Photo book shows role of Vietnamese peacekeepers in South Sudan

Working alongside the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan was a rare opportunity for Nguyen A to capture the reality on the ground.

The book is full of images of friendly Vietnamese soldiers both at work and integrating with locals, he shared.

The book comprises a collection of 150 photographs, including those recently taken at the start of the year. Images depict the monitoring of peacekeeping process in post-conflict areas, medical examinations for UN staff and local people, as well as the cultivation and cultural exchanges between soldiers and local residents.

Nguyen A said he will hold exhibitions to showcase the photos in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City in the near future.

Having first provided peacekeepers to the UN in 2014, Vietnam has been a consistent contributor to the global body ever since.

In 2018 it deployed a full contingent to the Level-2 field hospital in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, peacekeeping chief of the UN, calling it, “essential to the success of the mission and the health and well-being of our personnel, even more so during the pandemic.” 

The health and safety of peacekeepers is a priority for the UN, and the country’s work at the Level 2 Field Hospital to the UN Mission in South Sudan is to ensure that peacekeepers get all necessary medical support.

A Level 2 hospital provides advanced life support, basic surgery, intensive care, and limited patient holding capacity. Here, Vietnamese medical personnel were able to perform surgery at their hospital in Bentiu.

Nguyen A, 54, has organized 15 exhibitions and launched photo books involving many topics about the national pride, the beauty of the homeland, and tangible and intangible culture.

Images of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, the Ly Son Island, Don Ca Tai Tu (a form of southern folk song), and the COVID-19 fight have been introduced through his photo books.