Independence, freedom, and happiness…

As I mentioned in my previous two articles, we started our Southeast Asia trip with Singapore. We finished with Singapore's famous waterfall shows. It seems my articles about Indochina will continue. Indochina is an interesting region with its geography and human life... I was quite impressed… We were impressed…

Singapore's wealth does not come solely from commercial prosperity. Despite being a tiny country, it is a nation that cares deeply about nature. There is no such thing as filling in the coast or throwing up apartment buildings. In our country, unfortunately, the AKP President took an area of 4,712 square kilometers from the citizens with a single signature through an urgent expropriation decision. Since the surface areas of Yalova and Singapore are approximately 850 square kilometers, the area urgently expropriated is exactly 5.5 times their size. As far as I know and have seen, there is no possibility of a war against our country. However, the laws state that urgent expropriation is only carried out if there is a state of war.

One of the most important duties of those who govern Singapore is to protect and develop nature. The National Orchid Garden attracts millions of tourists. One feels as if they have entered paradise. Its colorful orchids, fragrant flowers, and endemic plants are truly worth seeing. They gift a new hybrid orchid species to every head of state and government who visits the country. If I understood the guide correctly, it has been given to over a hundred heads of state. The gifted orchid begins to be known by that leader's name. The "Dendrobium Binali Yıldırım" hybrid orchid was also gifted to Binali Yıldırım during his Prime Ministry.

The country's population is close to 6 million, and it is said that the number of tourists visiting the National Orchid Garden exceeded 6 million in 2025. At the same time, the number of tourists who came to Singapore, with its population of 6 million, exceeded 18 million last year. Three times its population. Unfortunately, I do not feel like comparing our country, Turkey, with Singapore. Due to high costs, injustice, poor management, and inadequate tourism policies, we are struggling to even keep the old tourists, let alone attract new ones.

I think we have praised Singapore enough. Let's move on to Vietnam. After Laos, Vietnam is one of the two communist countries in Southeast Asia. Their slogan is: Independence, Freedom, and Happiness. As they say, they took their independence by force. There is no country or nation they haven't fought against. They have protected their freedom by winning dozens of attacks and wars waged against their country by the Mongols, the Chinese, the French, the Japanese, and the Americans through great solidarity and struggle.

So, are they happy? When you hear the sound of motorcycles buzzing like a beehive on the streets and see them flowing like a river in 5-6 lanes, one can understand their efforts for happiness. Two-thirds of the population, which exceeds 102 million, live and breathe motorcycles. Just like the oxen mentioned in the "Our Women" section of our famous poet Nazım Hikmet's 60,000-line epic "Kuva-i Milliye" (National Forces) — "...And our women, whose place at our table comes after our oxen..." — motorcycles are an important part of their lives, just like those oxen.

In Vietnam, as in our country, women have a very important place in winning independence. In the "War Remnants Museum" in Ho Chi Minh City, you can see the power and resilience of women in a section called "Live Like Her." Let's see what the banner in the specially prepared room says: "Live like Ms. Binh. Be brave to struggle and fight. Be brave to win. The spirit of Dien Bien Phu will come again. Live like Ms. Binh, the spirit of Vietnam (women) is stronger than American bombs and bullets.”

It is impossible not to be affected while visiting the war museum. Because I did so, I missed our tour group's departure time. When I was late, I got my fair share of angry looks from my fellow travelers, and then a scolding from my wife. Well, it's not easy; you can't just zip through a 20-year war and struggle against the Americans in a flash.

I said happiness, didn't I? The administration is cutting costs in every field to ensure the welfare of the public. For example, they reduced the number of provinces from 74 to 33. They are saving on bureaucracy and ostentatious services.

Many of the famous Western brands like Adidas, Nike, Zara, and Apple are produced in Vietnam. New investments are being made. Therefore, industry plays an important role in development. In their planned development for the next 5-10 years, they have targeted increasing industrialization from 40% to 60%.

To summarize briefly, it seemed to me that liberal thought and lifestyle have been blended with communist ideals.

Ho Chi Minh and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk are two heroic leaders and revolutionaries who dedicated their lives to their people and their country... Hoping to meet with these two leaders first in my next article...

Happy Chinese New Year, which the peoples of East and Southeast Asia call "TET".

Stay healthy…

Prof. Dr. Nurettin DEMİR