Promoting the exemplary role of "reputable people"

(Baonghean) -For a long time, the Mong, Thai, and Kho Mu ethnic groups in Ky Son have had the habit of using homemade guns for hunting and protecting themselves from wild animals. According to regulations, hunting guns are dangerous weapons, and the State prohibits their possession and use. Therefore, the organization and mobilization of ethnic minorities to hand over homemade guns and illegal explosives is being effectively implemented by the Ky Son District Police...

One day in early July 2013, when their parents were working in the fields, Lau Ba Thong and Lau Ba Nhenh, two brothers living in Nam Khien village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son), invited each other to bring guns into the forest to hunt. Thong assigned Nhenh to hide in the bushes, making the sound of a jungle fowl while he stood far away, holding the gun ready to load and shoot. Sitting in the bushes, Nhenh continuously made realistic chicken sounds, causing a jungle fowl to fly towards him. Just waiting for that, Thong immediately pulled the trigger. After a dry explosion, Nhenh let out a loud "whoosh" and collapsed from being shot. Only then did Thong realize he had shot the wrong person, so he tried to inform the villagers and took Nhenh to the emergency room.

After Nhenh was out of danger, Thong was administratively punished by the police because at that time, Thong was not yet 14 years old. Before that, Mong Van Hung (born in 1997) and Cut Van Sung (born in 1996), both living in Xop Phe village, Muong Tip commune, also carried guns and went hunting together. While walking, Hung accidentally fired the gun, the bullet shot straight into Sung's thigh, forcing the victim to be hospitalized for surgery. Three years ago, people in Keng Du commune witnessed the tragic death of Luong Ba Chuong in Huoi Pho village while hunting animals in the forest. His hunting friend Moong Pho Minh, when seeing Chuong hiding in the bushes, mistook him for an animal and opened fire, causing Chuong to be hit by a series of bullets, and then died on the way to the emergency room,...

Ky Son district police checked and handled flintlock guns handed over by people.

These are unfortunate cases involving homemade guns in the border district of Ky Son. Almost every household of the Mong, Thai, and Kho Mu ethnic groups has a hunting gun, some have one, some have several. The hunting guns are homemade and used as a daily tool for hunting, catching, and fighting against wild animals. In recent years, the use of homemade guns by people has led to unpredictable consequences. Almost every year in Ky Son, someone dies or is injured because of using homemade guns. Worryingly, some people are not yet of age, and are willing to use guns to resolve conflicts that arise in daily life.

Faced with the above situation, the Ky Son District Police have advised the district government and local departments, agencies and organizations to increase propaganda and mobilize people to hand over homemade guns and other homemade weapons. At first, this work seemed impossible because the ethnic people's reasoning was "we use guns to hunt animals in the forest, not to shoot people, so why hand them over?" Meanwhile, the use of hunting guns has existed for a long time, so giving up a custom of the people is not simple.

With the motto "slow and steady wins the race", soldiers of the Administrative Management Team for Social Order and the Commune Police Team took turns going down to the villages, looking for village elders, party members and experienced hunters to both disseminate legal regulations to raise awareness and encourage them to hand over their guns to avoid regrettable violations. In Keng Du commune, party member Luong Pho La, former Head of Huoi Le village, was one of the first people to hand over their guns after more than a day of being persuaded and persuaded by the district police soldiers. Before handing over the gun to the officers, Mr. La did not forget to bless the gun and told everyone: "The Party and State's policy on collecting homemade guns is a good thing, people should listen to it, because nowadays, hunting in the forest is also banned.

Keeping guns in the house does more harm than good.” After being encouraged to explain and looking at the example of village elder La, hundreds of people have brought their guns back to hand them over to the authorities. Mr. Luong Van Minh, Chief of Keng Du Commune Police, said that in the past 3 years, the Commune Police have received about 500 guns and homemade gun barrels voluntarily handed over by people; recently, people in Huoi Phuon, Huoi Le, and Hat Ta Ven villages also handed over 40 flintlock guns and 25 homemade gun barrels…

Thanks to the good work of mobilizing, following the motto "Cadres, party members, prestigious people do first, villagers follow", every year in Bao Thang dozens of guns are collected from the people. In the first 6 months of this year, villagers have twice returned 48 homemade guns, 32 gun barrels and other weapons such as knives, swords, electric batons to the commune police officers. In My Ly commune, the commune police department has established a unit to receive guns from the people. When hearing that someone has a gun in the house or on the fields, the police force will directly propagate and mobilize. In July 2013 alone, the entire commune collected 70 homemade guns to submit to the district police... It is known that since the beginning of the year, the district police have received and destroyed 970 homemade guns. In 2012, the entire district collected 1,004 guns along with a number of other weapons such as grenades, handcuffs, electric batons...

Colonel Nguyen Van De, Chief of Ky Son District Police, said that the biggest gain in the process of mobilizing people to hand over homemade weapons is the change in awareness. If in the past, owning a hunting gun at home was a source of pride for the people, now they know that it is a violation of the law. “To achieve the above results, the biggest lesson in Ky Son is to rely on the people, especially promoting the exemplary role of party members, village elders, village chiefs and prestigious people in the community. Not only in mobilizing people to hand over weapons, this lesson also has meaning in other areas of work in Ky Son such as free migration and drug trafficking. When the Party's will and the people's hearts are in agreement, no matter how difficult the work is, it can be done and done effectively,” Colonel De affirmed.

Article and photos: Nguyen Khoa