About the place where officials must be 'multi-sport athletes'

(Baonghean)- 'Must know how to row a boat, climb mountains, cross rivers, and ride a motorbike.enSteep cliffs, cutting down trees, building huts... like multi-sport athletes are the only ones who can survive here' - Mr. Lo Van Chien - Chairman of Huu Khuong commune (Tuong Duong district, Nghe An) shared.

Up to now, Huu Khuong (Tuong Duong) is the only commune in the province that does not have a car road to the center. Located in the middle of Ban Ve hydroelectric lake, Huu Khuong has become an "oasis", isolated from the communes in the region. The lives of the Thai, Mong and Kho Mu people here are still difficult, and the working conditions of the cadres are also quite difficult and arduous.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to go to Huu Khuong, at that time the commune launched a campaign to open a traffic route to Huoi Pung village - a village located 7km away from the center. Almost all of the commune's cadres were mobilized for the campaign. I boarded a small boat carrying food, provisions and other necessities towards the distant mountain range.

Officials of Huu Khuong commune (Tuong Duong) on ​​their way to work in the village. Photo: Cong Kien

After more than 30 minutes, the boat reached the shore, everyone got off the boat and carried their belongings to the forest to set up camp. The path was a small path along the stream, rugged and bumpy; winding and tortuous; steep and slippery. Each person was assigned to carry something, but I was given priority to carry only my bag of tools.

The sun was so hot that after walking about half a kilometer, I had to breathe through my mouth, and after walking a little further, I could barely breathe through my nose. I had to tell everyone to go ahead to meet the scheduled time, and I would follow the new footprints, resting as I went. Chairman Lo Van Chien was not at ease, so he slowed down, cut a small tree for me to use as a walking stick to help me ease my fatigue, and helped me carry my tool bag.

Upon arrival, everyone had already cut down trees and built a construction site command post. Looking at the scene of the commune cadres holding knives, nimbly cutting down trees, splitting bamboo and tying bamboo strips, many people would have thought that they were real farmers. After setting up the post, each person was assigned to a village to supervise and work with the villagers to open the road.

Officials of Tuong Duong district and Huu Khuong commune inspect the road opening to Huoi Pung village. Photo: Cong Kien

The sun was blazing, looking down from above, groups of people were busy clearing the road. Present at the road section managed by Tung Hoc village, along with the villagers, Ms. Pit Thi Thoa - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee was both measuring and shoveling the road, her work efficiency was not inferior to the villagers. She said: "As a local, born and raised here, I am very familiar with this job, I still do it as usual when I come home on the weekend."

At night, we lit a fire around the hut, both to provide light for daily activities and to ward off mosquitoes and wild animals. The forest was so quiet at night that we could clearly hear the sound of water dripping through the cracks in the rocks, the sound of mosquitoes buzzing like a choir, and the sound of a lone bird looking for a mate on the other side of the cliff. The later it got, the colder it got. I turned on my phone, there was no signal, and lying next to Chiến, we started chatting.

Mr. Chien is from Tam Thai commune, has been with Huu Khuong for 12 years, from land officer to Deputy Secretary, then Party Secretary, this term he is ready to become Chairman of the Commune People's Committee. On weekends he has to go by motorboat, then by car to go home. Sometimes he is so busy that he can only go home for a few days a month, making the children angry.

Mr. Pham Trong Hoang - Secretary of Tuong Duong District Party Committee presented gifts to cadres and people of Huu Khuong commune on the occasion of the road opening campaign to Huoi Pung. Photo: Cong Kien

But the Huu Khuong cadres, whether they are from other places or local people, mostly have to stay in the dormitory. Because, except for those in Con Phen (the central village), those in other villages have to take a boat for an hour or walk for at least half a day, so going back and forth in a day is impossible. This is almost only possible in Huu Khuong...

During that time, Mr. Chien concluded that, to be able to “stay” in Huu Khuong, one must know how to drive a boat and walk all day, ride a motorbike on steep slopes and drink alcohol without getting drunk. Everyone must follow these strict requirements, and most of the cadres in Huu Khuong, both male and female, can meet them, but they must go through a long and arduous “training” process.

Once, he went to Cha Lang village, the farthest village, where about 40 Mong households lived, to check on the election preparations. The Mong people were hospitable and respected the cadres, so every family prepared rice, chicken, and wine to treat them. After dinner at the village chief’s house, the next house invited him over, then the house next door, and so on.

If they did not accept, the villagers would not be satisfied and would be forced to go from house to house, only drinking a few glasses of wine and not having enough energy to eat. The next morning, before dawn, someone came to their bedside and called: “Officer, wake up and come to my house for breakfast!”

The road from the center of Huu Khuong commune to Huoi Pung village, more than 7km long, has been opened. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Lo Van Bon - a police officer and postman of the commune was also awake and contributed to the story about the hardships of the cadres and civil servants here. That was the time he was delivering newspapers and documents to Tung Hoc village, on the way he encountered a big tornado, strong winds, fallen trees, and hail hitting his face. Born in the forest, and not the first time he encountered this situation, he quickly regained his composure.

First, he tied the bundle of newspapers, documents, and papers tightly into a plastic bag and put it in a large tree hole, to prevent it from being blown away by wind or water. Then, he found a tree within his reach and stood close to it so that it would not be knocked over by the wind. About 10 minutes later, the tornado passed, he went back to the tree hole and opened the bundle of newspapers and documents and was really happy because it was intact and not waterlogged.

Huu Khuong commune has 35 cadres, of which 10 are local, the rest come from other communes. And only 5 people from Con Phen village can return home during the day, the remaining 30 people have to stay in the dormitory, leaving at the beginning of the week and returning at the end of the week. Each time they go up, they bring rice and other food reserves, if they cannot return for a long time, they have to ask the boatmen to buy them for them...

Therefore, there are many stories and memories about the hardships and difficulties of those working in the "oasis" of Huu Khuong, which will be told on another occasion. The next day, after gathering enough documents and images, I left the command hut to go downstream, and everyone continued with the campaign...

Cong Kien