'Why did you eat poison ivy? It breaks my heart.'

Unexpected deaths

Deaths caused by poison ivy have left serious consequences for the victims’ families as well as the community, and have persisted for many years, especially in the Mong ethnic minority region in the West. To prevent this situation, it is necessary not only to eliminate and eradicate poison ivy, but also to eliminate the mindset of taking life lightly that still exists in the community.

During a business trip to Dooc May commune, Ky Son district - a border commune with 100% Mong ethnic people living, when asked about the situation of people seeking death by using poison ivy, Mr. Gia Chong Nhenh - Secretary of the Party Committee of the commune sadly said: "Almost every year in the commune, there are cases of people dying related to poison ivy. Currently, there are still many poison ivy trees in the area, and this deadly plant has not been completely eradicated."

The Party Secretary of the commune, with many silver hairs and a pensive face, told of the unfortunate deaths of villagers by the poisonous leaves. Even in his own family, in 2017, his brother’s daughter-in-law also gave up her life and her family by eating poison leaves when she was young, the couple had not been together for long and had no children. In 2018, there was the case of Mr. Xong Nhia Xau in Pha Ta village who also sought death by poison leaves…

Families in Dooc May (top photo) and Na Ngoi (left photo) hold funerals for relatives who committed suicide due to poison ivy and for the death from eating poison ivy in Pha Danh commune. Photo courtesy

People poisoned by aconite have symptoms such as thirst, sore throat, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea... then muscle fatigue, low body temperature, low blood pressure, clenched teeth, foaming at the mouth, severe abdominal pain, weak heartbeat, difficulty breathing, dilated pupils and rapid death due to respiratory arrest.

With a phone connected to the internet, just type in the search bar the two words “poisonous leaves”, hundreds of thousands of results will appear in just a few seconds. The information related to these two words that catch the viewer’s eye are mainly cases of people committing suicide by using poisoned leaves for many different reasons.

The most recent display line about information about "poisonous leaves" is the failed suicide of a young man in Nam Can commune (Ky Son). "At 6:30 p.m. on August 7, 2019, the Medical Corps of the Nam Can International Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard) received information that a suicide attempt by using poisoned leaves had occurred in the area. The victim was Cu Ba T (born in 1987), residing in Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, Ky Son district, due to a conflict with his lover, he ate poisoned leaves to commit suicide. Upon receiving the news, Captain Ho Xuan Vuong, the Medical Corps of the Nam Can International Border Guard Station, immediately arrived at the victim's home.

After nearly 1 hour of intensive first aid, the victim was out of danger. Unfortunately, unlike Cu Ba T, in early July 2019, in Nam Can commune (Ky Son), Va Y Ua (born 2002) and Vu Ba Nhenh (born 2003) ended their lives by eating poison ivy when they were just 16 and 17 years old. In Na Ngoi commune (Ky Son), in August 2019, a young man and woman from Phu Kha village committed suicide by eating poison ivy when they were not yet eighteen or twenty years old...

Most recently, on September 8, in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district, there was also a case of a person dying from eating poison ivy. Commenting on this information on Facebook, many people in Ky Son district expressed their opinion that poison ivy should be eliminated so that such heartbreaking incidents do not happen again.

The pain of those left behind

In some mountainous areas of Nghe An, suicides by consuming poison ivy are no longer a strange thing. Ms. Vi Thi Oanh - President of the Women's Union of Na Ngoi Commune (Ky Son) said: "In the commune, there are 1-2 cases of suicide by consuming poison ivy every year, especially a few years ago and mainly among 8th and 9th graders. Before committing suicide by consuming poison ivy, the victims often do not show any signs so that their relatives can detect and prevent the heartbreaking incident from happening." Ms. Oanh also said that the dead suffer a loss in life, but the living relatives suffer for the rest of their lives.

A family in Na Ngoi commune (Ky Son) sadly recounted the incident of their daughter eating poison ivy and committing suicide. Photo: Dao Tho

Like the case of Ms. Vi Thi Huong, Oanh's aunt. Ms. Huong has 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl. The daughter is always close to her mother, and the two of them are very close. However, a few years ago, Ms. Huong suddenly received the bad news that her daughter died because she went into the forest to pick poison ivy to eat. The news was like a thunderbolt, Ms. Huong was sad, cried until her tears ran dry, and struggled because she missed her daughter "Why did you eat poison ivy, I'm so heartbroken".

Until now, several years have passed, the mother still sits absent-mindedly by the door every day, missing her only daughter, then she gets sick, gets sick, and her health is getting worse. "Everyone encourages Mrs. Huong not to be sad anymore, but she still thinks so much that she is exhausted, unable to do anything" - Ms. Vi Thi Oanh said.

