The emotional reunion

(Baonghean) - They are former revolutionary prisoners who fought side by side in the imperialist prisons. Luckily, they returned from "hell on earth", but it was not until 40 years after liberation that they had the chance to meet again in overwhelming emotions... That is the story of two former prisoners in Hung Nguyen district.

For the former revolutionary soldier imprisoned by the enemy, Nguyen Ba Canh (born in 1933, in hamlet 2, Hung Loi commune, Hung Nguyen), March 20, 2012 became an unforgettable day when he accidentally met his cellmate, comrade, and fellow countryman who had taken care of him when he was brutally tortured by the enemy in Phu Quoc prison. That day, the Congress of the Association of Former Revolutionary Soldiers Imprisoned by the Enemy in Hung Nguyen district was held. Mr. Canh was invited to attend and his eyes were blurred when he suddenly saw sitting in the row of delegates was his fellow prisoner, Nguyen Nhat Thang (real name Nguyen Nhat Thang) from B2, Phu Quoc prison. Mr. Canh only waited for a break in the middle of the conference to run to his comrade. A little surprised, the two former prisoners with gray hair hugged each other in choked emotions.

Two former prisoners Nguyen Ba Canh -Nguyen Nhat Thang on the day of reunion.

How can one not be moved and happy when one person lives in Cua Nam ward (Vinh city), the other in Hung Loi (Hung Nguyen) only a few dozen kilometers apart, but it was not until more than 40 years after the liberation day that they were able to meet each other. That unexpected moment of meeting also brought them back to the memories of Phu Quoc prison more than 40 years ago...

Those were the stormy days of 1971. At this time, the enemy was terrorizing intensely, the Party cell in the prison was discussing ways to get the high-ranking cadres out. This was really a difficult task, because in the prison, there were no tools and means of digging tunnels. Moreover, the B2 area where he was detained was a special area, known as the "tiger cage", "hell on earth", a place to detain special prisoners, officers, high-ranking cadres... so they were regularly monitored and managed.

To carry out this plan, Mr. Canh and his comrades discussed using eating utensils such as spoons, ladles, and eggplant handles to "process" into tools. In order to avoid being exposed, the Party cell with Mr. Canh as its Secretary also decided to choose the room where sick people were detained as the starting point for the tunnel, because this was the place where the prison guards were often most off guard and afraid to come to inspect for fear of being infected. After the plan was proposed, Mr. Canh's task at that time was to use the enemy's snake carcasses and rice sacks that the comrades had hidden to weave into ropes, pulling the small bags of soil that the tunnel diggers tied to them and moving them outside. After the soil was pulled out, each person put a little bit in their pocket, and when the enemy gathered to take roll call in the yard, they would secretly take it off and rub it on the ground.

Later, the prisoners fought to demand the enemy to dig a well and took advantage of that to fill the soil to dig a tunnel. After 3 months, the 300m long tunnel extending beyond the enemy's barbed wire fence was finally completed. On the last day, when the tunnel had dug close to the mountain, the organization decided to let the prisoners escape.

According to the plan, between 1am and dawn, if they moved quickly, about 20 revolutionary prisoners would escape through that tunnel, Mr. Canh himself and other prisoners would stay behind to let the key cadres go first. The plan was successful until the last minute, but at dawn that day, the enemy suddenly discovered the secret tunnel and Party cell Secretary Nguyen Ba Canh was the first to be punished.

Starting with the shirt that the prison guards discovered while searching the tunnel, the shirt with code 2174 of Nguyen Ba Canh. This was the only intact shirt that he left for a comrade. The nights in the prison camp were often cold because the temperature dropped, but perhaps after crawling in the tunnel for a while, because it was too hot, his friend took it off and accidentally left it in the tunnel. When the enemy discovered the shirt, it seemed that all their anger was vented on him with the most brutal tortures such as forcing him to sit in a water tank, continuously tapping on the tank to create pressure that made him have headaches, deafness, and even vomit blood because of the water pressure. After tapping on the tank, they dragged him out to beat him with a stingray whip. Beating him until his "flesh and bones were crushed", they also rubbed salt on his body. After many days like that, when he was returned to his cell, no one thought he would survive. His fellow countryman, Mr. Thang, met him in such a situation.

Mr. Thang himself was previously sent to solitary confinement B2 for being "stubborn" after he and other comrades failed to organize a prison escape for comrade An (a regrouped cadre). After being beaten, Mr. Thang was taken back to camp B2 by the prison guards for further monitoring. Here, after Mr. Canh was tortured, Mr. Thang personally took care of his fellow prisoner. In the moment of danger, fearing that his friend would not survive, he secretly asked Mr. Canh's hometown and learned that he was from Nghe An. Mr. Canh then learned that his fellow prisoner, with the alias Nguyen Van Thang, from Huong Son, Ha Tinh, was actually named Nguyen Nhat Thang and was also from Hung Nguyen like him.

Some time later, Mr. Thang was transferred to another place, but for nearly half a decade, the fate of his fellow prisoner has always haunted him. He himself did not believe that, after such brutal torture, Mr. Canh was still alive. Until today, 37 years after liberation, seeing Mr. Canh in person, 80 years old, still agile and clear-headed, sitting before his eyes, he could not contain his emotions. Life is truly full of miracles!

Khanh Ly - My Ha