Urged by miserable lives

Journey with the gold miners of Nghe An

I was not born and raised in Nghe An. Before working for Nghe An Newspaper nearly 4 years ago, I had never lived in the locality for a single day. However, questions about this countryside have been in my mind for many years. Those were the days when I was a reporter in Quang Nam province.

Quang Nam, is known as the gold capital of the country. In the mountainous districts of this province, it seems that "gold is everywhere". A series of illegal gold mines have existed here for more than half a century and have always been the focus of the insecurity and disorder in the area. Because of the harshness, this place is still called "hell on earth". But, there is one special thing, most of the gold miners working here are from Nghe An.

Reporter in a gold mining tunnel in Quang Nam. Photo: HS

When I was a resident reporter for an online newspaper in Quang Nam, every few days or half a month, I would receive news of "incidents at the gold mines". Those incidents were mainly gold mine collapses; gold miners being tortured and beaten; fighting over territory, purging each other or gold miners escaping... Most of the main characters in those incidents came from the western districts of Nghe An. Hearing about the cruelty at the gold mines, a series of questions always appeared in my mind, urging me to find answers.

I always wonder: “Why do workers from Western Nghe An flock to Quang Nam to work as gold miners? In their homeland, is it because of lack of livelihood, or are there other reasons that they disregard their lives and recklessly enter this “hell on earth”? How harsh is life in the gold mine? Why do they run away...”. But, these questions are not easy to find answers. Because, the gold mine is a place “not everyone can enter”. Not to mention how to approach the gold miners from Nghe An, the mine owners, the people involved in working at the gold mine and even the authorities, to find out the truth.

Until I returned to work at Nghe An Newspaper at the end of 2016, I still cherished this topic. Because the situation of forced labor in the gold mines is still painful. To develop the series of articles, during my business trips to Western Nghe An, I always tried to find ways to approach and ask questions to find out the lines that brought laborers to work in the gold mines of Quang Nam.

It was not until May 2019 that I was able to approach the “headhunters”. They were the people sent by the gold mine owners to the highland districts to find workers. Because they were paid based on the number of people recruited, they were given a creepy name. After getting information about the bus that would take workers from Tuong Duong to work in this “hell on earth”, to ensure secrecy, I decided to ask for leave from my office, then secretly catch that bus to accompany them. Then, I followed them around many mines in the highland districts of Quang Nam. It took me a week to complete this trip.

Nghe An Newspaper reporter interviewed Mr. Le Tri Thanh, currently Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee, to conduct the series of articles "Nghe An Gold Diggers in Hell on Earth".

The series of investigative reports “Nghe An gold miners in hell on earth” was later published in both print and electronic newspapers of Nghe An. After that series of articles, Mr. Le Tri Thanh - currently Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province also had many positive moves, in an effort to eliminate illegal gold mines, as well as to rectify the situation of forced labor, especially child labor; ensure security and order, strictly handle violations, and environmental pollution caused by gold mining... Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha - Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuoc Son district even thoroughly "summoned" all gold mine owners in the district to rectify immediately after Nghe An Newspaper published the series of articles.

Motivation

My first trip to the mountainous region of Nghe An was a trip with the National Assembly delegation to meet voters in 5 districts along Highway 7 one day in late 2016. I was quite surprised when most of the voters in the mountainous districts expressed their frustration about the shortcomings related to hydropower projects in the area. After that trip, I began to learn about the consequences of hydropower.

Houses destroyed by hydroelectric plant in western Nghe An.

Being present in many villages in the upper Lam River, instead of the peaceful life, the "picturesque" villages lying along the river of the past as told by the local people, I witnessed the scene of devastation, houses waiting to collapse, hanging in front of the mouth of death. They were excited to give up their land for the hydropower project according to the State's policy, but what they now receive is only a miserable life, lacking a livelihood. Like their lives, their property is being threatened day and night and the indifference comes from the hydropower investors.

Those miserable lives are the motivation and urge me to write a series of articles about the consequences of hydropower projects to reflect the most realistically miserable lives of the people, contributing my voice to the competent authorities. Among them, there is a series of investigative reports "Behind the glory of hydropower" published in Nghe An Newspaper in August 2019.

The author works in a mining tunnel.

After a series of articles reflecting on the consequences, instead of being indifferent like before, fortunately, many hydropower project investors have accepted some responsibility, although that is still not enough. They have also had to spend money to support people after the damage to property and lives caused by themselves. Even Nghe An Police have mobilized an unprecedented force to investigate the violations of hydropower. Some hydropower plant employees have been prosecuted and arrested for releasing floodwaters that killed people...

The two works about Nghe An gold diggers in “hell on earth” and “behind the glory of hydroelectric power” were fortunate to win the Nghe An Provincial Press Award this year. And the author’s biggest motivation for writing those series of articles, as well as other works, was the urge from the images of miserable lives.

Tien Hung