Law

For a happy spring in the border...

Khanh Ly-Quynh An • DNUM_CJZABZCACF 08:50

As the Lunar New Year 2025 approaches, along the Nghe An border, the mountains and forests are dotted with blooming reeds and peach blossoms. In the villages, ethnic minorities are bustling to prepare for the traditional New Year. Although enjoying the New Year, the Party Committee, government and people always raise awareness of protecting security and order, maintaining peace at the border.

The "big trees" of the village

In the light spring rain, we visited the VACR farm model in production area C5 of Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh's household (Khmu ethnic group) - a prestigious person of Xop Lau village, Muong Ai border commune, Ky Son district.

Excitedly "showing off" to us his food warehouse full of thick corn kernels, golden rice bags, round squashes and pumpkins stacked high..., Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh said: "This year's harvest is good, my family and people celebrate Tet more excitedly and happily!"

Having worked as an official of Muong Ai commune for 27 years, including many years holding the positions of Chief of Commune Police, Chairman of Commune People's Committee, Secretary of Commune Party Committee, now 65 years old, the concern and enthusiasm for the prosperity of the villagers and the peace of the homeland are always in the thoughts of this 36-year-old "big tree" of the Party of Xop Lau village.

After retiring, Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh boldly opened the way and invested in the VACR farm economy in the border area of ​​C5. After 10 years of hard work, taking short-term to support long-term, he turned the barren land into a farm of more than 3 hectares.

Including 1.2 hectares of rice fields, 2 ponds for raising grass carp, tilapia, silver carp; growing elephant grass, high-yield cassava, 100 banana trees, growing vegetables (gourds, squash), fruit trees (plums, oranges, grapefruits, guavas, lemons, etc.); raising pigs, native chickens and 14 buffaloes and cows. He also pioneered in investing in 2 mini plows, rice threshers, and grass cutters for production.

Following the example of village elder Hoa Pho Nganh, many people in the village and commune have followed suit. From only two households, Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh and Mr. Ven Pho Suong, doing farm work, now the whole commune has 25 households, including 20 households in Xop Lau village developing the economy in the C5 border area, more than ten households have bought tractors for production.

"Muong Ai commune has a 27km long border with Laos with 6 villages, mainly inhabited by the Kho Mu, Mong, and Thai ethnic groups; life is still difficult, with 66.6% of poor households... If we want peace and prosperity for the people, we must encourage people to strive to develop the economy and reduce poverty sustainably" - Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh thinks so, and when some households proactively come to learn about farming and animal husbandry, he enthusiastically guides them, from digging ponds to raising fish to growing rice...

To achieve this, Hoa Pho Nganh village elder has always actively encouraged and propagated people to comply with the policies, guidelines and laws of the Party and State; and local regulations. From limiting slash-and-burn farming, strictly complying with border regulations to coordinating with Party committees, authorities and functional forces to "go from house to house, to each field" to propagate and mobilize people to voluntarily hand over homemade weapons, especially hunting guns and explosives...

Comrade Moong Van Binh - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Muong Ai commune commented: Currently in Muong Ai commune there are 6 prestigious people - all of whom are The "big trees" of the village are the spiritual support of the people. Among them, Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh in Xop Lau village stands out.

Not only a pioneer in economic development, sustainable poverty reduction and always standing side by side with the Party Committee, local government and functional forces in mass mobilization work, Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh's family is also a typical cultural family with 5/7 children and grandchildren being Party members. Among them, many are successful and have positions in the community.

Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh himself is an exemplary party member in the Xop Lau village Party Cell. With his prestige and experience, he has helped and supported the Party Cell to improve the quality of activities and do a good job in training and developing the Party. In 2024, the Xop Lau village Party Cell admitted 3 new party members from the Youth Union.

With many active activities contributing to building a prosperous and peaceful village, village elder Hoa Pho Nganh was honored to receive many Certificates of Merit from the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for his outstanding achievements in performing the role of a prestigious person among ethnic minorities and a Certificate of Merit from the Minister and Chairman of the Ethnic Committee for prestigious people with outstanding achievements in ethnic work and ethnic policies of the Party and State.

This "big tree" in the border commune of Muong Ai is also one of the advanced examples of Nghe An province attending the conference to commend and honor exemplary prestigious people among ethnic minorities nationwide in 2023.

In the border commune of Tam Hop (Tuong Duong), Mr. Vu Tong Long, born in 1960, in Huoi Son village, is also mentioned as a "tall tree with great shade" who has made many contributions to the implementation of Directive No. 01/CT-TTG of the Prime Minister, on "the movement of all people participating in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security in the new situation" and other general movements of the locality.

As a village elder, Mr. Vu Tong Long regularly coordinates with local authorities and functional forces to propagate and mobilize local people to strictly comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws; not to migrate freely, encroach on land and settle illegally; not to violate the law or assist bad guys in violating the law; actively denounce crimes, and strengthen the great national unity bloc.

Village elder Vu Tong Long also promoted his role as a prestigious person, "a skillful mass mobiliser" in implementing local programs and projects such as relocating and securing the construction site for the new headquarters of Tam Hop Border Post in Huoi Son village and the site for defense area drills... At the same time, he proactively followed the situation and promptly informed the authorities to handle incidents occurring in the area. From 2019 to present, Mr. Vu Tong Long has provided the authorities with over 50 pieces of information, of which 5 pieces of valuable information related to violations of border regulations and illegal transportation of forest products.

