Mr. Nam "cyclo"

(Baonghean) - At 85 years old, I guess Mr. Bui Van Nam is the oldest person who still makes a living by driving a cyclo, and not only in Vinh. He sat there, leaning back on a plastic chair, his short white hair, his face covered with wrinkles that seemed to create thousands of waves. His big hands, long, rough fingers, as if suddenly remembering, suddenly forgetting, occasionally trying to fasten his shirt with only a few buttons left. His person exuded a worldly appearance mixed with a bit of resignation. Squinting his cloudy eyes at me, he smiled lightly: "Life has doctors, so there also needs to be cyclo drivers."

Mr. Nam loaded cement onto a cyclo to deliver to customers.

That is what he said about himself, about the job he has been doing for nearly 35 years now. The job of a cyclo driver. That is why everyone in block 24, Hung Binh ward, calls him "Mr. Five Cyclos". He said that it is not because people are "slightly" slanting at him, it is because the job is tied to fate. Even he himself sometimes cannot remember the full name that his parents chose for him on the day and month. But what is that important compared to the worries about food and clothing in the narrow city with all the faces of people suddenly coming and going. The old man was proud that he also had a vibrant youth, also went from North to South, also near and far battlefields. And in the morning at the building materials store on Le Hong Phong street, I was attracted by him with the nostalgia of someone who has tasted the sweetness and bitterness of time.

The artillery soldier from the sea

In 1952, the young man Bui Van Nam turned 22. Like hundreds of young men from the coastal area of ​​Dien Loc (Dien Chau), Bui Van Nam eagerly joined the army at the sacred call of the Fatherland. At that time, the whole North was boiling like a fire pan, going to battle to save the country became the ideal of the young generation. From his hometown Nghe An, the young man Bui Van Nam followed his unit to the battlefield of Northern Laos with the goal of blocking the supply route of the French colonialists from the Northwest to the Dien Bien Phu front.

The deep mountains and forests are extremely difficult. Lightning battles, nights of running through the forest, cutting paths, life and death are just a very fragile boundary. Many people died in the middle of the wild forest and poisonous water before the bullets and bombs touched them. The "green army" is perhaps a clear depiction of the deprivation, hardship but also the great tragedy of the National Guard soldiers on the battlefield in Northern Laos. After the resounding victory of the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Bui Van Nam was transferred to Quang Tri, assigned to the main force of Battalion 15 - Regiment 270 to protect the border area. For Sergeant Bui Van Nam, that could also be considered the most beautiful time when participating in protecting the implementation of the Geneva Agreement at the 17th Parallel.

The Agreement could be broken at any time by the savage, warlike people from the other side of the border. Just keeping the national flag flying along the Ben Hai River was a long story. Those days, Bui Van Nam was an artillery soldier in the position of Deputy Squad Leader. “It was very tense. There were 5 alarms a day, every day was the same,” Mr. Nam recalled with emotion. After 5 years at the border, in March 1959, Bui Van Nam was transferred to his hometown to work in the construction industry. That was also the requirement of the Party and the State in building the homeland and concentrating labor production to serve the large frontline in the South. The first project that Sergeant Bui Van Nam participated in was the Song Lam Sugar Factory, followed by a series of projects, factories, and enterprises in Vinh City. Before retiring in 1981, Mr. Nam was a worker at Construction Company No. 2 and his life took a new turn.

Mr. Nam "cyclo"'s resting moment.

Mr. Nam "pedicab driver"

A family of 7, in the dusty streets after the war, it was difficult to live on the meager pension of a construction worker. He still had the strength but no manual labor. So Mr. Nam chose to make a living by driving a "two-wheeled vehicle" - that is, pulling a three-wheeled vehicle. "Back then, Vinh did not have tractors or cars. The means of transporting goods were horse-drawn carriages, the rest were mainly three-wheeled cyclos" - Mr. Nam smiled kindly. People called him "three-wheeled" Nam. "It's okay, it's good enough that they remember my 'stage name'. My wife and children still have something to eat." The 85-year-old man's philosophy of life is very simple. He is never ashamed or self-conscious about his job and the way he makes a living. Indeed, why should he feel inferior or self-conscious when making a living with his own ability and labor.

