Not only prestigious in the community, grassroots mediators, especially the leaders of mediation teams, are knowledgeable about the law, good at mass mobilization, and always match their words with their actions; thereby, making an important contribution to resolving conflicts and strengthening village and neighborhood relationships.
We had the opportunity to return to Yen The hamlet, Thinh Son commune (Do Luong), and were surprised to see that the 5% public land that was previously used for farming, small-scale cultivation, and fish ponds has now been replaced by lush, budding seedless lemon gardens, and greenhouses lined up to grow grapes and heavy-fruited melons.
Accompanying us, Ms. Thai Thi Thuong - Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Thinh Son commune shared: Up to this point, the "five percent" land area of ineffective agricultural production has become a large Doi Choi organic farm. Not only contributing to creating a source of clean food, flowers and fruits for the area, but also helping to solve jobs for some people. That result is largely due to "Mother Ly". Curiously asking about "Mother Ly", we were led by Ms. Thuong to meet the female Party Secretary and Hamlet Chief "talking, doing" of Yen The hamlet Hoang Thi Ly.
"Mother Ly" is 65 years old, small in stature, agile and active. Talking, she happily said that Yen The hamlet was established on the basis of merging 3 old hamlets 11, 12, 13 with 304 households, 1,103 people. The area is large, the population is large, with many difficulties arising. As the Party Cell Secretary, Hamlet Chief, and Head of the Mediation Team, she had to make great efforts to work with the Party Cell, Management Board, and Mediation Team of the hamlet to resolve difficulties and create consensus among the people. For example, mobilizing people to accumulate land to build a high-quality economic model according to the Resolution of the Commune Party Committee in the Doi Choi area. This is a 5% public land area managed by the commune and assigned to 38 households for cultivation. Initially, rice was grown but the efficiency was not high, the yield was low, so people switched to digging ponds to raise fish and grow grass for livestock. In October 2021, the commune advocated mobilizing people to return land and convert to building a high-quality economic model. People were supported with crops on the land, pond digging labor, etc.
Initially, only about half of the households agreed. For the remaining households, Ms. Ly, together with the Party Committee, Party cell, and mediation team, went to each house to grasp the thoughts of households with land to propagate and mobilize, helping people understand the benefits of changing the form of agricultural production. At the same time, she required the families of cadres, Party members, and members of the mediation team to set an example first.
Sharing with us about the time of "meeting during the day and campaigning at night", Ms. Ly said: The empathy, reason, and perseverance of the village and hamlet cadres were finally listened to and understood by the people. 37/38 households agreed to return the land to the commune and hand it over to businesses to build farms to develop an organic agricultural model, both creating clean agricultural products and creating jobs for local workers. For example, the family of Mr. Nguyen Thuong Hai and Ms. Thai Thi Hieu has 4-5 sao in the Doi Choi area, initially growing rice, then digging ponds to raise fish. When being propagandized and mobilized, they saw that the policy of land accumulation and conversion was correct, so they soon agreed and supported. "The formation of today's clean agricultural production farm is thanks to the "skillful mass mobilization" work of the political system at the commune and hamlet levels, including the contribution of Ms. Hoang Thi Ly", Mr. Hai shared.
Taking on the role of the leader in Yen The hamlet since 2009, and also being a representative of the People's Council of the commune for many terms, Ms. Hoang Thi Ly believes that if you put the people's interests first in everything, you will gain trust and support. Particularly for grassroots mediation work, you must find the "knot" to untie the rope. There are matters that require expert advice, such as land-related issues, the hamlet had to invite the commune's land officer and the parties to the field, both based on legal regulations and combining reason and emotion, so the mediation was successful, maintaining the bond of village and neighborhood love. "The trust and confidence of the people is the driving force that helps me continue to complete my tasks well," Ms. Ly affirmed.
In village 2, Hoa Son commune (Anh Son), people talk about Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh - Head of the Front's working group, Head of the village's mediation team, as a typical, enthusiastic and responsible mediator. Our ancestors used to say "when you see food, come back, when you see an argument, run away", but with Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh, it's the opposite, wherever there are loud voices, conflicts and disagreements, he is immediately there to mediate. In cases that are just starting to arise, Mr. Tinh also comes, listens, grasps the situation and then coordinates with the Party Cell and the Village Management Board to find ways to resolve them according to the motto "big things become small".
