Comrade Dau Du - Secretary of Phu Trung cell in Nghe Tinh Soviet movement

Comrade Dau Du (1908-1977) during his revolutionary activities also had the alias Dau Gia. He was born into a farmer family in Vinh Lai village, Dong Luy commune, Van Phan canton (now Dau Vinh hamlet, Dien Phong commune), Dien Chau district, Nghe An.

His parents, Mr. Dau Nhan and Mrs. Le Thi Han, were gentle farmers. Because of his progressive patriotic ideology, from a young age, his father, Mr. Dau Nhan, sent Comrade Dau Du to study Chinese characters and several years of studying Vietnamese at the village school.

The old homeland of Dong Luy, Dien Phong is now a coastal commune in the east of Dien Chau district. Although Dien Phong is a poor land due to frequent droughts and floods, the people here have a rich tradition of studiousness, ardent patriotism and a resilient fighting spirit. When the French colonialists invaded our country, under the leadership of patriotic scholars, the people actively participated in movements such as Van Than - Can Vuong, the anti-tax movement...

Inheriting the good traditions of his homeland, witnessing many injustices in society, and having early exposure to progressive books and newspapers, comrade Dau Du carried within himself a deep hatred for colonialists and feudal lackeys, and was determined to make a revolution to escape from oppression and exploitation.

In June 1925, in Guangzhou, China, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc founded the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association. In 1927, comrade Vo Mai [1], after attending a political training class in Guangzhou (China), returned to Dien Chau district to establish contact with a number of progressive youths in Van Phan.

After a period of propaganda and mobilization, the first Vietnam Revolutionary Youth organization in Dien Chau was established. During the period of 1928-1929, Vietnam Revolutionary Youth bases were established in communes surrounding Dong Luy, such as: Hoang Truong, My Loc, Dong Thap... In 1928, under the influence of the Youth organization, comrade Dau Du and patriotic youths such as Ngu Ban, Tran Sy Mai, Nguyen Khoat, Giao Hue... sought to exchange and connect with the Youth organizations in the communes of Van Phan, My Loc, Hoang Truong... to build a revolutionary movement in Dong Luy.

In 1929, comrade Dau Du was admitted to the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association of Dong Trai, Ly Trai commune (now Dien Ky) and became an active member. Trusted by the organization to be the treasurer of the Association, comrade Dau Du not only took care of the Association's finances but also actively participated in propaganda activities, built bases, and mobilized the masses to fight. Under the movement and leadership of the Youth Association, the masses rose up to demand the return of land, reduce offerings, and denounce the crimes of village chiefs and local mandarins...

In 1930, under the leadership of the Party, the struggle movement of the people in the province had a strong development. In March 1930, comrades Nguyen Huu Binh (alias Binh Dinh), special envoy of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, were sent to reinforce Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts. Thanks to the leadership of comrades, the revolutionary movement of the people of Dien Chau in general and Dien Phong in particular developed in both quality and quantity.

In late July and early August 1930, the Dien Chau Provisional Party Committee was established, with comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh (alias Thu) as Secretary, and agreed on the policy of prioritizing the work of building and developing grassroots Party organizations. At the conference, the Party Committee also agreed to review and approve outstanding members who actively participated in activities in the local Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Organization to admit them into the Party organization.

Implementing the policy of the Provincial Party Committee, the Phu Trung Party Cell [2] was established, taking on the task of leading the movement of the two communes of Dien Phong and Dien My. Comrade Dau Du, an active member of the Youth Association, was considered for admission to the cell during this time. Joining the Party, Comrade Dau Du continued to stand shoulder to shoulder with other Party members, leading the people of Dong Luy to coordinate with the villages in the commune to carry out many struggles such as: the rally at Chua Thong islet, the rally at Chua Bon pagoda...

During this time, Comrade Dau Du's house was often chosen as a meeting place for party members. Currently, the porcelain plate used by his family to serve meals whenever the comrades held meetings to discuss plans for the struggle is being preserved, kept and displayed in gallery number 6 of the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum.

