Nguyen Thanh Ha (black vest, middle) with students of University of Cujae La Habana when receiving their diplomas in December 1973.

Nguyen Thanh Ha recounts the story of that day.

In the summer of 1970, I and my fellow Vietnamese student from the School of Construction at the University of Cujae La Habana were assigned to work at the Ministry of Transport in Cuba. In those days, students had to study and work for 20 hours a week.

One day, the Ministry of Transport union announced an organization for Vietnamese students to visit Santiago de Cuba (Cuba's easternmost province).

A group of more than ten people, including Vietnamese students and officials from the Cuban Ministry of Transport, had a journey of nearly 1,000 kilometers on three cars traveling from Havana to Santiago de Cuba.

After visiting a number of production facilities in Santiago, the President of the Trade Union of the Cuban Ministry of Transport at that time asked: "Have Vietnamese students ever flown on a plane?".

We unanimously replied: "No." She smiled and said "Tomorrow our group will fly back to Havana." That night, we were so excited that we couldn't sleep, just hoping for dawn soon.

The next morning, we set foot on a plane for the first time in our lives. It is the Ilyushin ll-18 produced by the Soviet Union. On the journey from Santiago de Cuba back to Habana, everyone was excited to be able to "fly" in the sky and observe everything from above.

I was 22 years old that year. The first time flying became a memorable experience for me and many Vietnamese students. What makes us warm and happy is the affection and concern of Cuban friends for Vietnamese students. This is not only shown in the story of our first time flying but also on many other occasions.

Nguyen Thanh Ha (75 years old, Vietnamese Alumni Club in Cuba).

I remember during a trip to Cuba's Isla de la Juventud (The Isle of Youth) in Cuba, when our group arrived at the gas station, the locals started talking to us.

Knowing we were from Vietnam, they happily welcomed and invited us to attend the year-end festival. The guests attending the ceremony chanted "Vietnam hero." The Presidium also gave us a solemn position at the ceremony platform.

"For Cuban friends, Vietnamese friends are like Cubans born in another country. And for us, Cuba has also become our second homeland," Ha said.

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