Vietnamese in Ukraine raise VND200 million for monument to Gac Ma heroes

Photo: laodong.com.vn

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Minh Tri said that although people in Ukraine face many uncertainties, with their hearts toward the homeland and making their tribute to martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect the sovereignty over the sea and islands of the nation, the Vietnamese community in Ukraine has actively responded to the call of the Embassy to donate to build the monument in honor of Gac Ma soldiers in Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province. The amount of money is not much, but it represents the emotion of overseas Vietnamese.

Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Standing Vice Chairman of VGCL, appreciated the support of the overseas Vietnamese in Ukraine. He said that in order to make tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect Truong Sa archipelago in 1988 and Hoang Sa archipelago in 1974, and share difficulties with their families, the VGCL launched “Emotion for Truong Sa and Hoang Sa” campaign on March 13th, 2014 and assigned the Golden Heart Foundation to implement it. Over the past two years, the program has received both domestic and international support amounting to VND210 billion.

The VGCL has decided to build a monument for Gac Ma soldiers in Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province and a monument for Hoang Sa soldiers in Ly Son island, Quang Ngai province. These are national works, where domestic and overseas Vietnamese people commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa territorial waters. The first stage of the monument to Gac Ma soldiers is expected to be complete in December 2016.

Mr. Hai hoped that the Golden Heart Foundation will continue to receive the support of domestic and overseas individuals and units to continue to complete the monument to Gac Ma soldiers, start to build the monument to Hoang Sa soldiers and continue to take care of relatives of the martyrs./.