Vietnam March 29 (BNA): On her trusty motorcycle, Vietnamese artist Dang Ai Viet travels across the Southeast Asian country trying to make sure the thousands of women who suffered the loss of two or more loved ones during the Vietnam War are remembered.
The 75-year-old painted portraits of 2,765 women, who belong to a group known in Vietnam as “heroic mothers,” in appreciation of their sacrifices during the war that ended in 1975.
“I paint so that the current generation and others will have the opportunity to see the look in the eyes of a mother who has lost more than one of her sons,” said Veit, according to Reuters.
During the war, the Viet Cong was a guerrilla war in the Mekong Delta for the Viet Cong, fighters who supported North Vietnam in the battle against the then South Vietnamese government and its main ally, the United States.
Some researchers have estimated that around 3.8 million people were killed during the war, though casualty estimates vary.
In Dong Thap province in the Mekong Delta, Phet recently painted a portrait of Huyen Thi Pai, 98, whose husband and eldest son were murdered in 1969, just days later.
“It’s devastating enough for a mother to learn of her son’s death, but it takes a hero to learn of the death of a husband and son,” Veit said.
Before handing the portrait over to the family, Vet includes details about the woman and how her loved ones died and gives the local government an authentic feel.
“From now on, there will be a picture of her in the family’s possession and we can always see my mother,” said Pai’s only surviving son, Thong Van Hoop.
In the past six months, Bey has traveled more than 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) on her mission to paint the 5,000 women who survived.
She knows she’s in a race because time will inevitably matter.
“My biggest fear is that they will leave, and I will never want to miss anyone,” she said.
WWA