedication, responsibility and profound love for ethnic minority communities and for the nation.
The gathering became a heartfelt homecoming beneath the shared roof of generations of officials who devoted their youth and passion to ethnic and religious affairs - a mission inseparably tied to ethnic communities and the great national unity bloc.
Exactly 80 years ago, on May 3, 1946, President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree establishing the Department for Ethnic Minorities under the Ministry of Home Affairs - the first state agency tasked with managing ethnic affairs.
From that historic milestone, ethnic affairs gradually took shape, developed and continued to grow alongside the revolutionary journey of the country.
Over different periods, despite operating under various names such as the Department for Ethnic Minorities, the Committee for Ethnic and Mountainous Affairs and the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the system overseeing ethnic affairs has steadily strengthened and expanded in both structure and responsibilities.
A particularly significant milestone in this process was the establishment of the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs through the restructuring of the state management apparatus for ethnic and religious affairs.
During the years of arduous resistance wars, officials working in ethnic affairs crossed mountains and forests, lived among villagers and mobilized ethnic communities to unite in the struggle for national independence.
In revolutionary bases across Viet Bac, the Northwest, the Central Highlands and the Southwest region, ethnic affairs officials not only carried out mass mobilization but also built revolutionary foundations, helping strengthen the great national unity bloc - one of the decisive factors behind Vietnam’s revolutionary victories.
After national reunification, especially during the doi moi era, ethnic affairs continued to be identified by the Party and State as a long-term strategic issue of special importance to the country’s sustainable development.
That orientation brought profound change to remote mountainous, border and disadvantaged regions across the country.
Inside the auditorium, many gray-haired former officials fell silent as documentary footage tracing the sector’s 80-year journey played on screen.
Some had spent their youth in the mountains of the Northwest, while others devoted decades to the Central Highlands.
They returned with emotion and pride as they witnessed how today’s ethnic affairs sector has matured, expanded and assumed an increasingly important role in the country’s development strategy.
Recalling years spent closely attached to highland communities, Hoang Thi Hanh - former Deputy Minister and Vice Chairwoman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs - became emotional as she spoke about memories from Ban Cong and Ban Mu communes in Tram Tau district, Yen Bai Province, in the early 2000s.
At that time, opium poppies blanketed mist-covered mountainsides, smoke drifted through homes, eroding health and willpower while trapping many Mong families in a cycle of poverty and backwardness.
“There were villages so devastated it was heartbreaking. People lived trapped in opium smoke, children could not attend school, and life seemed to hold almost no hope for change,” Hanh recalled quietly.
Faced with that reality, and with determination from the Party, the State, ethnic affairs agencies and local authorities, many working groups persistently stayed in villages, eating, living and working alongside residents to persuade them to eradicate opium cultivation.
It was not a mission completed in days or months, but a difficult journey demanding patience, understanding and genuine compassion for local people.
Gradually, opium fields were replaced by fruit orchards and terraced rice paddies.
Electricity reached villages, new roads opened and with them came light, schools and hope.
“When we returned and saw children happily going to school, saw families with food, clothing and the ability to build livelihoods, we felt every hardship had been worthwhile,” Hanh said emotionally.
The story of Tram Tau is not only the memory of one generation of ethnic affairs officials, but also vivid proof of the quiet yet deeply responsible journey of those who devoted themselves to helping highland communities escape poverty and backwardness, gradually transforming their lives through their own efforts.
Sharing the same emotions, former leaders of state agencies overseeing ethnic affairs across different periods all expressed pride and deep emotion at witnessing the major transformation of ethnic and religious affairs today.
Amid the joy of reunion, veteran generations also expressed strong confidence that today’s officials would continue preserving and promoting the traditions of unity, dedication and closeness to the people, wholeheartedly serving ethnic communities.
They called on younger generations to continue the sector’s proud legacy with innovation, responsibility and a spirit of contribution, guiding ethnic affairs into a new stage of development marked by even greater achievements.
In the warm and solemn atmosphere of the gathering, Minister Nguyen Dinh Khang expressed sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to generations of leaders, officials, civil servants and workers in ethnic affairs at both central and local levels for their major contributions to the sector’s proud achievements.
He also expressed confidence and hope that today’s officials working in ethnic and religious affairs would continue writing the next chapter of the sector’s 80-year tradition in ethnic affairs and 71-year tradition in religious affairs.
He urged them to continue striving, competing and upholding the highest sense of responsibility before the Party and the people in order to fulfill their duties in the new era.
Attending the event, Dinh Thi Phuc, Secretary of the Youth Union of the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, said that for today’s younger generation, working in ethnic and religious affairs is not only a source of pride but also a major responsibility before the Party, the State and ethnic communities.
Through concrete actions, young officials in the sector are becoming increasingly connected to grassroots communities, carrying forward the spirit of being “close to the people, understanding the people and serving the people” inherited from previous generations.
“We understand that behind today’s achievements are the efforts, dedication and silent sacrifices of many generations before us. That is also the motivation for young people to continue learning, contributing and bringing youthful energy and innovation to serve ethnic communities and strengthen the great national unity bloc,” Phuc said.
The emotions of the 80-year journey were condensed into a single afternoon.
The gathering ended with happiness mixed with lingering nostalgia, but the echoes of pride and intergenerational continuity remained.
As the country enters a new stage of development, those working in ethnic and religious affairs continue carrying with them faith, responsibility and a desire to contribute.
The 80-year tradition, therefore, is not only a proud memory but also a driving force for the road ahead - a journey toward sustainable development for ethnic minority communities, stronger national solidarity and a prosperous, powerful and happy Vietnam.
Vu Manh Ha
Vietnamnet.vn
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