The sounds of peace

(Baonghean) - When the wooden fish and gong sound, everyone reminds family members that it is curfew time, not to make noise or go out when not necessary. For nearly a month now, all activities have been in order, the work of maintaining security and order in Chau Cuong commune (Quy Hop) has been supported by the people, so it is increasingly effective.

FROM THE SAM FAMILY'S CLAMP

One night in early August, we stayed at the house of an acquaintance in Ha Dong village (Chau Cuong commune). The weather had gradually cooled down, giving way to cool breezes, and in the quiet night, we could hear the sound of birds flapping their wings in the forest. Suddenly, a series of sounds, both familiar and strange, sounded like a wooden fish, and also like a gong. Realizing the guests' curiosity, the host explained that it was the "Peaceful Wooden Fish" coming from the community cultural house, a sound signaling that it was curfew time, and that if there was nothing urgent, one should not go out and not make noise, affecting the surrounding households. It was also a signal to inform the people in the villages that Ha Dong people would no longer receive guests from this time, and that all matters would only be resolved early the next morning. And after that gong, the patrol team of the hamlet cluster, including the management board and police officers, will begin to carry out their duties. Any individual or family that violates the convention will be reminded or even punished. Before going to sleep, we still wondered what size the gong of Ha Dong hamlet was that it made such loud and resonant sounds.

The ancient wooden fish of Ha Dong village (Chau Cuong commune - Quy Hop) is used as a signal to maintain security and order.

The next day, we had the opportunity to go to the Ha Dong communal cultural house and were surprised to see an “oversized” wooden fish hanging right outside the porch. The fish was made of ironwood, about 100cm long, about 20cm in diameter and hollowed out in the middle like a cylindrical box that played the role of sound resonance. The special thing was the origin of the fish, until now no one has been able to guess exactly when it was created.

Village elder Sam Thanh Long said that his uncle, who is over 90 years old this year, said that since he was learning to walk, he saw a wooden fish hanging at the front of the house. Mr. Long's great-grandfather and his 7 children came to reclaim this Muong Ham land, each person was divided a large area to reclaim and live. At that time, the roads were still very difficult, there were still many wild animals, so every time they held a family meeting, it was very difficult for the brothers. The great-grandfather thought of a way to carve a large wooden fish and hang it in front of the house so that when they needed to gather, they could knock it a few times. Hearing the sound of the wooden fish, the great-grandfather's children understood that there was a signal to gather to discuss work and immediately sent someone to accompany them back.

After the August Revolution (1945), the gong was used by Dai Cuong Cooperative to signal the gathering of members and to announce the time to go to the fields to work. During the years when the US army heavily bombed the North, the gong of the Sam family in Ha Dong was used as an air defense alarm signal. That is, when the gong sounded, the villagers immediately went to the shelter, avoiding and limiting casualties caused by enemy bombs and bullets.

Peaceful features of Ha Dong village (Chau Cuong commune - Quy Hop).

The war ended, peace returned to the homeland, the Sam family's wooden gong was taken down and placed on the floor, lying around for decades like any other lifeless piece of wood. When the security situation in the village became complicated, theft and fighting began to arise, the sound of the old wooden gong echoed in memory. The elders in the village proposed to set a curfew and use the big wooden gong of the Sam family to signal the order. A village meeting was held, this idea was immediately agreed upon and welcomed by everyone. From then on, every day, at 10 pm, the wooden gong sounded, people near and far knew that Ha Dong village had gone to sleep, no one was allowed to disturb the peace.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Van Son - Head of Ha Dong village said: "Since the launch of the "Peaceful gong" movement, security and order have returned to stability, theft and the situation of young people quarreling and beating each other have basically ended."

