Homesickness and feelings

The dream of the "promised land"

(Baonghean) - One of the hundreds of bewildered faces catching a bus to the South on National Highway 1 on January 16 that we met was Nguyen Van Duong in a commune famous for making clay pots (Tru Son, Do Luong).

I just turned 18, "it's time to work" - Duong said. I took a bus to Binh Duong with the promise of an acquaintance to help me get a job as a factory worker. He said: Besides farming in the countryside, most young people and young couples find ways to go far away to make a living, mainly to the southern provinces.Male. Some people are doing very well, but there are also people who haven't been home for years, their children are being taken care of by their grandparents. "But we have to go anyway, we have to try!" In the eyes of the young man, there was a lot of hope bubbling up.

Carrying the dream of changing their lives, many people still return empty-handed, not to mention carrying heartbreaking tragedies. Many couples break up due to mutual suspicion, many girls go to work as factory workers and return with small children without husbands, many people bring illness, some have work accidents and become a lifelong burden for their elderly parents. "It is true that there are joys and sorrows, but that is the mentality of young people today, they do not want to stick to the plow and the buffalo in the countryside. Hearing the name of a factory or enterprise is still more "impressive", plus having the conditions to go out and broaden their minds, some people even dream of studying further" - a leader of Vo Liet commune (Thanh Chuong) said.

Feelings from home

In a small house in Hamlet 2 (Tru Son, Do Luong), we met Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lieu, 63 years old, who was busy studying at the desk with her grandson. She has 5 children, all of whom work far away, including 2 sons and daughter-in-law who have not returned for 2 years, leaving her 3 grandchildren to look after and teach. She sadly said: "Because of their circumstances, they have to go to work, so they leave their children to me to take care of. From eating, sleeping, to studying, everything is done by me. Tet has just passed a few days ago, but my 4-year-old grandchild misses his parents and cries all the time, insisting on going to see them, so even though I am old and weak, I still take him to Ho Chi Minh City to see his parents, to save him the trouble."

Sharing the same situation, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoan, also in the same village as Mrs. Lieu, had 8 children (1 deceased), of whom 6 went to the North.Malestart a business. She confided, "This Tet, all 6 of them are not coming home, including their wives and children, making a total of 10. They still call every day, but during the Tet reunion days, every time I hear the bustling laughter of the neighbors, my heart aches. It's sad, but who can bear to be angry? You have to understand them, they are also bitter."

Vu Hong Hanh (8 years old), currently a 2nd grade student at Quynh Tho Primary School, Quynh Luu, when we met her innocently said: "I am currently living with my aunt while my parents work far away." When we asked, we learned that although she is only 8 years old, Hanh has been without the warmth of her parents for many years. When she was in kindergarten, her parents took her toMale- where her parents worked, but when she finished first grade, due to difficult conditions, her parents sent her back to her hometown to study. The family has two sisters, Hanh lives with her aunt, and her younger sister lives with her grandparents. Although she misses her parents, Hanh is very aware of her situation, "I have to be independent so that my parents who live far away can feel secure." - Hanh always remembers her grandparents' advice.

The "tornado of leaving home" has made many localities quiet. In the village, the only people you see are the elderly and children. In the field, you also see only the elderly. "After the full moon, it's sad and lonely" - Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (Quynh Dien - Quynh Luu) sighed while cleaning the family altar after the ancestor worship day. In his family, all the children have gone to work far away, one in Lang Son, one in Ho Chi Minh City. Only his daughter got married and moved to the neighboring commune, sometimes she can stop by to visit her parents. Mr. Hung said, "I know I have to leave my hometown to work and earn a living, but I have no one to take care of the housework and the hometown."

Because of this, many local mass movements are paralyzed. Some hamlets are in a state of constantly changing the Youth Union branch secretaries. But what is more worrying is that the "movement" of leaving home has also brought about alarming consequences. For example, at Quynh Tho Secondary School (Quynh Luu), every year after Tet, there are students who drop out of school to go to the countryside.Male. Mr. Phan Van Hoa, the school principal, said: Last year, after Tet, there were 5 cases of dropping out of school to work. This year, the number increased to 8 students, mainly students in grades 8 and 9, including some with very good academic performance. The school also tried to mobilize, teachers visited each house, but it did not change much.

In conclusion

The villages and hamlets were quiet as soon as it got dark. The lamp shades on the small study table tilted the shadow of a child with an old man or old woman whose eyes were dim. This picture can be easily seen in many villages in Nghe An. It seems that everyone is trying, hoping, anxiously waiting for a Tet reunion for the joy of a leaky roof being repaired, new clothes shining brightly with the spring sunshine, distant stories told bustlingly in a corner of the village... I wonder if anyone far away has experienced the moment of "raising their head to admire the bright moon" to "bow their head" to remember a homeland that aches in their heart?

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