Xuan Duong coastal village

(Baonghean) - For fishermen in Xuan Duong village, Nghi Xuan commune (Nghi Loc), the sea has become flesh and blood. There are families with three or four generations working at sea...

The sky began to break, Nguyen Van Duong's boat had not returned to shore as usual. Mrs. Toan (80 years old, Mr. Duong's mother) stopped fanning herself with palm leaves, still chewing betel, looking out at the sea in front of her, and said to her daughter-in-law who was mending the net: "If the children's father's boat has not returned by now, they probably won't catch any fish. We should try to stay here tonight and only return to shore tomorrow, Tung's mother." As soon as Mrs. Toan finished speaking, she stood up and went into the house, from afar, several boats were approaching the shore...

Prepare for new voyage.

Xuan Duong village is only a tourist road along the Lam River away from the sea. Every day, at around 6am, boats from offshore return to anchor close together, that is the busiest time of the village. The boats, whether fishing near or far from shore, all hang bright red national flags on the bows, creating an additional force that urges fishermen to stick to the sea and love their job. Old lady Toan enthusiastically said: "My family does not have a boat to go out to sea, we only go close to shore for a few nights and then return. If we had a big boat, we would be like Mr. Bien's and Mr. Kinh's families in the village, going for a week or ten days. Two days ago, Mr. Kinh's boat hired a chef to cook, brought 3 bags of rice, vegetables, fish sauce, peanuts... I heard that Mr. Bien's boat took more than 10 days to get back to shore on this trip. In Nghi Xuan, big boats like Mr. Kinh's and Mr. Bien's are very rare, so in the situation where China is brazenly placing drilling rigs in Vietnam's waters, fishermen from Xuan Duong village who come and go meet each other and exclaim: "If only our village had a big boat, we would be determined to go out to sea and stick to the sea!"

Fishermen use palm leaves as bait to attract fish.

For generations, the people of Xuan Duong fishing village, whether the sea is rough or calm, have remained devoted to the sea. On rough days, the villagers take out their nets to check, patch up broken nets, check their boats, and add more plastic if there are thin spots... The story of China brazenly placing an oil rig in Vietnam's sovereign waters has made Mrs. Toan love the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa seas even more. She told her grandson, who is studying at Hanoi University, to buy her some CDs about Truong Sa and Hoang Sa so she can listen to them every day. "Although the villagers do not directly fish there, since hearing the news that China brazenly placed an oil rig in Vietnam's waters, everyone has been very upset. The villagers have become more enthusiastic about their work. Women stick to the market and the wharf, men and boys stick to the sea and the boats, and students go to class well-behaved.

Not only that, every day they pick up the phone to call the fishermen in Son Hai, Quynh Tien, Quynh Nghia... of Quynh Luu district to wish them a long and fruitful fishing trip. When I heard the fishermen there say that they are determined to stick to the sea, stick to their boats until the end, not abandoning their boats and leaving the sea because of the complicated situation in the East Sea, but on the contrary, stick to the sea even more, I was very happy". Ms. Toan lives in Nghi Xuan (Nghi Loc), but her roots are in Thoi village, in Quynh Hai commune, her mother is from Tien Thuy, married to Quynh Hai (Quynh Luu).

As for her, at the age of 21, she followed Mr. Xuan to Nghi Xuan as a daughter-in-law when she brought fish to Cua Hoi to sell. Since the day she returned to Xuan Duong, she has been attached to the wharf and the boat. Her husband's generation is the second generation to go to sea, now Mrs. Toan's family has 4 generations going to sea. Although the sea is sometimes rough, sometimes high, the people of Xuan Duong village still persevere to stick to the sea: "The life of fishermen is as precarious as the waves. The rough sea season is even more difficult. It's the same in all sea areas, we live by the sea, eat fish from the sea, rice grains also come from the sea fish, so we must be faithful to the sea. After the rough sea, the sea is calm again, the important thing is that fishermen go to sea diligently, hard-working, love the boat, love the sea, the sea will not let people down..." Mrs. Toan and many fishermen of Xuan Duong village confided!

One day like any other, around 4 or 5 pm, the boats of Xuan Duong fishing village cut through the waves and set sail. On the sandbank, the footprints of mothers and wives transport ice and food for one or two days for their husbands and children. Then around 5 or 6 am the next day, the women and mothers take advantage of the time before the boat docks to have a quick breakfast so they can start their daily work when the boat reaches shore, which is transporting fish to Cua Hoi fishing port for sale or selling right at the village's seaport. Each family has a basket boat rowed to the edge of the boat to bring in fish. The most bustling atmosphere is around 6 am, the basket boats are rowed by grandmothers, mothers, and old fishermen passing each other, exchanging greetings, making a section of the sea lively. Then around 9 am, the sea is left with boats and a few people passing by to transport early food onto the boat for the new trip to set sail around 5 or 6 pm.

In the fishing village, mothers meet their children, wives meet their husbands... in just a few hours at noon, the sea and village are bustling with conversation, the old fishermen take a nap, while the mothers and wives rush to prepare oil, lamps... for a new fishing trip. When the afternoon comes, the boats continue to sail the waves to make a living. Each time they set sail, they carry with them the belief and hope that they will have smooth sailing and catch a big fish. Mr. Tran Van Tung (70 years old) still goes fishing with his son every day, except on rough sea days when he stays home, but in cold weather, sun and rain, he still sticks to the sea. He said: 'We live on the sea, so we must love the sea, everyone has a love for their profession. When I go to sea, I love the sea, there's nothing strange about that!' Not only Mr. Tung, Mr. Kinh, Mr. Bien, the children and grandchildren of Mrs. Toan, but also many fishermen in Xuan Duong village, all said that although the seafaring profession is difficult and arduous, it has penetrated deeply into the blood and flesh, becoming the "career" of each fisherman. From the sea trips, Xuan Duong village has built more flat houses, red-tiled houses, and the children have been educated properly. According to Mr. Duong, after a sleepless night at sea, after deducting expenses, each person has an income of 600,000 to 1 million VND.

Nghi Xuan area belongs to Nghi Loc district but Xuan Duong village is much closer to Cua Hoi than the center of Nghi Loc district, so it is very convenient for purchasing products. Every time they return from the sea, the fishermen bring fish to Cua Hoi cold storage to sell retail and wholesale, so Cua Hoi land is no less closely associated with Xuan Duong people. In recent weeks, every time they bring fish to the port, the fishermen do not forget to ask about fishermen from many provinces in the South and the North anchored at Cua Hoi fishing port. Mr. Duong as well as many fishermen in Xuan Duong fishing village do not forget to take time to ask, encourage and share with fishermen from all over the country who dock at Cua Hoi fishing port after returning from the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa fishing grounds. The responses are very warm: "We still regularly go out to sea and stick to the sea, now we have to stick to the sea for longer periods of time".

Although Mr. Duong's face was still tired and exhausted after a sleepless night at sea, he still enthusiastically told us about the hasty moments he had to ask and chat with fishermen from all over the country who were fishing in the Truong Sa - Hoang Sa archipelagos. He said that although his hometown did not have large boats going out to sea, more than ever, at these times he was more conscious of sticking to the sea and the boats: "If only there were large boats going out to sea, I would go out to the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa fishing grounds to protect the sea and sky of our Fatherland" - Mr. Kinh said so when he stepped onto the boat, weighed anchor for a trip out to sea...

Article and photos:Thu Huong