Get up after falling

(Baonghean) - With the support of the community, along with his own determination and will to rise up, Mr. Hoang Van Hiep, in Hamlet 7, Hung Long Commune (Hung Nguyen), who was once sentenced to prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession, has risen up to become rich legitimately, creating jobs for many workers who once made mistakes...

From Hung Long Commune People's Committee, following Ta Lam dike for about 500m, we arrived at Mr. Hoang Van Hiep's house in hamlet 7A. We were greeted by a very open-minded man now in his 40s. If we had not been introduced beforehand, it would have been hard to imagine that the now wealthy wood workshop owner had once been in prison for drug trafficking.

After letting the group of workers rest and inviting us to have a drink, he began to tell us about his life... In 1997, he and his wife opened a woodworking workshop right at home. At that time, his woodworking workshop was doing very well. To have wood for production, he had to travel far and wide to find "input" materials. During those years, he was lured into drug trafficking by bad guys, and he himself became addicted. In June 2000, he was arrested and sentenced to 7 years in prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession. "During my days in prison, I was always tormented and miserable. When I sat in the prison with four walls, I always thought about my family and my mistakes. Because of me, my family, wife and children had to suffer bad reputations, and the woodworking workshop had to stop operating...", Mr. Hiep emotionally recounted.

Mr. Hoang Van Hiep.

During his time in K3, Prison Camp No. 3, Nghi Quang, Nghi Loc, Hiep was very remorseful for his crimes and determined to reform himself to return to his wife and children. Thanks to that, he was pardoned and released from prison 3 years ahead of schedule. Returning to his hometown with a starting point of zero, and feeling inferior to the community, he initially lived a closed life, afraid to appear and communicate with people. Thanks to the help of the government, the camp staff directly came to encourage and visit him, helping him gain more strength and determination to rebuild his life.

With the determination to “fall down and get up again”, in 2005, he and his wife borrowed 100 million VND from the bank, relatives and friends to reopen the wood workshop. Up to now, Mr. Hiep has opened 4 more wood workshops in communes in the district, in Thanh Chuong and even in Ha Tinh. After deducting expenses, he earns an average profit of 200 - 300 million VND per year. His wood workshops create regular jobs for nearly 30 workers, mainly young people in the village and commune, with a salary of 5-10 million VND/person. Among them are people who have made mistakes. Ms. VTK shared: “I used to commit a crime related to drugs and was also imprisoned. The first days after leaving the prison, I was very shaky, not knowing where to start, what to do to make a living. When Mr. Hiep accepted me into the workshop to process products, I was very excited and determined to rebuild my life with my own labor.

It is known that Mr. Hiep is currently an active member of the "friends helping friends" group of Hung Long commune. In recent years, the group has regularly coordinated with mass organizations to approach, reform, and help drug addicts quit drugs. So far, 4 subjects have been successfully rehabilitated. Talking to us, Mr. Truong Dinh Thanh, Head of Hung Long Commune Police, excitedly said: "Although he made mistakes and had to go to jail, now everyone in the village admires Mr. Hiep for his determination to rise up and give up bad things, and become rich legitimately from his own labor."

Quang An