Mr. Vu Tong Long also set an example and actively coordinated with the Party Committee, the government and the Youth Union 9 to do a good job of propaganda, changing awareness, and arousing the will to escape poverty of the people through planting bo bo, red turmeric, ginger, pineapple, cassava, elephant grass, rice, vegetables, etc. to develop the economy. If in the early days, Huoi Son village only had 30 households, now it has 75 households, with more than 300 people, 90% of the households have means of transportation, audio-visual, especially from 2011 to now, the village has always maintained its cultural village.

The persistent efforts of the Party Committee, government and the contributions of a team of 926 prestigious people in the province such as Mr. Hoa Pho Nganh and Mr. Vu Tong Long... have been and are contributing to bringing joy to the border villages every Spring.

People are the "eyes and ears", the village is the "fence"

The land border area of ​​Nghe An province includes 27 communes in 6 districts, with a 468.281km long border adjacent to 3 provinces of Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang, and Bolikhamxay (Laos).

During our working trip to the border areas in the days before the Lunar New Year of the Snake, we met many people with "warm" hearts, high awareness and responsibility to maintain peace at the border and the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland. These ordinary people always deeply understand that only when the border is stable can the village be peaceful and the people have a prosperous, free and happy life. They are Mr. Quang Van Thu, 62 years old - a prestigious person of Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune (Que Phong), or the young man Lo Van Ha - a militiaman of Muong Ai commune (Ky Son) who regularly patrols the border, landmarks, controls the border, and protects security and order so that people can enjoy Tet and welcome Spring.
Visiting Mong Huoi Poc village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son), from afar we saw Party cell Secretary Lau Chong Nhia (born in 1964) and Village Chief Lau Ba Gi (born in 1987) walking down a small slope, with wild sunflowers blooming brightly yellow on both sides.

“I came back from a meeting to discuss the Tet plan at the community cultural house. This year, the village has organized many activities to celebrate the spring for the people, but at the same time, we must also remind people to be vigilant against all kinds of crimes, to ensure security and order in the village, hamlet and border areas,” said the Secretary of the Lau Chong Nhi Party Cell, happily leading visitors on a tour of the village.

Huoi Poc village has 175 households, 889 people belonging to 7 clans but is very united, life has not been without difficulties but has changed a lot. Previously, production and cultivation only relied on slash-and-burn farming, now people have changed their thinking and working habits, actively digging ponds to raise fish, growing bo bo, growing rice, growing vegetables, tubers, fruits, developing livestock... In particular, people do not migrate freely, do not listen to bad people to commit illegal acts.

Village chief Lau Ba Gi added: In addition to the grassroots security team, Huoi Poc village also has a border marker self-management team that regularly coordinates with functional forces to patrol and control border areas, especially before, during and after Tet to ensure border peace. People also play the role of "eyes and ears" when participating in production in the border fields, if they detect any unusual signs, they report to functional forces and local authorities for timely handling.

Nam Can commune has 23,099 km of border adjacent to Noong Het district (Laos), rugged mountainous terrain, National Highway 7A passing through, Nam Can International Border Gate to Laos, is an area with an important strategic position in terms of national defense and security.

According to Mr. Le Hong Lap - Secretary of the Party Committee of Nam Can commune: Deeply aware that the commune is a border gateway and determining that ensuring security and order is not only the task of the functional forces, but also the responsibility of the entire people, the Party Committee and the government of Nam Can commune always focus on coordinating and supporting the functional forces in patrolling, protecting the border, landmarks and preventing and fighting crimes during the peak period before, during and after the Lunar New Year.

In addition, on the occasion of the New Year, the number of people passing through Nam Can International Border Gate and Nam Can border market, where people on both sides of the Vietnam-Laos border exchange goods and meet, increased. The commune government also proactively coordinated with relevant forces to deploy security solutions, contributing to the people enjoying the Spring Festival and celebrating Tet safely and healthily.

At the same time, Nam Can commune established a solid communication mechanism with the people and villages in many forms, both directly and using Zalo and Facebook groups... to promptly grasp the situation in 6 villages - where there are 984 households and 5,061 people of 4 ethnic groups: Mong, Thai, Kho Mu, Kinh living together in the area. Thereby, early detection, from afar, are the seeds, potential risks of complexity and instability to warn, respond and handle promptly, not to let hot spots form.

Aiming at the goal of "peace for the people, peace for the area, peace for the border", the Party Committee and the government of Nam Can commune also directed the entire political system to effectively implement programs and projects to support production development, replicate economic development models, such as models of raising local cows, mountain goats, growing peaches for fruit and branches, taro, local purple corn; red peanut model, promoting traditional brocade weaving villages... to help people sustainably reduce poverty.

In addition, the commune effectively directed the implementation of foreign affairs with localities of Laos, such as organizing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between two villages of Nam Can commune and two villages of Noong Het Tay village cluster, Noong Het district (Laos); signing a memorandum of understanding between the Women's Union of Nam Can commune and the Women's Union of Noong Het Tay village cluster. Periodically, the twinned units organize meetings to exchange information, coordinate in effectively preventing and combating border crossing activities, violating territorial sovereignty, violating resources, and destroying the environment on both sides of the border; organizing exchange activities, visiting and giving gifts on the occasion of the traditional New Year of the two countries to strengthen solidarity and friendship.