The river of my hometown

I rummaged through my memories to find the rivers and streams of the past. Yes! Those days are long gone, at least thirty or forty years. The rivers of my hometown cooled my childhood, the rivers that connected love and dates, bringing life.

The rivers flow into people's hearts with endless nostalgia. Poet Te Hanh wrote: "My homeland has a blue river / The clear water reflects the bamboo rows / My soul is the summer noons / The sunlight shines down on the sparkling river...". The river at that time was music, was poetry, was all the love and attachment that people from generation to generation put into it, were indebted to it, missed it. The river is the soul of the country, the source that creates the fragrance and color of the homeland, the lifeblood that nurtures the green of the village banks. The river gives wings to dreams, holds the hearts of people far from home. Those are the deep blue rivers, flowing between the green bamboo banks. Boats go up and down, the songs and chants follow the river, drifting endlessly in the wind, in the moon, in the love of men and women. Add river wharves, where boats stop to trade, where mothers, sisters, and children come out every night to bathe, fetch water, and even wait for dates... Like the Dinh River in my hometown, the river flows quietly from Tanh Linh through Ham Tan down to La Gi town and then quietly merges into the ocean. Anyone who has lived in Binh Tuy in the past, or in La Gi today, has more or less unforgettable memories of this river. How can we forget the summer afternoons when we were soaking in the cool water or going along the riverbank to pick water myrtle, pick cotton, go fishing, catch crabs, catch snails. Not only that, on the Dinh River there is also the Da Dung Dam, a very beautiful historical site.

At that time, Da Dung had a cherry garden, a one-pillar pagoda, a stone lion statue, and curved wooden bridges. Sitting with Da Dung on a moonlit night was like sitting in a fairy tale garden. In the distance, under the moonlight, tiny fishing boats drifted lazily along the river; then the sound of water trickling in the moonlight, the faint sound of moonlight falling fragilely on the cherry garden. All of it created a magical, shimmering beauty. Dinh River is still there, but all the magical, shimmering beauty of the past is gone. Like the fate of many rivers and streams in Vietnam. Today's rivers no longer bring peace and tranquility. In the dry season, the riverbed is exposed to rocks, in the rainy season, flood waters roar and roar.

The Dinh River is small and poetic, but when the river gets angry, the consequences are dire. Remember in July 1999, a terrible flash flood on the Dinh River swept away almost all the bridges and houses on both sides of the river, then flooded and submerged the entire La Gi street in water. And recently on the night of August 28, 2021, in the middle of the epidemic season, the Dinh River roared again, bringing floods that sank dozens of fishermen's boats. Property, houses, fields, gardens... all the hard work, sweat, tears and blood shed, were all submerged in the flood.

The once peaceful river of their hometown has now become a terror to them during the flood season. Our country currently has over 70 hydroelectric dams, with the Central and Central Highlands regions accounting for a fairly high proportion. There are rivers carrying dozens of hydroelectric dams on their backs. Accordingly, simply put, hydroelectric power in the Central region has small capacity, low investment capital, but high profits. However, no one has yet anticipated the harm to the people. Ten hydroelectric dams on the same river, ten reservoirs, certainly downstream there will be no water left for people to make a living during the drought season... Returning peace to the rivers is our responsibility.

Source