No desks. No familiar podiums. The classroom for the Breakthrough Summer Camp students took place in a vastly different setting: the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic Site. This was an emotional and meaningful journey, where the students had the rare opportunity to touch history, witnessing firsthand the imprints of a harsh yet heroic resistance era. They deeply felt the indomitable spirit and unyielding will of the patriotic revolutionary soldiers.
Dubbed the “hell on earth,” Hỏa Lò Prison was once one of the most solidly built prisons established by the French colonialists, used to detain political prisoners. From the moment they stepped through the main gate, the students could feel the solemn and sacred atmosphere that envelops the site. The first stop was the memorial monument honoring fallen national heroes. Teachers and students together offered incense and observed a moment of silence in remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence.
Leaving the memorial area, the students continued their visit through the exhibition spaces and former prison cells. Here, they listened to powerful stories about the harsh yet courageous lives of revolutionaries such as Phan Bội Châu, Lương Văn Can, Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Trường Chinh, and Lê Duẩn during their time of imprisonment at Hỏa Lò.
The authentic artifacts and vivid imagery brought the painful yet glorious chapters of Vietnam’s history to life, offering the students a clearer understanding and deeper appreciation of the value of today’s peace and freedom. Minh Quân, one of the summer camp participants, shared: “Through this trip, I gained even more admiration for the bravery of our revolutionary predecessors. Despite enduring brutal torture, dark solitary cells, and death row conditions, the political prisoners never gave in. I now understand that we must treasure the peace we enjoy today—because the generations before us paid for it with blood to win freedom for our nation.”
