Coming to Truong Sa at the end of the year is often a trip to the sea with many storms. This time, too, the level 5 waves prevented the press team from reaching many islands. From the deck, we watched the transport boats bobbing on the waves bringing Tet goods to the small islands. From here, we also saw the smiling faces of the soldiers who were resilient in the face of the storms...
Song Tu Tay Island shock art team.
The impression that many people have of Truong Sa island district today is sustainable development, "green energy" projects, land resource development projects, and facilities from healthcare to logistics to help fishermen go offshore. Leaving Truong Sa before the new spring, we carry with us the faith, strength, and will of the people who protect the sacred sovereignty of the nation's sea and islands.
Shipments of love
Coming to Truong Sa this time, in addition to representatives of central and local agencies, ministries, branches and organizations, there are also more than 100 journalists. Along with Tet gifts, we bring to Truong Sa many meaningful spiritual gifts.
Journalist Dang Phuong Hoa (Ha Giang Province Journalists Association) said: When they knew that there was going to be a trip to visit and wish the soldiers on Truong Sa archipelago a Happy New Year, many schools in Ha Giang launched a movement to write letters to the soldiers on Truong Sa. So, along with filming and working on the islands, journalist Phuong Hoa had an additional mission of sending letters from students to the soldiers. Many other journalists were also asked by relatives to send souvenirs to the soldiers.
Photographer Van Phung from Ho Chi Minh City brought along the scarves. He shared: The image of the scarves is very familiar to the people of the South. Any southerner who travels far away, seeing the scarves is like seeing the image of their homeland... On the wind-sheltered corners of the train, we saw kumquat, peach and apricot trees sent by people from craft villages to Truong Sa soldiers. Along with that were many gifts and souvenirs sent by people from the mainland to the soldiers and people on the island district. These were train trips filled with love and affection from the motherland.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Tho, Deputy Brigade Commander of Brigade 146 in charge of the working group, said: We always receive the affection of the people of the whole country sent to the officers and soldiers on the remote islands. This is the affectionate connection between the outpost islands and the mainland so that each officer and soldier working on the Truong Sa archipelago has more confidence and strength, holds his gun firmly, and has bright eyes to firmly maintain the sacred sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.
After two days of sailing through level 5 and 6 waves, the ships from the mainland to visit and wish the cadres on Truong Sa archipelago have arrived at their destination. Everyone forgot their fatigue and rushed to the deck to look at the islands while they were still in the distance. On the island, soldiers and people also went to the wharf to wait. The waves were getting low, and the transport ships could not yet approach the wharf. So they had to continue waiting.
The feeling at that moment was hard to describe, full of anticipation, excitement, and affection. On the bow of the ship, we looked at Song Tu Tay Island. 20 years ago (in 2004), this was also the first island I set foot on during my 26-day journey to the northern islands of the Truong Sa archipelago. At that time, Da Nam and Song Tu Tay islands had just suffered a big storm, with trees falling all over the place.
Today, looking from the sea, we see that the island has many solid houses. The dock has been completed, there are anti-landing barriers, there are wave-breaking walls... A feeling of pride that keeps multiplying. I remember what Colonel Nguyen Huu Minh, Deputy Political Commissar of Naval Region 4, said to the working group before the ship left Cam Ranh Military Port: For those who have been to Truong Sa, come and feel the changes on the outpost island to see the efforts of our soldiers along with the care of the Party and State for the cadres, soldiers and people on the archipelago.
Truong Sa - green will and vitality
We arrived at Song Tu Tay Island. I felt a little bewildered. According to my memory, the island had a high point, the lighthouse, and an empty stadium in the middle of the island. Today, there were many more architectural structures on the island. The soldiers had carried out many activities to celebrate the Spring Festival in the past few days.
Sports include: volleyball, soccer, stick pushing, sack jumping... Arts include performances celebrating the Party, celebrating Spring, and youth love. Truong Sa soldiers are very open and confident. This is probably due to the development of information technology in many fields. Almost all squads and combat clusters are equipped with high-definition television technology, so information is no longer lacking.
Leaders and commanders of the islands regularly pay attention to and create conditions for soldiers to participate in cultural activities. Senior Lieutenant Le Dinh Minh Tiep, Sinh Ton Island, said: The island's art troupe has 20 members, including many art cores of combat clusters, branch leaders and twinning forces, which are households living on the island. The art troupe has a fixed schedule of one session a week, practicing "self-directed and self-performed" singing and dancing performances. Throughout the year, the art troupe is "ordered to perform" by many units, especially on major events such as Party cell congresses, branch congresses, festivals and Tet. The island's command always creates time and facilities for the team members to participate in practice. Recently, when the whole island launched the "Tet tree planting" movement, the art troupe participated in many cheering performances and directly responded to the movement.
