The veteran of 12 years as a 'barrier guard'

(Baonghean) - Day after day, from dawn to night, veteran and disabled soldier Nguyen Huy Chi (born 1939) of Hamlet 6, Quynh Tan Commune (Quynh Luu) is present at the "watchtower" at the head of the village to perform his duty as a lookout. Worried about the tragic accidents at the intersection of residential roads and railways, for the past 12 years, Mr. Chi has devoted all his heart to the simple watchtower - where trains pass by every day.

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One afternoon in early March, we went to hamlet 6 (Quynh Tan commune) to ask about Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi. The road to the village was being widened and upgraded, causing dust to fly up into the sky. Stopping to ask for directions at the beginning of the village, a young man about 25 years old immediately spoke to us: "He is now outside the guard tower at the beginning of the village, go there to look for him, don't go into his house or you will waste your time." Having said that, he enthusiastically got in the car and led us to where Mr. Chi was on duty.

In the golden afternoon sunlight, Mr. Chi’s small watchtower stood quietly on one side of the railway, next to a patch of white reeds. The figure of a man with a rather muscular body, wearing a gray-brown cotton coat, gradually appeared. His honey-colored skin was hidden under a faded pith helmet.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Chi raised the flag to signal safety when the ship arrived. Photo: Thuy Loi

His story begins with memories of his heroic soldier days. In 1964, he joined the army and fought in the Laos battlefield. After more than 7 years, he was discharged and returned to his hometown with a 1/4 disabled soldier regime. From then on, life seemed to be comfortable with a small disabled soldier allowance. But then, the road crossing the village entrance had dozens of trains passing through every day, causing many tragic accidents that made the veteran's heart restless.

And because of many accidents, many losses, and train delays, the railway industry coordinated with local authorities to organize security at the Km254 + 030 level crossing and assigned the task to the Youth Union of Quynh Tan commune.

In the early days, the enthusiastic young force assigned guards to regularly ensure the safety of trains as well as civilian vehicles passing through the level crossing. However, later, due to many factors, this work was delayed. After that, the Quynh Tan Commune Veterans Association took over the work and assigned the guard duty to Mr. Chi and another person, Mr. Nguyen Van Diem.

Recalling the day he first took up the job, Mr. Chi said: “That was in 2005, Mr. Diem and I were assigned to guard this section of the road. At first, they built a hut next to the crossing and gave us two red and yellow flags and six mines. We had to provide for everything else ourselves.”

After the guardhouse had been in operation for about five months, the other guard also quit because of lack of salary and lack of working facilities. So Mr. Chi has been maintaining the watchtower on the level crossing alone from that day until now. And that amount of time is also the amount of days and months he has saved up to build and purchase working facilities for himself.

Witnessing him on guard duty all afternoon, we could clearly feel the deprivation and disadvantage of the job of guarding the railway. The level crossing had no barriers, and the guards were not equipped with any other means of work except for two flags and six mines in case of an accident. The watchtower was empty with four poorly built walls and a few sheets of cement roofing. There was no train timetable, no telephone, no tea or simply a chair. The watchtower only had a rickety wooden plank that he had put together from scraps of wood he had borrowed from a carpentry workshop near his house. Yet for many years, day after day, at around 6am, people saw that familiar figure busily cleaning up rubbish on the railway tracks, and only in the evening, after the last train, did they see him return.

Sharing about his "professionalism", he told in less than 2 minutes with a few movements of holding a command flag and how to set up defensive mines that the chief of the palace taught him when he first started working.

The words on the wall are what he has wanted people to follow for the past 12 years. Photo: Thuy Loi

Working for a long time makes him familiar, every day he calculates the time of the train's arrival. Every day there are 5 passenger trains passing through here. 3 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon. "Whenever I hear the train whistle from afar, I quickly stand at the intersection to stop the vehicles preparing to cross the tracks and raise the flag for the train driver. For me, not only because I know the time the train passes, but also because I dare not neglect my work at other times because trains are often late and missed. As for freight trains, there is no fixed time, as soon as there is cargo, people leave. That's why the guard always has to be careful and attentive."

The entire intersection does not have a barrier to raise or lower each time a train passes, so Mr. Chi considers himself a living fence, performing the daily tasks of both directing trains and skillfully guiding people across the street.

For years, working at the guardhouse, I only hoped that each train would pass safely. Fortunately, God gave me a pair of "sensitive" ears, which made Mr. Chi's job somewhat more convenient. "My ears are very good, I know when a train is about a kilometer away. Because there is a bridge over here, the train will honk, and if you go to the other end, you will hear the honk from inside the station. Because of that "sensitivity", once, I stopped a group of drunken young men from crossing the street. I almost got beaten because the young men thought the train had not arrived yet. After arguing for a long time, I was able to get them off the tracks, just in time for the train to arrive."

Many people still remember the incident that happened about 3 years ago, when a woman was transporting salt from the lowlands to sell. The old cart was moving slowly, preparing to cross the railway. Because of the heavy load, when going uphill, the cart could only move little by little. When she just reached the railway, the train whistle also sounded. “My legs and arms were weak, when I reached the beginning of the road, the salt cart stopped. I rushed out from the watchtower and only had time to pull the salt seller behind me. In a split second, the train rushed over the front of the cart and crushed the bag of salt. Both me and the other woman were scared out of their wits!”

In 12 years of unpaid guard duty, he cannot remember how many trains have passed through here, but he only remembers that since he took up the task, fortunately there has not been any accident. No title has been awarded and Mr. Chi has never asked for any benefits. Rain or shine, summer or winter, he still quietly does his duty to ensure the safety of the trains.

There were many times when his wife and children talked about wanting him to quit his job because his health was no longer strong enough to withstand the rain and sun on the railway tracks. But then he had his own reasons: “When there was work at home, either let her and the children take care of it themselves or she would take over for me. Or there were times when it was windy and rainy, or I was sick, and I couldn’t go by myself, and my children told me to quit. But after hearing that, I just left it at that, because if I quit now, who would replace me with a replacement, who would show me the way? And not to mention that I wouldn’t know what to do all day when I get home.”

And because of that concern, at the age of over 80, Mr. Chi still sticks to the train tracks every day without any intention of "retiring". He said: "As long as I am healthy and can still walk, I will still come here to guard. Seeing the trains pass safely every day is my greatest joy."

Hearing stories about the times he guided ships and saved people from death, we were even more impressed by the noble heart of a veteran.

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