Warm military-civilian relationship at the source of Chu River

(Baonghean)On the way back to the border commune of Thong Thu (Que Phong) one day at the end of July, right at the temporary stop at Phu Phuong intersection, we happened to meet a working group of the district from the newly relocated area. Comrade Kha Van Tam - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee said: The force of 150 officers and soldiers of Regiment 764 (Provincial Military Command) came to help people in the Hua Na Hydropower Reservoir area to relocate very effectively, the people were very excited. Without the army, the relocation would not have been completed, because the river water was high, the newly opened public road was muddy, dangerous and there were many other hardships that only the army could handle.

The old commando of the Provincial Military Command, after leaving the new asphalt road built to serve the century project, continuously struggled with the entrance to the old villages that were being hastily relocated. It ran aground in Nam Piet stream (Loc village). It struggled on the slippery public roads due to the rain. It wound along many steep slopes... We arrived at Ang village (Thong Thu commune) when the afternoon was already dark. Amidst the continuous rains, the village center appeared with paths covered in thick mud, sticking to the wheels and feet. The village had 114 households, which used to be quite bustling, located right next to the Chu river bank but is now in the midst of a "great move". The old look is no longer there, now the general scene is only deserted house foundations, half-dismantled houses and some houses waiting for their turn to be lowered, rafted, and loaded onto vehicles to their new homes. Standing out were the numerous green-clad soldiers bare-backed in the capricious weather, sometimes rainy, sometimes clear, to help the people. Under the Chu River wharf, on the way to Don village, groups of wooden rafts of people gathered from distant villages waiting to be loaded onto trucks coming in and out, making the peaceful color of life here become more bustling. The bustle of the moment before the old land lies forever under hundreds of meters of water.

The 8 relocated villages of Thong Thu commune are: Hua Na, Na Cong, Mai village, Huoi Dua (at the foot of Bu Cao Ma slope), Loc village, Don village, Ang village and Ca Na. Old lady Lang Thi Hanh in Ang village, 80 years old this year, tells the story: "From the time I could see the sun until now, I have eaten fish and drunk water from Nam Chu (Chu river - PV), leaving is sad. But anyway, following the State's words, giving electricity, is also giving to children and grandchildren!" Old lady Hanh's words are also very sincere feelings not only of the people of Ang village.



Soldiers of Battalion 41 moved the house of Mr. Luong Van Thuan's family (Don village) to Muong Piet (Thong Thu).

Together with Mr. Luong Van Hai, Vice-Chief of Ang village (Thong Thu), we went around the village. The soldiers helped the people move most of the stilt houses. Many of the houses were large, with the number of pillars and planks equal to 2-3 other houses, and it took 2 days to finish dismantling. From now on, Mr. Hai and his family will also settle in Huoi Dua 2 village, along with dozens of other households in the village. Ang village has 114 households, of which 61 households volunteered to relocate, 53 households will move to a new place according to the plan of the Hydropower Project Management Board. Regarding the new place, people will be given 400m2 of housing, 400m2 of garden land and 200m2 of cultivated land per person. And the compensation for the stilt houses and crops (perennials, harvested trees...) has also been agreed by the people with the State's plan. Passing the steep and slippery slope, Mr. Hai said, “If the soldiers hadn’t helped the people, we wouldn’t know when our village would have been relocated as planned. But uncle, the soldiers who came to help the people all had to take care of their own meals…”

Welcoming us amidst sudden rains and a scene of hasty relocation to the old village, Major Phan Van Minh - Chief of Staff of Regiment 764 (Provincial Military Command), who has been with his officers and soldiers since the first days the troops arrived here, said: "Implementing the directive of the Provincial Military Command, with the consensus of Military Region 4, the Regiment Command has developed a plan "Each comrade, write a resolution to help the people". The main task is determined to help people in the villages relocated from the reservoir area of ​​Thong Thu commune (Que Phong) to unload and move their assets and houses to the new place of residence as quickly and safely as possible.



Moving wood from the river to the truck.

In addition, they are ready to help people with anything when requested, in order to ensure the progress of the Hua Na Hydropower project. After thoroughly understanding and deploying specific tasks to each officer and soldier, on June 16, 150 officers and soldiers of the Regiment (the core force is the number of soldiers of Battalion 41) set off, moving to where the people need them with warm feelings and responsibility of the army-people relationship. The first stop, also where the unit is stationed, is Ang village, the central location. From here, they will be divided into many groups to continue moving to other villages such as Hua Na, Don village, Ca Na village... Among them, there are remote villages such as Ca Na village that have to cross 2 ferries with a cost of 50,000 VND/trip/person. Most of the villages have to overcome steep, slippery, muddy slopes. Large logs must be carried by more than 10 people to the riverbank, then rafted and floated down the Chu River before reaching the assembly point, where they will be loaded onto trucks to a new location.

