Border guards both fight the epidemic and guard against wild elephant attacks

Quarantine checkpoint No. 2 of Phuc Son Border Guard Station is stationed in a dense forest area in Veu 1 village, Phuc Son border commune, Anh Son district (Nghe An). The checkpoint is tasked with preventing illegal border crossings in order to control, prevent and combat the Covid-19 epidemic.

The area under the responsibility of Phuc Son Border Guard Station is located in the protected area of ​​Pu Mat National Park. This place is home to many species of wild animals, including wild elephants.

According to local people, the herd of wild elephants has about 7 to 15 individuals. The herd often forages in Pu Mat forest and some neighboring areas such as Phuc Son commune and Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong district).

A soldier on duty at checkpoint No. 2 said that the house that the officers and soldiers of Phuc Son Border Post borrowed from a local household to serve as a place to stay for the checkpoint team had previously been destroyed by wild elephants, which smashed the doors and destroyed the surrounding crops. Photo: Hoai Thu

In recent years, when tens of hectares of bamboo and banana forests were cut down to plant rubber trees, food sources were limited, so the elephants became aggressive, they often returned to the village to find food and conflicted with people. There have been many cases of casualties due to elephant attacks.

Because elephants often come back to the village to cause trouble and forage at night while people are sleeping, soldiers at Control Point No. 2 of Phuc Son Border Guard Station have created a "system" of warning bells when elephants return.

The soldiers used plastic ropes to string around the anti-epidemic checkpoint and around the house. These ropes were connected to small bronze bells or plastic bottles with pebbles in them. If an elephant came to the village, the elephants would move and touch the ropes, causing the bells to ring. The bells would make a jingling sound, helping the soldiers know to take preventive measures.

Bronze bells are hung on plastic strings around the house and the checkpoint to warn elephants. Photo: Hoai Thu

In addition, the second checkpoint team also prepared firewood to make a fire to both chase away the elephants and help notify the people and teammates when there was danger. Because in the area where the checkpoint was located, the phone signal was very unstable, and sometimes contact was impossible.

Checkpoint No. 2 of Phuc Son Border Guard Station was established in March 2020, regularly maintaining 6 officers and soldiers on duty day and night.

Senior Lieutenant Vi Ngoc Lam - Head of Covid-19 Prevention and Control Checkpoint No. 2, Phuc Son Border Guard Station, said that although stationed far from the unit, officers and soldiers on duty at the checkpoint have overcome difficulties and are mentally prepared to complete all patrol and control tasks to prevent illegal border crossings.

In addition to stringing ropes around the checkpoint area, soldiers always keep firewood ready to deal with any wild elephant attacks. Photo: Hoai Thu

During the time of border closure to prevent and fight the Covid-19 epidemic by the two governments of Vietnam and Laos. In the first 6 months of 2020, Phuc Son Border Guard Station inspected, controlled, and processed exit procedures for 178 people (Vietnam: 80 people, Laos: 98 people), and entry procedures for 182 people (Vietnam: 83 people, Laos: 99 people).

Officers and soldiers of Phuc Son Border Guard Station patrol to protect the border. Photo: Hoai Thu

Political Commissar of Phuc Son Border Guard Station Bui Hong Manh said that officers and soldiers of Phuc Son Border Guard Station, especially at checkpoint No. 2 and Cao Veu Border Guard Station, always keep a close eye on the situation, closely coordinate with functional forces, local Party committees and authorities to organize border and area patrols, and promptly handle incidents that occur.