A typical example is the story of a land dispute between two families in the village that occurred in 2021. Ms. M's family was renovating the family cemetery. However, Ms. Th's family thought that Ms. M was encroaching on their family's cemetery land, so she was hindering the construction and renovation. Upon receiving the news, Mr. Tinh and the mediation team investigated and checked, then invited commune officials and representatives of the family to the village cultural house for mediation. After being analyzed, Ms. Th's family admitted their mistake and apologized to Ms. M's family. The conflict was then resolved, the two families united, maintaining village and neighborhood relations.
Or in 2022, the mediation team of village 2 resolved the problem related to the common drainage ditch. Accordingly, two families from other places came to buy adjacent land from households in the hamlet, but because they did not check carefully, they both said that the land planned for the hamlet's ditch was their land. Mr. Tinh, the mediation team and the hamlet management board invited the land officer to come and inspect the field, inviting the two households who bought the land to the scene. After being informed and explained, the households agreed to let the hamlet dig up soil to build a drainage ditch. During the heavy rain and storms of the year, the above road section was not flooded like in previous years, and the people were very happy and excited.
As a retired Chief of Engineers of Division 324 (Military Region 4), with experience and courage trained in the army, according to Mr. Tinh, "working for the people" must determine the disadvantages, first of all, the sacrifice of time. Because there are matters that cannot be resolved in a day or two, but must be traveled many times so that all parties can listen and understand. When resolving people's affairs, one must be fair, objective, and unbiased, because everyone is a citizen of the village. The most important thing is to closely connect with self-management groups so that when problems arise, they can be coordinated and resolved promptly. If the subject of mediation is related to a branch or organization, invite that branch or organization to join in to resolve the matter at its root, to mend the village and neighborhood relationship.
As Head of the Front Committee, Head of the Mediation Team, Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh and the Mediation Team of Village 2 have successfully mediated many cases of land disputes, neighborhood conflicts, and family conflicts (in 2021-2022 alone, 7 cases were mediated, and 1 case is still being resolved). Talking to us, Ms. Dang Thuy Van - a Justice officer of Hoa Son commune said, "Village 2 was chosen to be built as a pilot mediation team, with great contributions from Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh - the responsible and dedicated Head of the Mediation Team...".
Following the introduction of Mr. Ho Xuan Truc - a Justice officer of Hung Phuc commune (Hung Nguyen), we went to hamlet 2 to meet Ms. Dinh Thi Tam - Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell, Head of the Women's Union, Head of the hamlet's Mediation Team.
Hamlet 2, Hung Phuc commune was established on the basis of merging Van Lang hamlet and Van My hamlet. Since 2019, Ms. Dinh Thi Tam has been elected as the Head of the hamlet's Mediation Team, a task usually reserved for men (among the heads of the commune's Mediation Team, only Ms. Tam is female). Facing many difficulties and pressures, but with her dedication and flexibility in handling work, Ms. Tam is trusted and admired by the people.
During the process of conciliating conflicts at the grassroots level, Ms. Tam realized that if everything is resolved promptly and from the root, the people, villages, and hamlets will be at peace. From 2020 to 2022, the Hamlet 2 Conciliation Team has successfully mediated 9 cases. According to Ms. Tam, to do a good job of conciliating at the grassroots level, we must keep the word "love" in each case, so that we can maintain the village and neighborhood relationship. For example, two families in the hamlet had a conflict over a land boundary dispute, leading to discord. Accordingly, Mr. L. bought land from the household next to Mr. C.'s house, but because he did not check carefully, he built a fence that encroached on Mr. C's house.
After the incident, Ms. Tam and the Mediation Team checked the land title and invited 3 related households, including the household that sold land to Mr. L. to come to mediation. As a result, the parties reconciled, and Mr. L.'s family returned the encroached land to Mr. C.'s family. Or the conflict that lasted for many years between Mr. H.'s family and Mr. T.'s family. The reason was that the fence that previously divided the boundary between the two households was made of trees. When one of the two households wanted to build a cement fence, a disagreement arose. Everyone thought that the other side encroached on their land. After the Mediation Team intervened, the two families agreed to build a common fence to maintain neighborly relations.
To gain the trust of the people, the "prisoners" like Ms. Tam must also set an example in every aspect. Busy with 8 sao of rice fields, 5 sao of fish ponds, and in her spare time working as a construction worker to earn extra income, Ms. Tam is still dedicated to the village and hamlet. Thanks to that, she has gained the trust and support of the people. In the past two years, the appearance of hamlet 2 has changed completely, the roads and paths have been concreted, clean and beautiful, security and order have been maintained, people feel secure in working, producing, and building new rural areas.
