Yen Hoa Village (Lang Khe Commune): Difficult... ferry!

(Baonghean) -Yen Hoa village, Lang Khe commune (Con Cuong) has 120 households with 520 people. The villagers are all Thai ethnic group, their main source of income is from agricultural production. Compared to other villages in Con Cuong district, the life of Yen Hoa villagers is not so poor, but due to the remote terrain, traveling, especially the children's education, is difficult.

The hardship of Yen Hoa villagers every time they get on and off the boat.

Mr. Quang Van Phuong, the village chief, said: “From the village to the commune center is only about 5 km but you have to cross by ferry. The river here flows very fast and is very dangerous. If you don’t want to cross by ferry, you can go about 5 km along the rocky mountain range at the end of the village to Chom Lom village, then cross the bridge. But this road is bumpy and prone to landslides, so it is very difficult to travel. There are places between the cliff and the river that are very dangerous, especially during rainy and flood days. Therefore, people in the village often choose to go by ferry.”

Mr. Phuong added that every day, more than 30 junior high school students and more than 10 high school students from Yen Hoa village have to cross the river to go to school. On days of heavy rain, the river water rises, and families with children studying in the commune center and the district center always live in anxiety and worry. During the flood season, going to school for students from Yen Hoa village becomes a daily occurrence, which significantly affects the quality of their studies. Not to mention that Yen Hoa people have to suffer many disadvantages when buying and selling goods. When consumer goods are brought to the village, the prices increase significantly, while the prices of agricultural and forestry products are always forced down. What is more noteworthy is that crossing the river and taking the ferry always poses a danger to life. Answering the question of whether there have been any unfortunate incidents at the Yen Hoa ferry, Village Chief Quang Van Phuong said: “Fortunately, there have been no unfortunate incidents. However, incidents of the ferry breaking down and drifting a long distance do occasionally occur, requiring the help of a gold mining ship on the river to rescue it...”.

From the middle of Cho slope (a famously dangerous slope on Highway 7A) looking down at Lam river, one can easily see a fragile ferry crossing between the two banks at Yen Hoa wharf. I wonder if this river wharf will always be peaceful and gentle as its name suggests? Suddenly I thought, if I asked the people of Yen Hoa what they wished for the most, surely everyone would say in unison: "I wish for a bridge!".

Tuong Anh