Homeland is not just a name...
(Baonghean.vn) - Visiting Dien Chau town at a time when the people here are wondering about the merger project, one can see their love and pride for the tangible values of their homeland.
"My hometown"
My father is originally from Vinh, born and raised right in Vinh's Cua Nam flower garden, but whenever he meets a Dien Chau person, he recognizes his fellow countryman. To prove this, he often asks for the specific address of that person in Dien Chau, after they answer, he will describe in detail the characteristics of that location in the 1970s and now, he even calls out the names of the long-time residents there as if he were very close to them.
Before, I found this quite strange. But after the trip to take Dad to visit old acquaintances in Dien Chau - people who were not related by blood, I suddenly found Dad's enthusiasm to be adorable and reasonable.
“In the past, along this road, people lived mainly by digging for shell stones. The stones were formed from shell sediments, very hard and sturdy, used to build walls and houses. Dien Chau citadel was also built with this type of stone. Although it took a lot of effort to carve out evenly sized stones from a large block of stone, people still worked hard. Because of poverty and deprivation, Dien Chau people were hard-working and determined to get rich,” my father said, when the car started entering Dien Chau town.
Not only hard-working and diligent, the Dien Chau people I met on that trip completely changed my perspective on the people of this land.
The first family we visited was Mr. Tran Sy Kha's family - former Chairman of the town's Veterans Association. Although over 80 years old, he and his wife are still very healthy, clear-minded, and remember the old stories clearly. In the 1970s, because of the war, my father was sent by my grandmother to Dien Chau to evacuate and stay in Mr. Kha's house.
Back then, every family was poor. Even though they were hungry and miserable, they loved each other and lived carefreely. Perhaps that is why, even though we were only together for a short time, 50 years later, when we met, we were still moved.
From the introduction of the people, we had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Cao Duc Dong - a prestigious elder of Dien Chau town, who used to hold the position of Secretary of the town Party Committee. Born, raised and devoted his whole life to his hometown town, Mr. Dong has a very special love for this land. He encapsulated that love and pride in simple yet precious verses: "Do you still remember your hometown town? / Wake up at night to hear the roar of waves / The sound of cars mixed in with sleep / The oars of the night, awake by the river...".
In our conversations, between people who love Dien Chau town passionately, the places, landmarks, specialties, and people were mentioned affectionately one after another.
Also one of the first cadres of Dien Chau town, teacher Bui Thanh Tri (born in 1941) shared: “In 1977, Dien Chau town was established, separated from Dien Thanh commune. At that time, this land was completely rice fields, the houses were sparse and poor, most of the town cadres were from Dien Thanh. We accepted the task with an extremely enthusiastic spirit, the emulation movements of labor, production, and homeland construction took place enthusiastically and vigorously. In just a short time, the town had a leap forward in development. That development is not only the pride of the town, but also the pride of the whole district, each project bears the mark of the contribution of all the people in the district”.
All from love
During our trip, we not only witnessed the love of the people for their hometown but also listened to their concerns about the name aftermerger. Those concerns, after all, also started from the love for this land…
As the first people to build Dien Chau town, Mr. Bui Thanh Tri confided: “For me, the name Dien Chau town is like an intangible asset, like the heart of the district. That name reminds us of our youth, the contributions of youth, the heroic periods… Losing that name, I feel like the position of the town is also affected to some extent.”
Talking with Mr. Vu Hong Minh - owner of Van Minh rice shop in block 2, Dien Chau town, who witnessed the development of Dien Chau town from the early days of its establishment, he proactively shared with us his thoughts beforemerger policyDien Chau town with Dien Thanh commune.
“Many of us, the townspeople, regret the name Dien Chau, which is associated with the achievements that have been built over the years. However, we also understand that, in the development orientation, Dien Chau district will develop into Dien Chau town and then the town will be a ward in the town. Moreover, Dien Chau town was originally separated from Dien Thanh commune, so returning to Dien Thanh is also reasonable. With the idea of changing the name to Phu Dien, I think the name ensures familiarity and affection, but is not suitable for the scale of the town. Because, Phu Dien is the old name of 3 districts: Yen Thanh, Dien Chau and Quynh Luu” – Mr. Minh expressed.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Cao Duc Dong said: “In terms of historical values, Dien Thanh commune is proud to be a heroic land in the resistance wars to protect the Fatherland, having been awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, being widely studied by the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and being one of the outstanding examples of the entire Military Region 4. That proud achievement and title must be preserved. I believe that the precious traditions of our ancestors combined with the dynamism and development of Dien Chau town today will create many more proud achievements.”
I have been attached to Dien Chau town since 1996 and love this town very much. Before the merger and name change policy, I was sad and regretful. But the most important thing to me is not the name, but the solidarity and consensus. We have experienced concerns when merging blocks and hamlets, and after the merger, the blocks and hamlets have developed even more. I believe that merging the town into Dien Thanh commune will also develop in the same way.
When reciting the poem “My hometown town” by Mr. Cao Duc Dong, I realized one thing, this poem mentioned many “identities” of the town, such as “Mrs. Dan’s sticky rice cake”, “moist cake”, “So market”, to “Snake God”… But the place name “Dien Chau” did not appear at all. However, when read aloud, everyone knew that this was Dien Chau town.
Let me rewrite the last verse of the poem: "You and I go to Nga Ba Town/ Go to Phu Market to buy gai cake, grilled fish/ The salesgirl smiles and greets gracefully/ The hometown accent sounds warm all winter afternoons".
Ah, so hometown is not just a name…
According to the project to rearrange administrative units at district and commune levels in Nghe An province for the period 2023-2025,Dien Chau districtThere will be the following changes: Merge the entire natural area and population of Dien Chau town and Dien Thanh commune, named Dien Thanh town; Merge Dien Xuan commune and Dien Thap commune, named Xuan Thap commune; Merge Dien Ngoc commune and Dien Bich commune, named Ngoc Bich commune; Merge Dien Hung commune and Dien Hai commune, named Hung Hai commune; Merge Dien Hanh commune and Dien Quang commune, named Hanh Quang commune. After the arrangement, Dien Chau district reduced 5 commune-level administrative units, leaving 32 administrative units (including 1 town, 31 communes).
