Mrs Minh Nguyet lives with her daughter in a suburban area of South-eastern Paris and is very happy to talk in Vietnamese about her sentiments towards the homeland. Despite being far from home for years, she always shows where her heart is by visiting her native land in Ha Dong district once every two or three years.

Nguyet always keeps Vietnam alive in her mind and pays much attention to developments in her homeland. She said “I am delighted by significant changes in the country, always charming and dynamic. I am very proud of it.”

Nguyet frequently spends time reading books, magazines and newspapers published in Vietnamese and gathering information about Vietnam on the Internet. She said books about Vietnamese history, national war resistance and late President Ho Chi Minh always fascinate her.

Mrs Nguyen Aline also feels the same about Vietnamese books and newspapers, which she consider a good source of information to her. She often buys the latest books, papers and magazines in Vietnamese which, she said, often give her plenty of food for thought. In addition, she closely follows Vietnam’s progress through VTV4 channel and to keep the image of Vietnam in her mind she visits the country once every two years. She said she witnessed major national changes in her latest visit last June.

A shop owner of Vietnamese products from the southern suburbs of Paris said there have been many changes in Vietnam in recent years. Every day, she reads books and newspapers about Vietnam. There is also a bookstand devoted to Vietnam in her shop. It is very important for Ms Binh to receive updates about her homeland. Every time she returns, she visits many places to witness the country’s changes with her own eyes. Ms Binh said there are profound changes in both rural and urban areas each year. People’s living standards have been greatly improved. Vietnam has welcome more and more international visitors.

Mr Le Van Ky, 80, who has lived in France for 30 years, also expressed his satisfaction with changes in the homeland. Every year, he returns to Vietnam to visit every corners of the country. “I am very happy to see positive changes in Vietnam. Regarding investment, the government pushed open-door policies, which effectively facilitate investment flows in Vietnam.

There are more and more overseas Vietnamese in France heading for the homeland to see changes for themselves. They are all buoyed by what they observe and want Vietnam to be stronger in near future.