Today, I enjoyed the National Joint Performance of the Honoured Disabled Veterans Art Groups, which was very successful. Every programme of the performance is sound and revolutionary in its content with a high educational value.
Some days ago Comrade Kim Jong Il asked me to attend the performance and have a souvenir photograph taken with the honoured disabled veterans. I said to him that I would readily go to the performance presented by the honoured disabled veterans and have a photograph taken with them. I came to the February 8 House of Culture (now April 25 House of Culture–Tr.) to enjoy the performance. It was wonderful.
The disabled veterans from the Hamhung Plastic Commodities Factory for Disabled Soldiers staged an account of facts, Fly High, the Flag of the Republic, in which they made a resolve to hold fast to the flag of the Republic to the last. Their determination is quite laudable. We should hold high the flag of the Republic and make a dynamic advance toward victory of the socialist cause.
In a choral recitation of poem and chorus, When the Party Is Determined, We Can Do Anything, the disabled veterans from the Paechon Food Factory for Disabled Soldiers remarked, “We must not haggle in the least about the Party’s policies and decisions; never did we haggle about the orders of the Comrade Supreme Commander in the days of the Fatherland Liberation War, and we must thoroughly carry out the Party’s policies and decisions without reserve.” This is the conviction and will of our disabled veterans.
Our disabled veterans have a strong, vital power. Although they are disabled, they always live with optimism and perseverance without pessimism. I saw a disabled veteran from the Sariwon Disabled Soldiers’ Factory playing the accordion with his handless arms. How optimistic he is. I barely held back my tears at his playing the accordion. Every disabled veteran should know how to play one or more musical instruments. Although they may not be skilful at playing musical instruments, they must play them to live with optimism.
Everyone who enjoyed today’s performance must have felt how optimistically our disabled veterans live, full of hope, and how good it is to live with optimism. How good it is that disabled veterans appear on stage and sing to their heart’s content their happy, worthwhile life! This is possible only under our socialist system. They have been able to lead an optimistic and happy life, thanks entirely to our Party, which takes good care of their work and life on its own full responsibility.
Today’s performance reminded me of past days when I visited the disabled soldiers’ factories and enjoyed performances of their art groups.
Our country now has 150 factories operated by disabled veterans, and I have been to several of them, including the May 7 Communications Equipment Factory for Disabled Soldiers, the Hamhung Plastic Commodities Factory for Disabled Soldiers, the Wonsan Plastic Commodities Factory for Disabled Soldiers, the Sonbong Factory for Disabled Soldiers, the Sinchon Food Factory for Disabled Soldiers and the Mangyongdae Fountain-pen Factory for Disabled Soldiers, which I visited twice.
There are a large number of disabled soldiers’ factories in our country, but none in other countries. There may be factories set up by wounded veterans themselves in other countries, but none built by the state so as to give them preferential treatment and take care of them.
This being the case, the wounded veterans in other countries are not afforded protection by the state and preferential treatment in society. There are a great number of veterans wounded during the Second World War in European countries, but many of them make their living by begging on the street, because the state does not take good care of them.
On past visits to European countries I found a lot of wounded veterans begging on the street. Each time my train stopped at a station, many wounded veterans held out their hands for money. Seeing them, I thought how they shed their blood for the sake of their motherland and people, but they were begging, as their state neglected them, and I wondered why the state neglected them when they were not wounded in the fight for their own benefit.
Our country has built factories for honoured disabled veterans in many provinces, cities and counties and provided all conditions needed for their work and life. As soon as the Fatherland Liberation War was over, we built these factories everywhere and ensured that the soldiers wounded during the war worked, depending on their health, at stable jobs and lived without any inconvenience.
Comrade Kim Jong Il also treasures and values disabled veterans. Thanks to the Party’s warm love and care, all of them lead a happy life, free from worries about food, clothing and housing.
Deeply aware that although they may be wounded while serving at posts of national defence, they have nothing to feel apprehensive about, as the state will take care of them, all our people today devote themselves to the defence of the country. Nowhere can you find a system as excellent as our socialist system, in which the Party and the state take care of disabled veterans in their work and life on their own responsibility. Disabled veterans should staunchly safeguard this excellent socialist system of ours down through the generations and add lustre to it.
Disabled veterans should continue to bring the flower of the revolution into bloom. Just as flowers are loved by people only when they keep blooming in a pot, the disabled veterans will be loved and respected by people and enjoy their worthwhile life as revolutionaries when they continue to bring the flower of the revolution into bloom. This is why whenever I meet disabled veterans I emphasize that issue.
Our disabled soldiers have been living with perseverance, keeping in their hearts the Party’s boundless affection and gratitude since I emphasized continuing to bring the flower of the revolution into bloom to the disabled veterans attending the National Conference of Activists of Local Industry and Producers’ Cooperatives in October 1959. No disabled veterans’ factory fails to meet its production quota. All fulfil their production plans. As the Hamhung Plastic Commodities Factory for Disabled Soldiers overfulfils its production plan every year, it is known to every man and woman in our country.
In future I am going to visit the disabled soldiers’ factories frequently to talk with the disabled veterans and have photos taken with them.
The performance dates should be extended, so that the Pyongyang citizens can enjoy the National Joint Performance of the Honoured Disabled Veterans Art Groups.
It is also advisable to show the performance to foreigners. When they see the performance, they will feel keenly that our disabled veterans enjoy a happy life under the Party’s care, cheerfully singing, reciting poems and playing the accordion, although they were disabled in battle with the enemy.
Please convey my greetings to the disabled veterans throughout the country and tell them that I wish them to continue to bring the flower of the revolution into bloom.
Source: Lao News Agency