'Light source' of blind man in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Although blind in both eyes and his left hand is gone, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai can still do the work of a normal person, becoming the pillar of the family and a support for his often sick wife.
Overcoming the darkness
Coming to the house of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (born in 1958) in Xuan Tien block, Hung Dung ward (Vinh city), we stepped out to the back and saw the owner busy with work. Starting with lighting the fire, cutting vegetables with an electric motor and chopping small fish to cook as food for the chickens. Although he could not see, he still went into the warehouse, grabbed a bundle of firewood, turned off the power switch and put handfuls of water spinach into the cutting machine.
Hearing footsteps and a strange voice, knowing there was a visitor, Mr. Hai paused to talk: “I have lived in the dark for more than 50 years, and for the same number of years, one hand was severed, but there was no other way but to rise up. There is nothing sadder than losing your eyes, life seems to have ended, but I still find joy.”
Mr. Hai said that in 1972, during an American bombing raid on Xuan Tien village in Hung Dung commune, 14-year-old Nguyen Van Hai was hit by shrapnel and had to have his left hand amputated. Although his family tried their best to treat him with medicine, they could not save his eyes, which gradually faded and then sank into darkness.
Life seemed to have reached a dead end, because there was almost no way to the future, but his desire for life urged him to stand up and get used to a new life without eyes and a missing hand.
At first, I learned to walk, fumbling and inevitably falling, causing excruciating pain. I had to muster all my strength to get up... Next, I got used to daily chores like cooking, picking vegetables, and washing dishes for my parents. At first, it wasn't easy, but I got used to it gradually.
Living in the dark all the time, unable to distinguish between day and night, Mr. Hai seems to compensate with his other senses. Because, when groping on the road, he can detect people or obstacles 70 meters ahead. He himself cannot explain this, because in the dark, even a person with good eyesight would have difficulty detecting obstacles at this distance.
Not only that, Mr. Hai has brought the people of Xuan Tien village, Hung Dung commune (now Hung Dung ward) from one surprise to another. How could it not be surprising when the blind and disabled man became a real "old farmer", with a working ability not much inferior to a farmer in the village.
When the planting season began, Mr. Hai was busy building banks and keeping water for several acres of rice fields. The rice was planted and took root, and he went to the field to weed. The grass was clean but the rice was still neat and in straight rows. When the harvest season came, he went to the field to bundle the rice for his family to carry home. His left hand was gone, so he used his right hand and his teeth to tightly tie the bundles of rice.
About 5 years ago, after the harvest, people in Xuan Tien village often saw Mr. Hai leading a herd of 4-5 buffaloes out to the fields to graze. The herd could separate when looking for food, but when the owner called them back, they immediately found each other.
Sometimes he would herd his flock of nearly 1,000 ducks out into the fields, swimming around and picking up grains of rice scattered on the ground. While they were busy looking for food, when they heard their owner clapping, the ducks immediately returned to their coops.
“Blind old farmer” Nguyen Van Hai never rests, when he has free time he carries a fishing net to the field to catch fish to improve his family’s meals and feed his chickens and ducks. Sometimes he looks for crabs and sets up eel traps. For some reason, the crabs and eels, whether they are in holes or deep in the mud, all fall into his single hand or crawl into the traps that Mr. Hai has set up.
Everyday happiness
In 1994, the people of Xuan Tien village had the opportunity to discuss Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's marriage with Ms. Pham Thi Xoan (born in 1954). That day, almost the whole village attended the wedding ceremony and congratulated the disabled, blind man on finding his "other half" at the age of 36.
Before that, through matchmaking, Mr. Hai and Ms. Xoan had the opportunity to meet. At first, the man only thought that the meeting was for fun, because no girl would dare to accept to marry a blind man. Unexpectedly, Mr. Hai's frankness, honesty, diligence and hard work planted a love in the girl's heart.
That love grew day by day and finally the girl agreed to marry the disabled man, which made Mr. Hai happy, shouting happily like a 3-year-old child when seeing his mother coming home from the market.
Two years after the wedding, the family welcomed a new member when a healthy baby boy was born, filling the simple home with happiness. Mrs. Xoan was weak and could not do heavy farm work, so Mr. Hai had to struggle almost all by himself to earn a living and support his wife and children.
At the age of 66, his strength has gradually weakened, but Mr. Hai is still diligent in his work to earn a living. His family still cultivates several acres of rice fields, grows vegetables, raises pigs and chickens to earn money to support their lives. Every day, the blind and disabled man still digs the land to plant and water vegetables, prepares food for pigs and chickens...
For normal people, farming is hard work, let alone me who is blind and has lost a hand. But because of family life, I always have to make an effort so that my wife and children do not go hungry. I just hope to always have enough health to work, earn a living and for my son to get married soon, for my children and grandchildren to be together, for me that is the source of joy and life, and also the light of life.
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MR. NGUYEN VAN HAI