TO THE "PEACE GONG" MOVEMENT

People from other villages saw that Ha Dong's method was really effective, maintaining village security and order, so they proposed to the village management board to come and learn. Ms. Ly Thi Huong - Head of Nhoi village said: "Our village has more than 180 households following Provincial Road 532, security and order are sometimes quite complicated, especially the situation of young people gathering at night to quarrel with passersby. The "Peaceful gong" movement in Ha Dong is a good way, so we decided to apply this model". Not having an ancient gong like Ha Dong, the Nhoi villagers pooled money to buy a fairly large iron gong, the gong also has a very loud sound. When we were there, the gong had just been delivered, the next day the Nhoi village will hold a meeting to discuss and agree on regulations and implementation plans.

Not only stopping at Nhoi village, up to now, Dong Tien and Muong Ham villages have also applied the model of Ha Dong and changed it to "Tieng gong binh yen". And it is expected that this year, all 11 villages of Chau Cuong commune will apply and deploy this model. According to Mr. Vi Van Hieu, Chief of Chau Cuong commune police, there are more than 1,000 households with more than 5,000 people, bordering 5 communes (Chau Quang, Chau Thai, Chau Thanh, Chau Hong and Lien Hop), with Provincial Road 532 passing through, the main source of income is mainly from agricultural production. In the past, the security and order situation of the commune was quite complicated, buffalo and cow theft occurred continuously, in 2014 alone, 3 cases/11 subjects were caught. Young people in the commune often gathered to learn from the provincial road to quarrel, block and beat passersby. Sometimes, people in the commune did not dare to go out at night, the situation became increasingly urgent. According to the proposal of the people, the Management Board of the villages proposed to apply and deploy the model "Peaceful Bell" to stabilize the security and order situation. At first, this model was intended to be deployed by the villages themselves, but the leaders of the District Police suggested that the Commune Police force take charge of organizing it to create a high level of unity in directing and supervising the implementation.

On that basis, on July 17, 2015, Chau Cuong commune launched the model "Peaceful gong". Along with the implementation of the plan, the drafting of the operating regulations has also been of interest to the cadres and people of Chau Cuong commune. Up to now, the basic regulations have been completed, including 15 provisions on ensuring security and order, rewards - handling and implementation. In which, there are quite specific provisions on the responsibility of maintaining security and order of each member of the community: "When detecting criminals, people who violate the law must immediately report to the police officer, the security team of the hamlet. At the same time, everyone must unite, when hearing the alarm gong, immediately coordinate with the security team to arrest criminals..." (Article 2). Or: “Each family must be responsible for educating their children and relatives to strictly comply with the Party’s policies, the State’s laws and local regulations. At the same time, they must not fall into social evils, strictly follow the “Peaceful Bell”, help students have a sense of learning, and help the security team monitor the area” (Article 3). And: “Everyone must cooperate to protect crops, promptly detect and prevent acts of theft of agricultural products, or intentionally destroy crops, livestock and other people’s property due to personal conflicts” (Article 5).

Implementing the plan, the Chau Cuong Commune Police force divided the villages in the area into 2 clusters led by the Deputy Commune Police to conduct patrols and controls. This force is always ready to "react quickly" whenever there is an order or to detect criminals and receive reports from the people. The first achievement in the "Peaceful Bell" movement was in the early morning of August 1, 2015, when the people of Nhang village discovered 2 subjects riding motorbikes past the prescribed time. Seeing that these subjects had many suspicious signs, the people paid attention to follow them, when they sneaked into the gate of Mr. Sam Van Chi's house, they immediately shouted and reported to the security force. The two subjects ran away, the security force and the people of Nhang village organized a chase and caught 1 subject residing in Muong Ham village. This subject confessed to entering Mr. Chi's house to steal property, the person accompanying him resided in Chau Quang commune.

Thus, the prevention and combat work was carried out from the beginning, so it showed clear effectiveness. And more importantly, since the implementation of the "Peaceful Bell" movement, the security and order situation in Chau Cuong commune has gradually stabilized. Thefts and public disorder have decreased, and local people are no longer worried when they have to go out at night./.

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