Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Hidden at thebottom of Thu’s heavy army backpack was a well-wrapped jar of salt. It was agift from her mother given the last time the two met, and Thu planned to takeit to the war-torn South Sudan where she will be one of the firstVietnamese members of the United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Lieutenant Huynh Cam Thu is among a group of 30military doctors from Field Hospital No 1 who are being sent to the Africancountry on October 1 to take over a UN field hospital from the British force.This is the first time ever that Vietnamese doctors will participate in UN peacekeeping operationsoverseas.

The 25-year-old doctor enrolled in thepreparation course for the mission last November. Though she was excited in theearly days as she was fully absorbed in studying English and building physicalstamina while learning survival skills, Thu started getting cold feet as herdeparture neared.

“I was anxious of leaving my family behind,leaving the life that has been so familiar with me,” she said.

Her mother’s jar of salt came to ease her mindat the right moment. The salt, which was harvested from Thu’s hometown of HamTan in the coastal province of Binh Thuan, brought with it thewishes of a mother to protect her daughter. It was regarded by locals of HamTan as a traditional medicine to cure stomachaches and wounds that the youngdoctor might suffer as she treats patients amid fierce battles that show littlesign of ending soon. They have raged since a civil war broke out in SouthSudan in 2013.

“But to me, the special taste of Ham Tan saltwill remind me of my hometown, of my mum and my family,” the future UN peacekeepersaid.

It was not only Thu who was torn betweensacrificing for her country and leaving her family behind.

The only daughter of 31-year-old captain NguyenQuang Tuong just turned three a few days ago and he was able to hold a smallbirthday party for her before his year-long departure.

“My mind was always full of thoughts that I haveto stay away from my family, my friends and my comrades,” he said.

And it was especially hard on him that hisfamily, with all the information that can be easily found on the internet, knewvery well how dangerous South Sudan is.

“I’ve had to explain to my wife and my familythat it is the duty of soldiers like us to make an unsafe land become safer.The true responsibility of a peacekeeper is to bring peace to all troubledlands,” Tuong said.  

Thu, Tuong and their colleagues in the firstbatch of deploying doctors will attend a see-off ceremony at the Tan Son NhatInternational Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on October 1, ending more than 1,000days of hard work to prepare for the new journey ahead in a mysterious andfar-away land.

The Ministry of National Defence made thelandmark decision on November 25, 2014 to establish a level-II field hospitalbased at the 175 Military Hospital with 70 permanent staff to realise Vietnam’sambition to more actively participate in UN peacekeeping missions in thehumanitarian field.


According to UN standards, a level-II field hospital must be able to examineand offer treatment to a maximum of 40 outpatients a day and 20 inpatientswithin seven days. It should also self-equip sufficient medicines, needlesand other supplies needed in any circumstances while being able to provide bothland and aviation patient transfers to a medical facility of higher level.

The Vietnamese medical contingent will be incharge of running the UN level-II field hospital in Bentiu to provide medicalcare to over 1,800 military and civilian UN staff working in the north of South Sudan.

Operating this kind of field hospital located ina foreign land was no less a challenge to 63 Vietnamese army doctors who hadliterally no experience before. An intense training course was built for thedoctors with lessons on the United Nations peacekeeping mission, survivalskills in Africa and how to identify mines and explosives, forexample.

Deputy Minister of National Defence SeniorLieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh said that the deployment of the Vietnamesecontingent to South Sudan was one of the three most remarkable cooperationsuccesses of Vietnam and the UN peacekeeping force over the past fiveyears.

Before that, Vietnam completed its legalframework that paved the way for the country’s participation in the UNpeacekeeping operations and sent 27 advisory officers to join peacekeepingmissions in Africa.

“Bringing Vietnam’s Field Hospital No 1 to SouthSudan marks the transition from advisory activities to real actions in Vietnam’speacekeeping operations. It is also the chance to test the capabilities of ourofficers in terms of military, international relations and medical fields,” Vinhsaid.

The participation of 10 female doctors was ahighlight of the Vietnamese medical contingent this time, the deputy ministersaid.

“The rate of female peacekeepers is normallyrequired at only 10 percent, but we have 10 out of a total 63 officers in thecontingent, which stands at around 16 percent. It shows that Vietnam not onlycommits to the peacekeeping activities but also aims to realise the genderequality goal of the UN,” he added.

The deployment of the Field Hospital No 1to Africa, as historic as it was, is just the start of a longer journey.

Vinh said that soon after the today departure, aField Hospital No 2 would be set up at the 103 Military Hospital in Hanoi. Thedoctors there will receive a full year of training before leavingfor South Sudan to replace those from the Field Hospital No 1.

Ex-peacekeeper doctors at that time will work ina new military field hospital to carry out search and rescue and militarymissions as well as take part in bilateral and multilateral rehearsals in Vietnam andoverseas, Vinh said.

Vietnam at the same time was also workingon building an engineering contingent as part of the agreement with the UN.

“If everything goes right, we can think aboutdeploying engineer officers in late 2019 or early 2020,” he said.-VNS/VNA