Faced with the growth of the revolutionary movement in Nghe Tinh in general, and in Dien Chau in particular, the French colonialists concentrated their forces to “suppress the communist rebellion”. They sent legionnaires, blue-clad soldiers, porters, lieutenants and secret agents to Dien Chau to stalk and arrest. Due to the pursuit and secret reports and informing by the tyrants and bullies, most of the Party members and active masses in Dong Luy such as comrades Tran Sy Tung, Tran Sy Mai, Nguyen Khoat… were arrested.

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As for comrade Dau Du, thanks to Mr. Le Khac Triet (village chief of Vinh Lai) who protected him and allowed him to change his name on his ID card to that of his younger brother Dau Gia, who was residing in Vinh, as an alibi. From then on, comrade Dau Du's revolutionary life was associated with the name Dau Gia.

After the demonstration of the people of Hung Nguyen was bloodily suppressed by the French colonial government on September 12, 1930, the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee initiated a major struggle throughout the province to demonstrate solidarity and celebrate the anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (November 7).

Implementing the Provincial Party Committee's policy, from the afternoon of November 6, comrade Dau Du (Dau Gia) secretly received documents from the Party Committee comrades. Documents and leaflets were often secretly transferred and hidden under the bottom of a wooden tray (a family's worship item) and placed solemnly in a corner of the family altar. Thanks to that, the documents prepared for the demonstration were safe from the prying eyes of local local mandarins and lackeys.

On the morning of November 7, 1930, the drums from Long An communal house resounded loudly, urging groups of people from all directions to flock to the gathering place. Comrade Dau Du (Dau Gia) and other party members brought leaflets to distribute and guide the people of Dong Luy village to gather at Nu field in My Quan village, Van Phan commune.

After attending the ceremony, comrade Dau Du and the demonstrators, including people from Van Phan, Ly Trai, and Hoang Truong communes, with strong fighting spirit, marched to Dien Chau Palace. At the Bung bridge intersection, the demonstrators had grown to nearly 2,000 people. As they walked, they distributed leaflets, raised flags and slogans, and shouted in unison "Support the Soviet government" and demanded civil and democratic rights such as tax reduction and tax exemption...

The demonstrators marched towards the government office, the people of the villages along the road and the Red Society cheered and joined the crowd. To intimidate the people, the commander of Dien Chau station mobilized soldiers in blue uniforms and legionnaires to shoot at the demonstrators, killing 30 people and injuring dozens.

After the November 7, 1930 struggle, the enemy tried to terrorize, Party bases in Dien Chau were destroyed, many Party members were arrested and imprisoned. Comrade Dau Du (Dau Gia), a typical revolutionary cadre in Dong Luy, was ambushed and arrested by the enemy and imprisoned in the local prison. In prison, despite being tortured and beaten, he showed his integrity and fighting spirit, continuously giving speeches exposing the faces of French colonialists and the feudal puppet government of the Southern Dynasty.

In 1935, Comrade Dau Du was released from prison. He established contact with Mr. Nguyen Khoat, Giao Hue, Ngu Dy, Que Huu Duong, Tran Sy Mai, Dao Xan, Ho Khuong, etc. Comrade Dau Du was assigned by the organization to carry out revolutionary activities in the Cho Luong and Do Luong areas under the form of a fabric guild.

In 1977, Comrade Dau Du passed away due to old age and poor health. With his contributions to the local revolutionary movement, in 2016, Comrade Dau Du (Dau Gia) was posthumously awarded the Certificate of Meritorious Person to the Revolution before 1945 by the State.

In memory of comrade Dau Du's contributions to the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement, in 2018, a delegation of officials from the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum had the opportunity to visit Dien Phong commune to conduct fieldwork, collect documents and artifacts associated with the comrade's revolutionary life. The wooden trays and porcelain plates that comrade Dau Du used in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement are being preserved, conserved and displayed at the Museum as a powerful testament to the time of comrade Dau Du's dedication to the revolutionary movement of his homeland in the early days of the Party./.

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