“The dead suffer a loss of life, but the living relatives suffer the consequences, especially the mental pain,” sighed Mr. Già chồng Nênh, Secretary of the Đọc May Commune Party Committee. Even in the family of Mr. Nênh’s brother, when the daughter-in-law, due to marital conflict, foolishly sought death by using poison leaves, the two families of the in-laws were disappointed, and then conflicts arose.

Although the conflict has been resolved, the void in the hearts of those who remain still exists. Or like the family of Mr. Xong Nhia Xau in Pha Ta village, in 2018, when Mr. Xau committed suicide by using poison leaves, leaving behind his wife and 3 children who were still in school age. Having lost the breadwinner of the family, Mr. Xau's wife could only hold back her tears as she looked at her 3 young children and cried because of the uncertain future of the 4 of them...

Poison ivy is a climbing plant that grows quite commonly in mountainous areas. The stem has grooves. Young branches are light green and hairless. Old branches are light gray-brown, with yellow flowers. It is a light-loving plant, so it often grows in open areas, forest edges, and roadsides.

The war of ideas

Realizing that the number of people committing suicide by eating poison ivy has not decreased. In Ky Son district alone, at least 5 people die each year from poison ivy. The Party Committee, government and local organizations have been struggling to find solutions to limit and prevent this threat. Chairwoman of the Ky Son District Women's Union, Vu Thi Huyen, said that the District Women's Union has been determined to carry out a "war" to eliminate this deadly plant from the lives of ethnic minorities, especially in border communes.

One day at the end of August 2019, Ms. Vu Thi Huyen and nearly 40 members of the "Women participating in protecting border security" Club, along with the Party Committee, authorities and people of Dooc May commune, coordinated with officers and soldiers of Na Loi Border Guard Station to launch a movement to remove the poison ivy. When this policy was proposed, women as well as authorities at all levels of Dooc May commune were very supportive. From the commune leaders to every person in Dooc May commune, when they learned about this work, they all enthusiastically participated.

Images and information about the campaign to remove the poison ivy in Dooc May were posted on the personal Facebook page of the President of the Ky Son Women's Union and women in Dooc May commune, and hundreds of people and officials expressed their agreement and support. Ms. Vu Thi Huyen said that starting in Dooc May commune, the Ky Son Women's Union will launch the campaign in all border communes in the coming time, and will make this a regular activity in each village. "Although this is not an optimal solution, when there is no more poison ivy around the people's living area, it will be very helpful in preventing deaths from this deadly leaf" - Ms. Huyen affirmed.

The Women's Union of Ky Son district, the government and the Women's Union of Dooc May commune coordinated with the Border Guards of Na Loi Border Post to propagate to people to remove the poison ivy. Photo: Hoai Thu

In addition to Ky Son, one of the areas with many cases of people committing suicide by using poison ivy is Que Phong district, including the border commune of Tri Le. Mr. Vi Van Cuong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Tri Le commune, Que Phong district, said that the commune has 33 villages, of which 8/10 are Mong villages along the border lines. Cases of suicide by poison ivy mainly occur in Mong villages, so propaganda and implementation of removing poison ivy are always focused on, and are one of the contents that the commune party committee requires the village management board and local organizations to implement monthly.

In addition, the commune also coordinated with the Border Guard force to, on the one hand, strengthen propaganda work and raise awareness among the people, and on the other hand, mobilize timely assistance from green-uniformed soldiers in detecting and providing emergency aid to cases of poisoning due to eating poison ivy.

In Nghe An, in the Western communes, according to incomplete statistics from the districts (mainly information provided by associations and organizations), there are no less than 10 deaths each year due to eating poison ivy. To prevent this situation, it is not only necessary to remove and eliminate poison ivy, the direct cause of death for those who use it, but also to fight against and eliminate the inherent ideology that still exists in the community, which is to use death by poison ivy to liberate a part of the mountainous people.

Border Guard forces educate people about the harmful effects and first aid for people poisoned by aconite. Photo: Archive

Therefore, for this "war" to be effective, it requires the cooperation and participation of the entire community and the entire political system in propaganda work to raise awareness as well as building a close living environment, sharing and caring for each other, starting with each family member, then the social community.

Medicine used to treat victims of eating poison ivy:

Captain Ho Xuan Vuong, military doctor of the Nam Can International Border Post (Ky Son) said: To save the life of a person who eats poison ivy, it must be done within 1-3 hours after eating. An effective remedy is: Use a crushed banana tree trunk, combine it with washed pennywort, crush it, squeeze out the juice and mix it with the banana tree trunk juice, then drop 2-3 live frogs into the banana juice- pennywort mixture for about 1 minute, then remove the frogs, give the patient to drink to stimulate vomiting, remove toxins in the stomach. Along with removing toxins in the stomach by natural methods, combine injections of antibiotics, heart stimulants, and strength boosters.