Overseas Vietnamese famed for portraits of Uncle Ho
A house in Bangkok, Thailand is home to tens of portraits of Ho Chi Minh. Its owner, overseas Vietnamese Sudhep Silpa Ngam has become famous for his 15 years of collecting portraits of the revolutionary hero.
Nearly all of the overseas Vietnamese families that live along the Chao Phraya River have received Uncle Ho’s portraits for free from Sudhep Silpa Ngam, who prefers his Vietnamese name – Qui.
In July 1928, Uncle Ho left Russia for China’s Guangzhou province. In an effort to avoid being caught by forces under Chiang Kai-shek, Uncle Ho moved to Thailand and lived there for a while with overseas Vietnamese.
To Qui, a Vietnamese born in Thailand, his first visit to the homeland in 1989 was a milestone, marking his work as “The man offering Uncle Ho’s portraits” – the beloved way he is referred to by the Vietnamese community in Bangkok.
Qui said, “Before visiting my homeland, I had only learnt the stories of Uncle Ho through books and what my parents and relatives had told me.”
“Witnessing Uncle Ho’s simple, devoted life through the mementos at the museum and tomb in Hanoi, I could not help but have extreme respect for him and decided to do something to assist Thai people and overseas Vietnamese to learn more about our hero,” Qui said.
On his second trip to Hanoi, Qui bought two portraits of Uncle Ho at the Ho Chi Minh Museum. Back in Thailand, he took careful pictures of the portraits, mounting them on frames to give to Thai friends and overseas Vietnamese.
He has even asked goldsmiths to make necklaces and pendants with Uncle Ho’s portraits, offering them to his closest friends and relatives.
Qui presented one of the necklaces to the former captain of Thai football team – Kiatisak.
A close friend of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Madam Darunee of Vietnamese descent said, “Sudhep (Qui) is respected for his collection, though he is not a rich man.”
Over the past 15 years, Qui has provided many portraits of Uncle Ho without asking for any money and promises to do so until his death.
His work is a meaningful reminder to Vietnam’s younger generations about the life of Uncle Ho – an eternal national hero.
Source: Tuoi Tre - Translated by Luu Thi Hong
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