The 'source of light' for the blind man in Nghe An.
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite being blind in both eyes and having lost his left hand, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai can still do the work of a normal person, becoming the pillar of his family and a support for his frequently ill wife.
Overcoming the Darkness
Visiting the home of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (born in 1958) in Xuan Tien Hamlet, Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City), we found the owner busy at work. He started by lighting a fire, then chopped vegetables using an electric machine, and minced small fish to feed his chickens. Despite his poor eyesight, he went into the shed, grabbed a bundle of firewood, switched on the power, and fed handfuls of water spinach into the chopping machine.
Hearing unfamiliar footsteps and voices, knowing there were visitors, Mr. Hai paused his work to chat: "I've lived in darkness for over 50 years, and for that same amount of time, one of my hands has been severed, but there's no other way than to rise above it. There's nothing sadder than losing your eyesight; life seemed to end there, but I still found joy."
Mr. Hai recounted that in 1972, during an American bombing raid on Xuan Tien village in Hung Dung commune, 14-year-old Nguyen Van Hai was hit by shrapnel and had to have his left hand amputated. Despite his family's efforts to provide medical treatment, they could not save his eyesight; it gradually deteriorated until it was completely lost.
Life seemed to have reached a dead end, with almost no path to the future, but the desire for life compelled him to stand up and adapt to a new life without his eyesight and one hand.
Initially, it was about learning to walk, those hesitant steps inevitably leading to painful falls, requiring all one's strength to get back up... Next came getting used to daily chores like cooking, picking vegetables, and washing dishes to help parents; it wasn't easy at first, but gradually, they got used to it.
Living perpetually in darkness, unable to distinguish between day and night, Mr. Hai seems to have been compensated by enhanced senses. While groping his way along the road, he can detect people or obstacles ahead from a distance of 70 meters. He himself cannot explain this, as even someone with good eyesight would find it difficult to spot obstacles at that distance in the dark.
Moreover, Mr. Hai has surprised the people of Xuan Tien village, Hung Dung commune (now Hung Dung ward) with one unexpected feat after another. And why wouldn't they be surprised when a visually impaired and disabled man becomes a true "veteran farmer," capable of working just as well as any other farmer in the village?
When the planting season begins, Mr. Hai is busy building embankments and retaining water for his few acres of rice fields. Once the rice seedlings have taken root, he goes to the fields to weed. The weeds are gone, but the rice plants remain neat and in straight rows. When harvest time comes, he goes to the fields to bundle the rice stalks for his family to carry home. With no left hand, he uses his right hand and teeth to tightly and neatly tie the bundles of rice stalks.
About five years ago, after the harvest, the villagers of Xuan Tien often saw Mr. Hai leading his herd of 4-5 buffaloes to the fields to graze. The buffaloes might separate while foraging, but they would immediately rejoin the herd when their owner called them back.
At times, you'd see him herding nearly 1,000 ducks out into the fields to swim and peck at scattered grains of rice. While engrossed in their search for food, the ducks would immediately return to their coop upon hearing their owner's clapping.
"The blind farmer" Nguyen Van Hai is never idle. Whenever he has free time, he takes his fishing net to the fields to catch fish to improve his family's meals and feed his chickens and ducks. Sometimes he searches for crabs and sets eel traps; somehow, the crabs and eels, whether lying in holes or deep in the mud, always end up in his single hand or crawl into the traps he has set.
Everyday happiness
In 1994, the villagers of Xuan Tien were once again talking about Mr. Nguyen Van Hai getting married to Ms. Pham Thi Xoan (born in 1954). Almost the entire village attended the wedding ceremony and offered their blessings to the disabled, visually impaired man who had found his "loving other half" at the age of 36.
Previously, through matchmaking, Mr. Hai and Ms. Xoan had the opportunity to meet. Initially, the man only thought of meeting for amusement, as no girl would dare accept a marriage proposal from a blind man. Unexpectedly, Mr. Hai's honesty, sincerity, and diligence planted a seed of love in the girl's heart.
Their love grew stronger day by day, and eventually the girl agreed to marry the disabled man. This made Mr. Hai overjoyed, shouting with happiness like a three-year-old seeing his mother return from the market.
Two years after their wedding, the family welcomed a new member when a healthy baby boy was born, filling their simple home with even more happiness. Mrs. Xoan, being frail and unable to do strenuous farm work, meant that Mr. Hai almost single-handedly struggled to make a living and support his wife and child.
At 66 years old, his strength has gradually diminished, but Mr. Hai still diligently works to earn a living. His family still cultivates a few acres of rice fields, grows vegetables, and raises pigs and chickens to make ends meet. Every day, this blind and disabled man still tills the soil, plants and waters vegetables, and prepares feed for the pigs and chickens...
For an average person, farming is hard work, let alone for someone like me who is blind and has lost one hand. But because of my family's livelihood, I must always strive to ensure my wife and children don't go hungry. I only hope to always have enough health to work, earn a living, and for my son to get married soon, so that my children and grandchildren can be together. For me, that is my source of joy and life, and also the light of my life.
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MR. NGUYEN VAN HAI