Comrade Nguyen Sy Sach (1907-1929): Unyielding will in revolutionary struggle
Nguyen Sy Sach was born on January 20, 1907, in a poor Confucian family in Tu Vien village, Xuan Lam commune (now Thanh Luong commune), Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province.
In 1924, after graduating with a Baccalaureate degree from Vinh City High School, Nguyen Sy Sach was appointed as a teaching assistant at the French-Vietnamese Primary School in Ha Tinh town. He entered the teaching profession at a time when the sound of Pham Hong Thai's bombs was stirring up the patriotic spirit of Vietnamese revolutionaries. He greatly admired the heroic actions of the young man named Pham. He read progressive books and newspapers, and explored the patriotic activities of scholars. That revolutionary enthusiasm motivated Nguyen Sy Sach to soon join in patriotic activities.
In July 1925, Nguyen Sy Sach joined the Phuc Viet Association, a national revolutionary organization founded by intellectuals. He was in charge of building the organization and spreading patriotic ideas in schools and in Ha Tinh town.
Knowing about Nguyen Sy Sach's patriotic activities, the French consul reported to the Central Education Department and transferred him to teach at the French-Vietnamese Phu Vang Primary School, a district near the capital Hue. His heart ached when he witnessed the insolent and despicable actions of French officials and soldiers against the Vietnamese people; after a while, he quit teaching and returned home to participate in revolutionary activities.
In mid-1926, he contacted a number of Youth Association cadres who had just returned from Guangzhou (China). Taking responsibility for the Viet Restoration Association, he went to China to meet Nguyen Ai Quoc, but had to return to Hai Phong due to being closely monitored by French secret police.
In August 1927, Nguyen Sy Sach was sent by the Hung Nam Association to China to attend a political training course of the Youth Association. Upon returning home, he was appointed Secretary of the Central Region of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association. Under the direction of Nguyen Sy Sach, in less than a year the organization and reputation of the association had spread widely.
On March 18, 1928, authorized by the Youth Central Committee, Nguyen Sy Sach convened a conference of delegates to merge the two organizations, the Hung Nam Association and the Youth Association, in Kim Lien village (Nam Dan district). But the conference failed because of some delegates' personal and local prejudices.
In January 1929, on behalf of the Central Region, Nguyen Sy Sach went to Hong Kong (China) to attend the preparatory conference for the National Congress of the Youth Association. Returning to Central Region, leaders at all levels held conferences to elect delegates to attend the Congress. At the Youth Congress held on May 1, 1929, Nguyen Sy Sach was elected as a member of the Central Region Executive Committee, in charge of domestic affairs.
On July 28, 1929, Nguyen Sy Sach fell into the enemy's hands. On October 30, 1929, the Nam Trieu Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to life imprisonment in exile in Lao Bao.
Lao Bao Prison is located deep in the rugged mountains of Huong Hoa District (Quang Tri Province). To manage political prisoners, at night they forced prisoners to hold "no talking" cards, and during the day when they went to do hard labor, each person had to wear 3 iron shackles on their necks, feet and hands. The soldiers used chains to connect the 3 shackles to lead the prisoners like animals.
Unable to bear the prison conditions, Nguyen Sy Sach led the communist prisoners to fight in the form of a hunger strike on December 19, 1929, making the following demands: Remove shackles and chains; return to the provincial prison; allow them to read books and newspapers; allow them to send letters home and receive clothes sent by their families; improve their diet; and not be forced to do hard labor.
The jailors brutally suppressed the struggle and imprisoned three people. Nguyen Sy Sach encouraged his comrades to maintain their fighting spirit and demanded the release of those who had just been arrested. The jailor shot him dead at 5 p.m. on December 19, 1929.
Nguyen Sy Sach sacrificed his life; but his indomitable fighting spirit strongly encouraged his fellow political prisoners to continue fighting until victory.
