Fighting against drug crimes: Sad stories in remote villages

(Baonghean) - Once a "white tornado" sweeps into a certain countryside, it causes villages and neighborhoods to be restless and insecure, pushing many families into misery and unhappiness. Happy homes are suddenly shattered, and the ones who suffer the greatest pain are the young children, the elderly fathers and mothers... Many situations, but the same ultimate sadness!

Arriving at Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong), standing next to Xop Mat bridge, we saw a man with a haggard body, ragged clothes, walking back and forth, carrying a dirty bag in his hand, his face was dull and lifeless. He was Luong Van Quynh, a resident of Xop Mat village. Mr. Quynh was originally a healthy, sober man, his family was not rich but had enough to eat, life went on peacefully like many other families in this mountainous area. His wife was Lo Thi Xuan, they had 4 children. Misfortune fell on Mr. Quynh when his 3 children took turns getting addicted, neglecting farming, hanging out with bad friends in the village and people from other places all day. The furniture in the house was sold one by one to get money to inject drugs, when there was nothing left in the house, they stole from other houses, then joined drug trafficking and transportation lines. As a result, one child died of HIV infection, two went to jail for being involved in drug trafficking. Perhaps because of boredom or someone persuaded her, Mrs. Lo Thi Xuan was also seduced by the "white ghost", and then became an addict. Not sharing her sadness and unhappiness with her husband, Mrs. Xuan wandered around all day, doing whatever job anyone hired her to do, as long as she had a little money to buy "white goods", to satisfy her constant craving. Fed up with her family situation, her health was declining day by day and she had to think a lot, so Mr. Luong Van Quynh's spirit and mind were no longer clear. He left his dilapidated house, wandered along the road, picked up anything that others left on the road; people in the village and commune sympathized with him by giving him instant noodles, sweet potatoes, and cassava.

Mr. Luong Van Nam (Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district) with his grandchildren whose parents are serving prison sentences for drug crimes.

In Que Phong, many people know the story of Mr. Tran Van M's house (a character who requested to remain anonymous) in Que Son commune. Mr. M was from Dien Chau, came to Que Son to start a business, the economy was stable. The family also built a fairly spacious house, fully equipped, everyone looked at it with envy... However, in just a moment, everything fell apart. The 3 sons became addicted to drugs one after another. Farming work was neglected, land was abandoned because no one plowed it. The property in the house also gradually disappeared, until there was nothing of value left, the 3 sons, after a period of playing around and then falling ill, passed away one after another in a short period of time, the old woman collapsed and was bedridden since then. After burying the 3 children, there was nothing left in the house, the wife was bedridden, her strength was gone, her daughter was married, Mr. M had to drag her old body everywhere hoping to receive love and sharing from people.

In a family where someone falls into drugs, not only the parents - those who are "close to death, far from heaven" - have to bear the pain, but the children also fall into a state of helplessness and loneliness. Coming to Cap Chang village, Yen Tinh commune (Tuong Duong), we heard Mr. Quang Dai Tinh confide his feelings when his children died of HIV and were imprisoned for drug-related crimes. He had 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl, his daughter was married and had a fairly peaceful life. The eldest son in the village, Quang Van Duong, died of HIV, leaving behind his wife and 2 young children. Duong died not long ago, his wife remarried, the 2 young children became helpless, without both father and mother. Faced with that situation, Mr. Tinh and his wife had to take care of him, even though they were old and did not have much strength left to work. Then Mr. Tinh's second son, Quang Van Di, also went to prison for transporting heroin. Di's wife left to work far away, and their young child had to live with his grandparents.

Arrest drug traffickers

Not far from Mr. Tinh's house is Mr. Vang Dinh Hieu's house. Their family circumstances are somewhat different, but the two men have one thing in common: the pain for their children and their love for their innocent grandchildren. Mr. Hieu has four children, two of whom have died (the only daughter died of malaria at the age of 17), one is in prison, and he and his wife have to take care of their young grandchildren. Vang Van Tinh - Mr. Hieu's eldest son - died of HIV infection. When he was alive, he had to go to prison for drug trafficking. When her husband died, Tinh's wife followed another man, leaving her two young children for her husband's parents to take care of, entrusting their future to their grandparents. Mr. Hieu's second son, Vang Van Khay, had to go to a re-education camp for drug trafficking. Khay's wife, Vi Thi Toi, decided to divorce and remarry. Of the two young children, Toi took one with her, and left the other to her grandparents to raise. It is worth mentioning that Mr. Hieu and his wife are quite old, both over 60, but every day they still have to go down to Cha Ha stream to pan for gold, regardless of the scorching sun or pouring rain, to earn money to raise their grandchildren, so that they have food every day, and money to buy books and clothes. In their old age, if something happens to the grandparents, who knows where the young grandchildren will have to rely on without their parents?

Also in Cap Chang village, there is a Mr. Lo Thanh Truyen who has to take care of a grandchild, because both of his parents have passed away. Mr. Truyen's granddaughter's name is Lo Thi Nhu Binh, her father is Lo Van De who died several years ago from AIDS. Binh's mother, Lo Thi Pan, was murdered by a villain in the middle of the night, while they were sleeping in a small house at the head of the village, quite far from the other houses. Both parents passed away one after another, with no one to take care of them, Binh became thin, weak and at risk of dropping out of school. Not willing to let their grandchild live alone, Mr. Truyen and his wife took Binh home to take care of him, even though they were old and weak. To raise Binh, his grandparents had to clear an additional field, go to the forest to get more bamboo shoots, go down to the stream to find more fish...

Witnessing those misfortunes, I wonder if those who have fallen into the path of drugs, died or were imprisoned, had the chance to rebuild their lives, would they cause pain to their relatives, their elderly parents and their young children? And that is also a warning to those who are lost and misguided!

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