The pain of the fishing village

(Baonghean) -For several days now, an atmosphere of grief has enveloped the small coastal village of Quynh Lap (Quynh Luu) as three fishermen of this village - the pillars of their families (two of whom are father and son) - have not returned on a fateful boat trip. For many years, the people of Quyet Tien have depended on the sea to make a living, experiencing ups and downs with their trips to the open sea, struggling many times with the waves and storms, but never before has the loss been so great!

One family, two funerals

Late afternoon, the sun was still shining fiercely, the Lao wind was blowing fiercely. Entering the house of Mr. Tran Dinh Hoi (Quyet Tien village, Quynh Lap, Quynh Luu), the heartbreaking cry of Ms. Truong Thi Nga made everyone feel sorry and painful. "Oh my, my child, why are they all gone? How can I live?" A few hours earlier, people had just found her husband's body. Yesterday, they had just held the funeral for their child, today, they had held the funeral for their husband, she no longer had enough strength to stand firm.

The villagers came to attend the funeral, both inside and outside the alley. The house suddenly had two altars with incense smoke of the father and son (Mr. Tran Dinh Hoi and his son Tran Dinh Quynh). Ms. Phan Thi Phuong, a neighbor and also a relative of the family, choked up: "For the past few days, Nga's mother has been fainting and not eating or drinking anything. Every time she woke up, she cried out her husband's and her son's names." Only when she got there, looking at her haggard face, her crooked figure, always having to be supported by someone on both sides because she could not stand up by herself, next to her husband's coffin, her voice hoarse from crying too much, could one feel how great the pain was. On the fateful ship numbered NA QL 2405 TS of the family, Mr. Hoi and his two eldest sons (twins) set sail together, only one son returned alive.

According to relatives of the family, at 12 o'clock that night, Mr. Hoi called his wife and said: "I'm on my way home, almost to the creek, but the wind is so strong now, I can't hear anything anymore"... Then later, when she called again and couldn't get through, Ms. Nga had a premonition that something bad had happened to her husband and children, her heart was burning...

Before the trip, Mr. Hoi had a slight cold, but when he got on the boat to go out to sea, he got sicker and for three days he could hardly eat or drink anything. Perhaps that was why he was so weak and could not hold on to anything to swim. His son, Tran Dinh Quynh, who was standing next to his father, knew that his father was weak and felt so sorry for him that he tried his best to save him but he could not, so both father and son sank. As for Tran Dinh Dien, another son of Mr. Hoi, after the boat capsized, he grabbed two life jackets, quickly put one on for himself and went to look for his brother and father but could not find them anywhere. The boat was on its way back, only 4 nautical miles from the mouth of the creek.

Ms. Phuong sadly said: "If nothing happens to Quynh, he will get married this June"!

Outside, Mr. Hoi's two sons were kneeling down to pay their respects to their father. The son, Tran Dinh Dien, kept his head down as if he was about to collapse. The horrifying memory of the day his father and his twin brother died on the same train as him will probably never be forgotten.

The funeral procession took place, but Tran Dinh Hoi's mother did not go to see her son off as was the custom of the villagers. She sat there absent-mindedly, her eyes dull with no more tears to cry. Her old body leaned against the corner of the door, staring out the gate as if she could not believe the truth of the past few days, and she still seemed to be waiting for her son and grandchild to return. The little strength left by the grandmother and mother was only enough to mumble the same words over and over again as if to herself: "How miserable, oh my god, how can you tell all of it!"

Haunted by the returnee

On April 11, the 22nd day of the third lunar month, the NA QL 2405 TS ship left the port to set sail like any other journey. On the evening of April 20, the ship began to return, only 4 nautical miles from the mouth of the creek when the wind began to blow strongly. At 2:00 a.m., the tornado became fierce, the 11 members on the ship were still awake to splash water into the ship. But then the wind got stronger and stronger, the waves rose high causing the ship to capsize.

Mr. Hoang Van Kim (born in 1973), a fisherman returning from the fateful ship, recounted: "We were all thrown off the boat, and tried to hold on to whatever we could. In the midst of the storm, there were times when my mind was filled with despair, that it was over, and that we did not want to see our loved ones again. I and four other brothers clung to three buoys, telling each other: "If we are lucky enough to live, we will live together, and if we die, we will die together."

From 2am to 8am, drifting at sea, hungry and cold, exhausted from staying up all night, but when death was near, the desire to live became extremely strong. Everyone tried to hold on to the buoy, afraid that if they let go, there would be no way back. Kim said: "At that time, I just wished I could live, and I longed so much to sit by the fire and hold a bowl of hot rice in my hand."

And they fought the storm until the fishermen in Tien Thuy sea area saw them and pulled them in. The moment they saw everyone gathered around them, saw the shore gradually appear before their eyes was the happiest moment of revival for those in distress.

Mr. Le Van Thuyet, Vice Chairman of the Quynh Lap Commune Fisheries Association, said: "Early in the morning of April 21, we were informed by fishermen from Quynh Tien Commune that they had rescued 5 people drifting at sea from the Quynh Lap fishing boat, so we immediately organized a rescue team. We coordinated with Border Guard Station 114 to search for the victims, some of whom had drifted to the Dien Chau sea area."

However, the ship departed with 11 people, only 8 were lucky enough to be rescued and returned alive, while 3 people: Tran Dinh Hoi (42 years old), Tran Dinh Quynh (20 years old, Hoi's son) and Le Van Thanh (32 years old, Hoi's brother-in-law) passed away forever. The people on the boat were father and son, brothers, close relatives, those who went suffered their fate, and those who fought against the moment of life and death returned with haunting, sorrowful feelings.

Up to now, there have been times when the ship encountered a storm, but not a single child of the village has been lost because of a shipwreck. They tried to rise to the surface of the sea, clinging tightly to the helping hands of other fishermen to get to shore, and then, as long as they had their lives and possessions, they embarked on new trips. However, this time, there were children, husbands, and fathers who did not return home.

We returned when the sunset slowly fell on Quynh Lap beach. The sun cast long rays of sunlight on the shadows of people standing on the boat. In the distance, boats were gathering to pull the wrecked ship to shore. People were still buying, selling, and chatting at the fishing wharf. But their faces were more restless and worried, they looked towards the wrecked ship. The profession of birds in the sky and fish in the water, a hard life, knowing that it is risky, unpredictable, sometimes having to pay with human life, but like a career, living thanks to the sea, and then loving the sea without being able to stop.

Lake Lai