He pulled a tricycle, his son also pulled a tricycle, dozens of people in this land of Hung Binh did not stick with this job. More importantly, it was a piece of clothing for his wife, a pen for his son. For nearly 10 years, Mr. Nam supported his family by pulling a tricycle through all the streets. I guess that if you add up the distance of nearly a decade of pulling a tricycle, Mr. Nam's steps would have circled the world several times, not just for fun. But why, Mr. Nam, Mr. Nam! Why not choose a lighter job to support his old body. The old man smiled again, showing his remaining teeth that were crooked in the gum: "Who knows, that's his fate. I also like this job. It suits me."

The country changed. Society developed. Vinh City also developed. Mr. Nam “the three-wheeler” also “upgraded”. The three-wheeler seemed to no longer be suitable for the times. In 1990, Mr. Nam switched from being a three-wheeler to a cyclo driver. It was also a hard-working job, but transporting goods by cyclo was lighter and faster. And he never carried people, only goods. Perhaps deep down in his heart, he did not want to be despised by others anymore, or perhaps he did not want people to feel uneasy when sitting in front of an old man. And sometimes Mr. Nam heard people say to each other, that this person had 30 years of experience in the health sector, that person had 40 years in the education sector.

He also humorously said: "I also have 25 years of experience as a cyclo driver, including 35 years as a three-wheeled vehicle driver." Mr. Nam has 5 children, including 2 boys and 3 girls. His children were all raised by their father's tired feet. He is also not lucky enough to have children who grow up to be rich and wealthy like many others. Mr. Nam's 2 sons used to work as cyclo drivers, but now they have both switched to construction, only working as day laborers to make a living and not working for any organization. "His children are all on their own, each of them has to take care of their own family. I have no chance to help them. Why blame them!" - he said this with a silver mist covering his eyes. Because he does not blame anyone, does not get angry with anyone, Mr. Nam "cyclo" has quietly struggled with cyclo driving for a quarter of a century.

The trips up and down Hung Dong and down Hung Loc over the years have helped him keep his family from being shaken by the many ups and downs of life. However, he could not keep his life partner by his side any longer. His wife, Mrs. Pham Thi Hong, passed away on a windy and rainy day more than a year ago. Passing away at the age of 77, Mrs. Hong certainly had no regrets about tying her life to the man who chose his wife, children, and family as his faith and reason for living. During her lifetime, no one had ever seen Mrs. Hong do any heavy work. Her husband took care of everything by himself. People who did not understand the story thought that he was exiled by life, but few knew that his wife had heart disease and many other diseases. And Mr. Nam considered taking care of his life partner his joy and happiness.

After his wife passed away, the old man became even more quiet. For several months, people did not see Mr. Nam "cyclo" waiting for customers at 80, Le Hong Phong Street - the position he had been attached to for more than 2 decades. Customers called but he did not answer the phone. And everyone thought Mr. Nam had quit his job. But then at the beginning of this year, he reappeared at the same position, older and more toothless. "I used to carry 700-800 kg of cement, now I can only carry 500 kg" - he said. Mr. Nam! At 85 years old, why is it so hard? "I can still do it. I still have to raise my disabled daughter and my grandchild who is in 9th grade this year. My son-in-law died in a traffic accident. My pension is not enough". So day after day, people saw the old man bent over, straining to pedal a cyclo in the middle of the street with the loud sound of horns. He mainly carried construction materials for regular customers. He said that people could have just left a few bags of cement behind their motorbikes, but they didn’t do that. They called Mr. Nam “cyclo” because they were nice to him and wanted to help him. That was also humane.

Opposite where Mr. Nam “xich lo” waits for customers is a tall, luxurious 3-storey house. The owner of that house is a friend of Mr. Nam’s. The two were from the same hometown, joined the army on the same day, and participated in the Northern Laos battlefield. However, life took them to 2 different directions. After the war, his friend studied to become a doctor, worked at a large provincial hospital, and his children are all grown up and successful. The artillery sergeant from years ago is now called Nam “xich lo”. “It doesn’t matter, sometimes I go to his house to drink water and chat. If there are doctors in life, there must also be cyclo drivers” – he smiled lightly and sat on his 3-wheeled bicycle. The southern sun made Vinh windy.

Article and photos:Dao Tuan