Nghe An: People build shacks to make schools because of mysterious cracks surrounding the village

Mysterious Crack

On the last day of May, in a cramped bamboo hut in Pha Khao village (Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district), the 2018-2019 school year summary ceremony took place. The corrugated iron roof was too low, making the atmosphere in the hut very hot. The white uniforms of nearly 40 students at Pha Khao primary school were soaked with sweat. The teachers here therefore had to end the ceremony early because the students could not stand it.

Temporary shelter of Pha Khao Primary School.

“Everyone feels relieved at the end of the school year, from teachers to students, but we don’t know if we will have to endure the same situation next year,” said Mr. Luong Trung Kien, homeroom teacher of class 5D. At this school, in addition to Mr. Kien, there are four other teachers. Each is in charge of a class. During the past school year, they had to teach “makeshift” classes because of concerns about landslides. Sometimes, they even had to borrow people’s houses to bring letters to their students.

Back in August 2018, after a heavy rain, the people of Pha Khao village were extremely confused because of the mysterious cracks that appeared here. In particular, the main crack was nearly 1km long, running around the village. The width of these cracks was nearly 1 meter in some places, and more than 2 meters deep. Especially in the area of ​​Pha Khao Primary and Kindergarten, the cracks were so crisscrossed that the concrete floors shattered... Worried about the safety of both teachers and students, when these cracks showed signs of spreading, they decided to relocate the school.

Mysterious cracks run around Pha Khao village.

While 20 preschool children were transferred to the village community house to study temporarily, nearly 40 primary school students here did not know where to go. Pha Khao is one of the most remote villages in Mai Son commune. From the commune center to here, one has to cross a road of more than 10 km long, which is in a state of landslides all year round. On rainy days, traveling on this road is a big problem. Therefore, transferring these students to the main school is impossible because the road is too difficult, they cannot go back and forth in the same day. Meanwhile, Pha Khao village has 50 Mong households living, and all of them are poor households.

After the village meeting, they decided to build a temporary hut for their children to study. At that time, it was the time to prepare for the new school year, so in order to start the school year on time, dozens of people divided the work among themselves. Some went into the forest to cut bamboo, others stayed to weave bamboo fences. They also pooled money to buy thin corrugated iron sheets for roofing. It took half a month to build the bamboo hut. Right after the opening ceremony at the old school, teaching was quickly transferred to the temporary school.

Although it was called a temporary school, the teachers and students here did not expect that they would have to stay here for the entire school year. And no one is sure whether they will still have to endure such a temporary situation in the next school year.

The crack appeared nearly a year ago, causing panic among people in the border area.

Emergency relocation

“On sunny days, it is as hot as a furnace because the corrugated iron roof is thin and too low. On rainy days, water splashes into the classroom, soaking both teachers and students. Many days we cannot stand it anymore, so we have to go to people’s houses to study temporarily. Here, for the past year, it has been like a makeshift school,” Mr. Kien said sadly. The temporary shelter of this primary school is divided into 5 rooms, one for each class. However, according to the reporter’s observation, each classroom is only less than 7m wide.²After a few months of use, the bamboo panels were rotten.

“In the cold season, the wind blowing into the classroom makes the children shiver. It is pitiful to see, but there is no other way,” said Mr. Dang Van Hai, Principal of Mai Son Primary School.

An outdoor activity of teachers and students at Pha Khao.

However, not only teachers and students here have suffered because of the cracks, 50 households in Pha Khao have also been in a state of anxiety and insecurity for nearly a year. “The cracks keep spreading. I can’t sleep well because I’m afraid, especially when it rains. I’m afraid my house will collapse,” said Mr. Va Ba Nhien (60 years old).

Mai Son is one of the farthest communes in Nghe An. It is 120 km from the center of Tuong Duong district. According to Mr. Lo Van Quang - Chairman of Mai Son Commune People's Committee, the commune has 10 villages, of which 6 are Thai, 2 are Kho Mu and 1 is Mong. The poverty rate is 58%. Among these villages, Pha Khao is the poorest.

“Since the cracks appeared, we have been continuously checking and reassuring the people. However, the evacuation is facing many difficulties,” said Mr. Quang.

Mai Son is one of the farthest communes of Nghe An, bordering Laos and more than 320 km from Vinh City. Photo: Google Maps

Over the past year, a series of survey teams have come to this village but so far have not found the cause of these cracks. Meanwhile, to ensure safety, Tuong Duong district has decided to urgently relocate the entire village. However, despite being called “urgent relocation”, up to now, not a single household has been relocated due to many reasons.

In this mountainous area, finding a place for resettlement is not easy. There are flat areas but lack water sources, and places near water sources are undulating or have no roads. There are places in landslide areas...

Old Pha Khao Primary School.

Talking to Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai - Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee said that he was also present in this village to check the cracks. Regarding the cause, Mr. Hai said that it could be due to the unstable geological structure of this area.

According to the leader of Tuong Duong district, the local government has recently found a location to build a resettlement area for the people. This area is located more than 1km away from the old village. However, relocating the entire Pha Khao village is not easy. “We have built a project but the cost is too high. In the near future, we will only relocate 7 households first. These households have houses located right on the cracks, which is too dangerous. When there is funding, we will continue to relocate the remaining households and build a school at the same time,” said Mr. Hai.