Writer B. Rustemov, translator of the ‘Diary of Dang Thuy Tram’ into Kazakh language:

Tram’s diary helps me learn more about the just war of Vietnamese people

Kazakh writer Bahithozhe Rustemov has always said that it was fate which brought him to Vietnam. His passion for the country is also his motivation to translate Dang Thuy Tram’s Diary - the memoirs of Vietnamese army doctor Dang Thuy Tram during the most violent phase of war in the central province of Quang Ngai’s battlefields.

Kazakh writer Bahithozhe Rustemov and the Kazakh version of ‘Diary of Dang Thuy Tram’
Kazakh writer Bahithozhe Rustemov and the Kazakh version of ‘Diary of Dang Thuy Tram’

Rustemov was among international guests to the Vietnam Poetry Day 2015, making him the first and the only Kazakh writer to participate in the biggest event hosted by Vietnamese poets and writers so far.

In his speech at the event, he highly valued the historic victory of the Vietnamese people and army against the invasion of US imperialists. Many Kazakh soldiers joined the battle in Vietnam, and many Kazakh writers have praised the sacred war of Vietnamese people in their works, he said.

As the war left deep impressions on Kazakh people, he expressed his hope to approach Vietnamese literary works on the anti-US resistance war so that the people in his country could learn more about this period of time in Vietnam.

He was first introduced to the ‘Diary of Dang Thuy Tram’ by Vietnamese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Nguyen Van Hoa. At the first time holding the book, which was translated into Russian, he was overwhelmed with respect for the bravery and courage of the Vietnamese female soldier.

“I cried more than one time while reading the book,” he said. The book helped him understand more about the fierce war of Vietnamese people.

“Your country’s victory was contributed by millions of patriots like this female soldier. The national salvation war against the US by the Vietnamese people observed through the eyes of a young female intellectual was full of both hardships and glory,” he said.

‘Dang Thuy Tram Diary’ helped Kazakh readers learn more about the difficulties and losses of a just war. The book also helped me and the world in general realise how bravely Vietnamese people fought in such fierce circumstance,” he noted.

In a sincere and honest light, the pages of the diary portray a young intellectual deeply concerned with daily life on the frontline whilst suffering from romantic hardships as well as her determination and tremendous courage.

Originally a diary written by herself for her own personal reflection and use, her words and thoughts are presented in a very simple and plain yet passionate and touching way.

As the book highlights the ideas of a generation of Vietnamese youth, who unhesitatingly dedicated their springtime as well as their lives for their motherland, it has a significant meaning with Kazakh youngsters.

As a patriotic writer, he wanted to translate the book into his mother language so that people in his country could learn about the revolutionary patriotism of Vietnamese people whilst encouraging his national compatriots in safeguarding the country’s independence and sovereignty.

He met Tram’s mother and younger sister in person in Hanoi. “I think every reader wants to meet the woman who gave birth to the young soldier in order to figure out why she left her family and peaceful settings to volunteer on the frontline, where risks and death always lie in wait,” he said.

“For me, this ordinary person is a hero because she placed her love for the motherland above all else and dedicated her youth to the war for national independence and freedom,” he remarked.

As an author of more than 200 books and over 3,000 scientific publications with over 10,000 pages in total, Rustemov is the only Kazakh writer to be listed on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, over the past 25 years.

As a member of the European Writers Association and the World Turkish Council as well as the Vice President of the Kazakhstan-Cuba Friendship Association, he is regarded as one of the forerunners in the public relations sector in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Latin American readers affectionately gave him the name of “Christopher Columbus of the Kazakh people”.

Having close relations with many friendship associations, he is also dubbed as the “Ambassador of Spirit” and his house in Astana capital city is called the “Friendship House of People all over the World”.

The publishing of the ‘Diary of Dang Thuy Tram’ will be the second Vietnamese book to be translated into Kazakh language by him. Earlier, thanks to support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Kazakhstan, he translated a book of speeches delivered by Party General Secretary of Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.

Rustemov said he is honoured to be a bridge linking both country’s cultures, bringing Vietnam closer to more and more Kazakh people.

“I hope that I will visit Vietnam again as this land has become more familiar to me,” he said.

“Both Vietnamese and Kazakh people share many similarities in characteristics: industrious, friendly and peace-loving, these features make me feel closer to Vietnam”, he added.

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