A comfortable life, then you can worry about other things.
From the beginning of the term (August 2020) to May 31, 2024, the entire Party Committee of Muong Te district, Lai Chau province admitted 726 party members, of which 103 were La Hu party members. Although the total number of La Hu party members in the district has now increased to 330, this number is considered modest.
Phin Kho village is located in the center of Bum To commune (Muong Te district), home to over 165 La Hu ethnic households. With a small area of land for production and a steep slope, it is difficult for people to cultivate crops and produce food to support their lives; without jobs, households in the village are still plagued by poverty.
The Party Committee of Bum To commune has long determined: “Strongly developing the Party organization is the solution to help Phin Kho develop. Party members will be the fulcrum to guide and help the people do business and develop the economy”. However, the Party Cell of Phin Kho village also has difficulty in finding “red seeds” to nurture and recruit into the Party.
Mr. Phung Va Hu, Secretary of the Phin Kho village Party Cell, said: The village Party Cell currently has 13 party members. Of which, in early 2024, the Party Cell admitted 2 more party members. However, currently, the source of party members in Phin Kho is "scarce" due to the difficult life of the people, young people growing up have to go far away to work to support themselves and their families, the rest are in many cases violating population policy - family planning...
Telling us the story of Ly Ky Me (born in 1994) who has all the qualifications but still cannot join the Party, Party Cell Secretary Phung Va Hu said: The reason is that Me's family situation is too difficult, his father is seriously ill, his mother alone works hard to earn vegetables and porridge to raise 2 children. Also because of poverty, Me has to go far away to work to help the family.
The Ly Ky Me masses are not the only case in Phin Kho village of “loving the Party but unable to join the Party”. In a conversation with some young people here, when asked why they have not strived to join the Party? We received the answer: “Life is not yet comfortable enough, how can we worry about other things”.
“Despite the attention of local Party committees and authorities, the work of developing Party members in La Hu villages still faces many difficulties and obstacles. The main reasons are that people’s lives are unstable, there are few economic development models; young people mainly go to work far away, while those who stay home get married early, violating population and family planning policies… Therefore, training and introducing resources are still limited.”
Mr. Phan A Minh , Deputy Secretary, Chairman of People's Council of Bum To commune
Or in Khoan Then village (Pa Ve Su commune), due to difficult economic conditions, most of the La Hu people here have to drop out of school early, or after graduating from high school, they will "stick" to industrial zones in the lowlands in Hanoi, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh... In the village, most of the middle-aged and elderly people are still stuck with rice fields and corn fields to make a living. Therefore, finding outstanding people to nurture and recruit into the Party's ranks is also a difficult "journey".
Secretary of Khoan Then village Party cell - Phung Ha Ca said: "Recently, the Party cell has mobilized Phung Hu Do (born in 2001) to attend the Party sympathy class, however, due to difficult family circumstances, this person has to work far away... Therefore, we will definitely encourage the person to continue to strive."
When we asked: "Is there any Party member in our Party cell who is good at business so that the masses can look up to him and follow his example?", Mr. Ca sighed: "Everyone is still struggling, journalist! If there is anyone, they only make enough to support their family."
In Mr. Ca's eyes, there was the worry and anxiety of a person with the responsibility of being a "locomotive". More than anyone else, Mr. Ca wanted the people to believe in him, wanted the people to believe in the Party Cell, and to mobilize the masses, he had to make people's lives prosperous. He had to do it, then tell people to understand and follow.
During the journey to the villages of the La Hu people, the roads are long and remote; households live scattered and not concentrated; low and unstable income; uneven educational level, backward customs and practices... are still "barriers" to the development of the La Hu people's area.
Although, in recent years, the Party, the State and Lai Chau province have had many policies and strategies to revive the socio-economic situation in the villages, it is probably not enough. Therefore, the young generation with qualifications always wants to escape the mountains and forests to seek opportunities to change their lives. A few young people stay in the locality but only care about developing the family economy… They seem to have no other concerns than “food and clothing”.
The “late” elite
Not only is there a “lack” of a large number of elite masses who choose to “leave their homeland” to develop the economy, the Party Cells of the La Hu ethnic minority region are also forced to ignore many masses who wish to join the Party because of their personal history. Many people get married early, violate the population policy - family planning due to local customs and practices; many people have “traces” in their family history of relatives who have violated the law; some people cannot join the Party due to their low level of education or old age... Many Party Cell Secretaries of the La Hu ethnic minority region have humorously given these masses the name: “late” elite masses!
Secretary of Khoan Then village Party cell (Pa Ve Su commune) Phung Ha Ca shared more: In the village, there is a mass Ly Go Hu (born in 1997) who is very excellent and has contributed to the locality. The Party cell also introduced him to attend a Party sympathy training class, mass Hu also has the desire to join the Party but cannot stand in the Party's ranks.
Talking to us, Ly Go Hu confided: “In Khoan Then village, there is still a situation of child marriage. I myself, in the past, due to lack of knowledge, violated the regulations on child marriage. I know it is difficult, but I still hope that one day I will be able to stand in the ranks of the Party.”
In mid-September, we were fortunate to attend a Party cell meeting in Seo Then A village (Pa Ve Su commune), with the presence of the Party Secretary, Border Guard, Police in charge of the commune, and teachers stationed in the village. The meeting took place seriously and in accordance with procedures. Party members at the meeting gave comments, assessments, and proposed solutions to effectively carry out the tasks of economic development, hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and ensuring security and order, border security, etc.
Talking with comrade Ly My Ly, Secretary of the Party Committee of Pa Ve Su commune, we learned that nearly 70% of the commune is La Hu ethnic group. The commune Party Committee currently has 18 Party cells, with 217 Party members. Ms. Ly herself had to admit that finding outstanding people among the La Hu people is not simple.
“In the village Party cells, there are many difficulties in terms of Party development resources; There is a situation where some young women often think that when they grow up, they only need to know how to give birth and take care of the kitchen, while social work is for men; educated men often go to work far away or only care about economic activities, not interested in mass organizations. In addition, many people are admitted to the Party, but because they do not have jobs, they go to work far away, causing difficulties in managing Party members,” said Ms. Ly My Ly.
From the stories we heard and saw during our journey to the villages of the La Hu people, we wondered: Are the La Hu ethnic villages really lacking in “red seeds” or is it the economic and social development solutions here that are not enough, causing the “red seeds” to not germinate?
Sowing "red seeds" in La Hu ethnic villages: Only with strong Party cells can the lives of the villagers change (Part 1)
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