Two aunts talk about the lives of Mai Thi Thanh and Mai Van Toan.
Leaving the garden of Mai Thi Thanh and Mai Van Toan sisters and after a working session with the Van Du town government (Thach Thanh district, Thanh Hoa), VTC News reporters could not help but wonder why they decided to move all their belongings back to their hometown after their parents passed away, but only a short time later they returned to Thach Thanh land.
To find the answer, we decided to go to Nga Thach commune (Nga Son district, Thanh Hoa) to meet relatives of Mr. Mai Hong Thai.
Welcoming us to the old 3-room house of Mr. and Mrs. Thanh - Thai were Mrs. Mai Thi Tinh and Mrs. Mai Thi Sau - Mr. Thai's 2 younger sisters.
In the middle of the house, the plowshare that Mr. Thai had built was no longer there. Before I could ask, Mrs. Tinh quickly said: " At the beginning of the year, Toan came back and dismantled it. He put all the plowshares in two bags and transported them to Thach Thanh ."
The plow pole erected in 2017 has been removed from Mr. Mai Hong Thai's house in Nga Thach commune, Nga Son district.
Lighting incense on the altar, caressing the certificate of merit from the Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee awarded to Mr. Mai Hong Thai for participating in the resistance war against the US to save the country, Mrs. Tinh sadly said: " Mr. Thai did not die when he fought the Americans and collapsed the bunker, but he died because of 'ghosts' ."
Mrs. Tinh said that because he started working early at Thach Thanh Forestry, Mr. Thai's family had enough to eat and save, and was the most well-off among his siblings. Mr. Thai and his wife lived very harmoniously, were kind, and helped anyone in need, so they were loved by everyone. Every few months, the whole family returned to their hometown to visit their elderly parents and siblings.
" He also bought this house when he was still working in Thach Thanh with the desire to use it as a place to retire. When he retired, he and his wife said they would stay there for a few more years, wait for the three children to work at Lam Son sugar factory, then return to their hometown. But things did not go as planned, " said Mrs. Tinh.
In the early 2000s, Ms. Thanh "got sick", forced all 3 children to drop out of school, shaved their heads and asked them to do strange things. Ms. Tinh said she felt very sorry, especially for Mai Thi Thanh, who was in 10th grade at that time and was the top student in the school.
" At first, Mr. Thai ran around everywhere looking for a way to cure his wife's illness. But then he gradually followed her orders. Since then, he rarely returned to his hometown, only returning once every 3-4 months to receive his pension ." Mrs. Tinh held back a sigh and continued, when her parents passed away, the family informed them but Mr. Thai did not return to mourn even though he loved his parents very much.
The family and the authorities of Thanh Van commune, later Van Du town, tried their best to dissuade them, but Ms. Thanh and Mr. Thai's family still maintained their strange life for decades, until Ms. Thanh passed away at the end of 2021.
" When she died, our circumstances were difficult, so all expenses were covered by Van Du town. After the funeral, we set up an altar at home, but Toan smashed the incense bowl and told us not to worship anything, " she said.
A few months after Mrs. Thanh passed away, Mrs. Tinh suddenly heard that Mr. Thai and his son wanted to return to Nga Son to live. The whole family was happy and planned to go to Thach Thanh to help bring their belongings back, but Toan did not agree.
According to Ms. Tinh, everyone in the family as well as the neighbors were shocked when Mr. Thai and his three sons returned with two trucks carrying dozens of tons of iron, steel, corrugated iron, porcelain bowls, etc. piled up in large piles in the garden.
Ms. Tinh said that even though they returned to their hometown, Mr. Thai and his son kept their old lifestyle, still dressed strangely, and did not accept any belongings or help from relatives. " I brought new clothes and told them to change the way they dressed, because once they came back here, they had to follow the lifestyle here. Then she asked to work at the company, but they refused ."
Not long after returning home, Mr. Thai fell ill with a bloated stomach. Many times, Mrs. Tinh wanted to take her brother to the hospital, but Toan forbade her.
" He was very stubborn, he kept saying that if he left his father there he would recover. At that time, I went to his house every day to check on his eating and health. But after a few days, due to some work on his father's side, I received a call from Ms. Dung (Ms. Le Thi Dung - Head of Ward 1, Van Du town) to inform me that Toan's sisters had brought his father back to Thach Thanh. More than a week later, I received news that Thai had died ," said Ms. Tinh.
After Mr. Thai's funeral, Toan and his sister also hired a car to move all their belongings back to Thach Thanh. " I asked my nephew why he was still up there since he had already come back. Toan said his mother told him in a dream that he should not stay here anymore, that he could not live here, and that he had to go to the mountains ." Mrs. Tinh said that she was once again helpless in advising her two grandchildren.
We wondered why, when we visited Thanh and Toan, we did not see the presence of dozens of tons of furniture as they had said, but only a few rolls of steel in the kitchen.
Explaining this, Ms. Mai Thi Sau said that in early February she went to Thach Thanh and learned that all the porcelain bowls had been buried underground by the two sisters, while the iron and steel were kept in the house built with green corrugated iron sheets.
Mrs. Sau said that when she came to visit, she also tried to persuade Thanh and Toan to return to their hometown, saying that relatives would help renovate the house so that the two sisters could get married, but they did not agree.
" Before, I told Mr. Thai and Ms. Thanh, "Brother and sister, please come back here, let the children get married soon, otherwise when you die, the children will be alone in the forest", but now they are really alone. My sisters and I are old and weak, the day to return to our ancestors is not far away, before closing our eyes, I only hope that Thanh and Toan will return to the countryside to live near their relatives ", Mrs. Sau choked up.
Responding to VTC News reporter, Mr. Mai Van Nam - Chairman of Nga Thach Commune People's Committee (Nga Son District) - said that in the past, when Mr. Mai Hong Thai and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh were still alive, the leaders of Van Du town (Thach Thanh District) contacted the leaders of Nga Thach commune to coordinate propaganda, mobilization, and planning for medical examination and treatment, but the family did not cooperate and reacted very harshly.
In early 2022, after Mrs. Thanh passed away and was buried locally, Mr. Thai and his three sons also returned to their hometown to live. The local government raised funds and donated necessities and household items, but Mr. Thai refused.
" They said they were going to live here, but the family was still isolated from society. The two children worked in a chili factory but did not communicate with people. After 2-3 months, they returned to Thach Thanh, and then Mr. Thai passed away ," said Mr. Nam.
According to Mr. Nam, Ms. Mai Thi Thanh and Mr. Mai Van Toan currently have permanent residence in Nga Thach commune. If in accordance with regulations, the People's Committee of Van Du town has the right to expel the two sisters from the locality because they do not have a household registration or temporary residence registration. However, the government is still handling the case in a humane manner, mainly through propaganda rather than enforcement.
" If they have any actions that destabilize the local security situation or cause disorder, then we will enforce them. It is not good to force them to live a normal life. However, in the coming time, the two localities will coordinate to find a reasonable solution to help Mr. Toan and Ms. Thanh integrate into the community, " said the Chairman of Nga Thach commune.
Read part 5: Unveiling the mystery of the 'ghost soldier' family
Dr. Tran Thi Hong Thu acknowledged that the manifestations of the family members of the "ghost soldiers" are highly likely to have mental problems, however, to make an accurate conclusion, an assessment must be conducted.
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