In early 2023, the Naval Region 4 Command issued a resolution to green Truong Sa. The coming of Tet and Spring is also the peak time to implement this resolution. Accordingly, each time officers and soldiers go to work on the island, they must plant at least 1 perennial tree. If the area is not enough, they must participate in caring for and preserving a certain number of mature trees. There are two things that cause great harm to trees: sea wind and salt water. For example, on Co Lin Island, the whole island has only one square banyan tree, a perennial tree that is "precious as a treasure" by the soldiers.
Potted plants are also carried by soldiers to evacuate in the direction of the wind, but this square banyan tree cannot be carried, the whole island has to cover it, spread tarps, wash it with salt... every time the tree is hit by waves. It is so hard but with perseverance in protecting and preserving, up to now the tree has grown taller than a person's head. Along with activities of planting perennial trees to green Truong Sa, the work of increasing production is actively promoted by many islands. Co Lin Island has 78 m2 of land for growing vegetables, in 2023, 725 kg of green vegetables were harvested, ensuring 80% of the soldiers' meals.
On small islands similar to Co Lin, the amount of green vegetables also meets 80 to 90% of the soldiers' meals. Livestock raising is guaranteed, officers and soldiers increase production by an average of 1 million 550 thousand VND per year, meeting the unit's target. Recently, the Marine Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Center under the Navy Command has carried out a project using biological products to convert coral sand into soil for growing plants, in the near future it will create invaluable soil resources to help Truong Sa become greener.
Spring comes to Song Tu Tay island in Song Tu island commune.
Island district on the threshold of spring
Squad leader of the Sinh Ton Island Militia Squad Pham Van Toan was a soldier of Brigade 146, Naval Region 4, from 2008 to 2010. During this time, he was honored to join the Party. After being discharged from the army, he entered college and worked as a construction worker. During the following years, Pham Van Toan always missed the islands. Until one day, the Party cell where he participated in activities announced the selection of young families to develop the economy and culture on Truong Sa archipelago. His family's application was quickly approved. In June 2023, Toan's family and several other households were resettled on Sinh Ton Island. Tet Giap Thin 2024 is the first Tet of the young couple on the outpost island.
Mr. Toan confided: "This is a truly meaningful Tet for our small family. Being able to gather with family, contributing our small strength to the Fatherland". Ms. Huyen, Mr. Toan's wife, is a nurse on the mainland. Coming to the island, she has also promoted her professional capacity, supporting the army in training and combat readiness. She is also an active member of the Women's Association of Sinh Ton island commune. Promoting the exemplary and pioneering spirit of party members, Mr. Toan's family has helped and mobilized other households to build flower roads, collect waste, and keep the island environment clean and healthy.
Families on Sinh Ton, Song Tu Tay islands and many other islands often have wives who are teachers, nurses, and husbands who are drivers, fishermen or small business owners. All are eagerly awaiting the "first happy spring" away from the mainland. Another group of residents of Truong Sa archipelago are civil servants, officials, and employees of the People's Committees of communes; teachers of kindergartens and primary schools on the island communes. Although they miss their families very much, they all have the mindset of "enjoying the new spring without forgetting their duties".
Vice Chairman of Song Tu Commune People's Committee Cao Van Giap said: In daily life, people on the island commune always receive support and help both materially and spiritually from officers and soldiers stationed on the island commune. People can participate in cultural and sports activities, exchange and form friendship with the army. That is a great encouragement. Besides, each individual determines his or her responsibility when accepting a job here, all join in the common joy of the whole island commune during the coming of Tet and Spring.
Teacher Bui Tien Anh (26 years old) considered this an unforgettable experience to tell his relatives on the mainland about the close military-civilian relationship. He said: Tet is an occasion for each of us to recall memories of family and friendship. Around me is a large family with many close friends, Tet on a remote island gives me more life experience and maturity.
Leaving Truong Sa on the threshold of the New Spring, we received the sentiments and wishes of the soldiers and people of Truong Sa sent to our homeland: Here, we always have faith and willpower to firmly maintain every inch of land, sea and islands, and the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland.
According to DONG HA and NINH CO (nhandan.vn)
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