In the early days, people did not believe much because they were afraid that the soldiers would damage their houses. But then, just 2-3 days later, seeing that the soldiers respected the people's property as if it were their own, the people completely put their trust in them. In many cases, the homeowners were busy and could not work directly with them, so they just had to bring the soldiers over, say "That's my house, soldiers, please help me", and then leave. For the rest, the soldiers neatly dismantled the property, and carefully arranged it, waiting for the truck to come and load it up. There was a case like Mr. Lo Van Thang, in Hua Na village, whose parents were both over 80 years old, and Mr. Thang had to go take care of his sick wife in Vinh. On the last night before the soldiers withdrew, Mr. Thang only had time to come back to see the soldiers and said: "I have used up all the money to take my wife to the hospital in Vinh, I don't have enough to hire an outside company. Please help me." Then, Mr. Thang returned to the hospital that same night. After consultation, the unit decided to send a group to stay behind to help Mr. Thang's family, while the majority went back to other villages. With that progress and responsibility, after only 10 days, Hua Na village had demolished all the houses, ensuring the schedule.

One rainy morning, we crossed the Chu River with Lieutenant Colonel Pham Trong Danh (Commander of the Reserve Battalion - Regiment 764) to reach Don village, a village with 124 households, 18 of whom were relocated under the project, the rest were relocated freely. The Chu River is murky this season.

On all the paths, the soldiers' shouts of helping people dismantle houses echoed. At Luong Van Thuan's family, a group of 33 soldiers had finished dismantling their house, and the pillars of the stilt house were carried on the soldiers' shoulders to the riverbank. Ha Thi Xoan, Thuan's wife, was serving tea to the soldiers while saying that this time, her family had also returned to resettle in Muong Piet. In addition to the money for hiring a vehicle from Thai An Company to transport and rebuild the house, and the land price in the new village, which was about 130 million VND, the rest was thanks to the soldiers. Thanks to that, the family still had enough compensation money left over to build a new life. From Don village, the soldiers had to divide into 2 groups to take turns moving wood to the river because it was too far and too difficult. The soldiers had to clear trees, cross the fields, and use bamboo to pave the road. It took more than 10 people to carry 1 tree. For large trees, they had to use a wheelbarrow to push them. At the riverbank, another team is needed to be in charge of plowing the wood down to the dock with a 70 degree slope, about 20m high.



A moment of military-civilian affection before saying goodbye to the old village.

There were many difficulties in this trip to help the people. Things like climate, soil, living conditions, and water sources were not small obstacles. Ensuring a diet of 50,000 VND/person/day in the Thong Thu area was not easy. Many times, roads were cut off, food and provisions could not arrive in time, so the soldiers had to use the dry food reserves they brought along. But overcoming all of that, "forgetting themselves for the people", the soldiers of Regiment 764 did exactly that, so that the people would forever remember the beautiful image of Uncle Ho's soldiers. Major Nguyen Van Minh shared: Through this trip to help the people, the officers and soldiers of the Regiment helped relocate 256 stilt houses in the 5 most difficult villages with all their enthusiasm and responsibility. The unit also maintained absolute labor safety and military discipline. In addition, there is good coordination with border guards, local authorities, private companies... The relationship between Party committees and authorities at all levels from district to commune with the unit is constantly close and raised to a new level.

Leaving Thong Thu, a border commune in a corner of the Western Nghe An region, the image of soldiers carrying heavy pillars on their shoulders of the villagers' stilt houses still followed us throughout our journey back. According to the latest information, leaving Thong Thu, officers and soldiers of Regiment 764 will return to help the people of Nam Giai (Que Phong) stabilize their lives. The love between the army and the people will last forever like the water of the Chu River, like the Nam Piet River...

Hua Na Hydropower Project (Dong Van Commune, Que Phong District) was started in March 2008, invested by PVN, with a total capacity of 180 MW and a total investment of nearly 6,000 billion VND. To build Hua Na Hydropower, 1,362 households/14 villages of Dong Van and Thong Thu communes had to relocate to new residences at 14 resettlement sites, not to mention other voluntary resettlement sites. On July 4, 2012, the project closed the diversion tunnel valve, officially storing water in the reservoir to generate electricity by the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. After the people accepted the compensation plan and received full relocation support, the district mobilized youth forces, the army and mass organizations in the district to directly help people dismantle houses and transport them to resettlement sites. In particular, there was the contribution of 150 officers and soldiers of Regiment 764 (Provincial Military Command).

Tran Hai