Ky Son mobilizes people to hand over homemade weapons

(Baonghean.vn) - For a long time, ethnic minorities in border areas have often manufactured (purchased) guns to hunt wild animals. Since then, many complicated incidents have arisen, tragic deaths in life, and conflicts in social relations have been resolved. Border Guard Station 543 (Nghe An Border Guard) has found a good way to get people to voluntarily hand over weapons.

Muong Tip (Ky Son district, Nghe An) is a border commune with rugged terrain and harsh nature. For generations, people here have associated their daily life with farming and hunting wild animals, so they always consider guns as a "tool" in their family. Moreover, guns are also associated with the customs of the people, when happy or sad, there is a sound of gun "reporting" to heaven and earth. That is why not long ago, almost all families in Muong Tip commune had at least one homemade gun.



People surrender weapons to BP station 543

This custom has created very high risks. In 2010, a man in the commune brought a gun into the forest and went missing. Later, the authorities discovered that he was dead in the forest with a bullet wound to the head. After analyzing the scene, the authorities concluded that he died from a fall that caused the gun to go off and cause self-harm.

In recent years, in Muong Tip, there has been a situation where local people bring out homemade guns to resolve conflicts in life. The incident happened nearly 3 years ago, but when mentioned again, the locals still say that if the border guards had not arrived in time, a massacre would have definitely occurred. That day, after getting drunk, two brothers, Cut Van Thanh (born in 1986) and Cut Van Than (born in 1988), had a "war of words" with two other brothers, Hoc Pho Ken (born in 1961) and Hoc Pho Hoang (born in 1978). The war of words became increasingly tense and they resorted to homemade guns to "assert their point of view". More seriously, they also dragged other young people into the "war". Hearing the gunshots, the people panicked and reported to the Border Guard Station 543 to prevent the incident. Immediately, the unit sent officers and soldiers to “defuse” the deadly gunfight between the subjects. In this incident, the BP 543 station seized 6 homemade flintlock guns.

“It is not correct to say that Muong Tip is an area where there are no more homemade weapons. However, the phenomenon of people storing and using this type of weapon has decreased significantly compared to previous years. To achieve these results, the local government, officers and soldiers in the unit had to make great efforts,” affirmed Major Ho Thanh Quang, Political Commissar of Border Guard Station 543. According to Quang, based on the local reality, the station command has directed propaganda teams and groups to help people voluntarily hand over homemade weapons.

It sounds simple, but getting people to hand over their “inseparable possessions” for generations is a very difficult task. The first step is to educate people about the legal regulations on the use of weapons, then the dangers of storing these weapons. “Through the education, people still realize that storing and using these weapons is against the law. But there are many “reasons” for keeping their weapons! So despite their determination, at first the local authorities and the Border Guard were confused about how to proceed,” said Major Ho Thanh Quang.

Through many meetings, the local government and Border Guard Station 543 have implemented a very effective way. That is, to deploy the construction of specific people and families as "models". First of all, the houses of village cadres, then the village elders and prestigious village chiefs do not produce, store, or use homemade weapons. When these families can do it, all households in the village will voluntarily follow suit. This is shown in the results of the recent campaign to mobilize people to hand over homemade weapons, carried out by Border Guard Station 543 in coordination with the local government. People voluntarily handed over 110 flintlock guns, 14 flintlock gun barrels, and 2 grenades...

Le Thach