Upstream of the Giang River

(Baonghean) -This was the first time we went up the Giang River, so our group of reporters were all excited. We had heard the phrase “Muong Qua rice, Giang River fish” for a long time, and the story about the pristine Dan Lai villages in the middle of the lush green mountains and forests urged us to forget the scorching heat that was blowing down the river…

The Thai people in Con Cuong call the Giang River Nam Khang, so sometimes the Kinh people in the area also call it Khe Khang. Forestry professionals from a few decades ago still recount that in those days, to get to the source of the river, one had to wade through the forest for 2 days and it also took the same amount of time to raft down the Giang River to bring wood and forest products (mainly bamboo and rattan) back to the gathering place to sell to the brokers. Rafting trips down the Giang River were real battles of wits between people (using a fragile, primitive rattan) and the fierce waves. But that was many years ago, when the Giang River was still full of power. Now it has become gentle because the old forests have been exhausted and the river has reduced its water volume. Only now have people begun to pay attention to the tourism potential that the river can bring.

In the summer, people from near and far come here to cool off and enjoy the green mountains and blue water, especially since the Pha Lai irrigation dam was built (just 10 years ago). The dam created a lake deep in the foot of the mountain and is less than 20 km from the center of Con Cuong Town. Tourists rent motorboats from the people of nearby Xieng village to go up and down the lake every weekend. Mr. Ngan Van Mai, Head of Xieng village, said that although it is just the tourist season, there are dozens of boat rentals every day to travel on the Giang River. Thanks to that, in the summer, boat owners have a fairly high income. Thanks to the visits of tourists, the brocades of the villagers have more customers.

On an early summer morning, the Great Heat, the Con Cuong forest area suffered from 40oC heat. The river wharf was as quiet as prehistoric times. It was almost 10am when there was a boat going up the Giang River. Before that, the border guard of Don Mon Son, Bui Xuan Manh, said: Currently, the Dan Lai people in the upper reaches have just entered the harvest season, so they rarely go to the market, so it is very difficult to find a boat. Luckily, this morning, there was a boat carrying goods for the grocery traders in Khe Bung village. The boat owner, Phan Van Thang, from Xieng village, right near the river wharf, is small in stature, has dark skin but has a determined look and likes to smile when the camera lens is pointed at him. He said he has been running the boat for more than 2 years now, going every other day. When going in, he carries gasoline, rice, salt, and groceries for the people, when going out, he carries people along. Boat passengers are usually villagers going to the commune center to shop or visit relatives, sometimes it's a group of young villagers who are excited to hop on the boat to "go out" during the off-season.

After a few minutes of preparing the passengers' seats, the boatman started the engine. Only half a minute later, the boat turned its bow towards the upstream. In an instant, we were immersed in a fresh green space of mountains, forests, sky and water. The sweltering heat of summer days suddenly disappeared... This was the widest part of the river, easily over a hundred meters. The watchtowers appeared and disappeared behind the trees and the corn fields across the mountainside. The boatman happily pressed the accelerator to move the boat forward. The riverbank gradually receded and disappeared.

Knowing that we were reporters, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, resident of Bac Son village, Mon Son commune, started a conversation: It will be hard work in a little while. Indeed, after more than half an hour of smooth rowing, the river became narrower, with some areas only requiring a few steps to cross to the other side. In the narrow areas, the water was squeezed and became more ferocious.

Mr. Phan Van Thang shared: “During the high water season, only the best drivers dare to cross the waterfalls in such narrow areas. Normally, when crossing the waterfalls, boat passengers are advised to go ashore and walk across the dangerous area before returning to the boat. But in the summer, the water is gentler, we just have to sit still and not move to avoid affecting the boat steering. When crossing the waterfalls, the co-pilot at the bow of the boat tries his best to push the pole to help the boat move up. There are areas where the river water only reaches the knees, the co-pilot has to jump in and try to pull the boat to move. Just like that, the boatman's struggle with the Giang River water lasts more than 2 hours before reaching Co Phat village, 1 of 2 Dan Lai villages living along the river.

The village has concrete roads leading to the gates of each house. Domestic water is led to tanks scattered throughout the village. At the end of the village, golden rice fields are waiting for harvest. People who fled to the "desert" area 200 years ago now know about concrete roads and do not have to go down to the river to "cry" for water every day. That said, the lives of the people are still not free from suffering. The living areas of Co Phat and Khe Bung villages are located in the core area of ​​Pu Mat National Park. For several years now, slash-and-burn farming has been banned, and people can only rely on food from the small area of ​​low-yield rice fields. Harvesting season has become the most prosperous time for the people of Dan Lai village upstream of the Giang River. However, the amount of food harvested is not worth much, while the population of each household is increasing due to the rapid increase in birth rate. Rice fields are usually only enough for a few months. The main source of income at this time depends on the forest. During the rainy season, we pick bamboo shoots. Outside of the bamboo shoot season, we can only go to the forest to harvest bamboo and rattan to sell to traders to buy rice.

Carrying rice back to the village

Captain Lo Van Ngoan, Head of the Co Phat Border Station, was born and raised in the border commune of Mon Son, so he understands the lives of the Dan Lai people in Co Phat. He said: “Traffic isolation is the factor that keeps the villagers poor. They face many difficulties in exchanging goods and communicating with outside communities. Therefore, it is very difficult to change habits and outdated perceptions. Here, people still go to work late and come home early, and men often gather to drink alcohol all day. Although child marriage has decreased, it still exists.”

Mr. La Van Yeu, in Co Phat village, shared: Young people here are 14, 15 years old and get married and have children, but they don't know about family planning, so it's normal for many couples to have dozens of children, and it's not possible to end child marriage.



Children in Co Phat village.

During the day, the village was filled with children's voices. Bare-chested boys and girls ran around the village alleys. In the evening, adults returned from the mountains and forests. At this time, the water tanks were crowded with people coming to fetch water and bathe. In just a moment, when darkness covered the mountains and forests, the village would be quiet again. The Dan Lai people in the village usually went to bed early and woke up quite late. The first quarter moon had already risen above the mountain peak. After dinner, our group of reporters went to bed early for the next day's journey. The border guards had warned us that there would be no boats going up the Giang River tomorrow. We had to walk for more than 2 hours to get to Khe Bung village, the farthest village in Mon Son commune.

While waiting for sleep to come, I thought about the journey of the past day. The Giang River is very poetic but it is not a perfect traffic route for the villages upstream. In the near future, there will be a road and a national power grid running along this beautiful river, built by the hands of the border soldiers. It is the hope for the light of civilization for the village.

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