In the sunshine of mid-August, I returned to Rao Tre village, Huong Lien commune (Huong Khe - Ha Tinh) on the border of the Fatherland. The village is located against the slope of Ca Day mountain and faces the upstream of the poetic Ngan Sau river.
The Chut ethnic people in Rao Tre village celebrate Lap Lo Festival.
This is the residential area of 46 households with 156 people of the Chut ethnic group (Ma Lieng ethnic group). Their ancestors used to wander and grow from caves or at the top of the majestic Truong Son mountain range.
Before the 20th century, few people knew that in the bushes and caves of Ca Day mountain and the last section of Ngan Sau river, there was once a silent and silent tribe of people living a precarious, wild life. The appearance of the Chut people at that time was just a "piece" in the middle of the great forest, contributing to diversifying the ecosystem of the Truong Son range. It was not until 2001, after learning that the Chut people still existed, that the Ha Tinh Border Guard, with the help of the localities, established a 3-together working group (eating, living, working together) to station in the area, that the Chut people were truly enlightened. Living in the darkness of cold, wild caves, relying on the blessings of the mountains and forests for generations, when they were guided to show them the way out, they were overwhelmed by the dawn of a new day. They were truly confused and excited, with both fear and doubt when stepping into the vast land of the civilized world.
The Chut people are not “wild animals lost in the deep forest”, but to integrate them into the community, the border guards here, in addition to perseverance and exemplary behavior, must also have altruism and deep sympathy. In addition, the soldiers must also have faith. They consider protecting the peace of the border and helping the people in the border areas escape from poverty, backwardness, eternal darkness, and backward customs as a sacred mission assigned by the Party, the People, and the Army. In addition to providing the Chut people with stable housing and “full stomachs”, propaganda and mobilization work to help them practice a civilized lifestyle is extremely difficult. To integrate them into the community, have a stable, civilized life, maintain the race, and prevent incestuous marriage, in addition to food and clothing, health care and family planning are very difficult and complicated issues.
Ban Giang Border Guards and teachers accompany Chut ethnic students to school at the beginning of the new school year.
To help them escape from backward customs, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Trong Nam - Head of Ban Giang Border Guard Station confided: “Since being propagandized and guided by the border guards, the Chut people have voluntarily eliminated many bad customs. Since then, the number of newborn deaths has been very low, and the life expectancy of women has also increased. In order to continuously improve the people's lives, since the first day of establishing the village, the station has always maintained 5 comrades stationed in the village in combination with 1 doctor to regularly examine, treat and take care of their health. Thanks to good work in examining and treating diseases and disseminating knowledge in reproduction and family planning, in the past 2 years, the whole village has had no newborn deaths.”
“It is harder to straighten people’s hearts than it is to straighten rivers,” so it is not easy to get rid of bad customs overnight. The first lessons on personal hygiene were taught to the villagers by border guards through some village and commune women. Then, contraception, incestuous marriage, crossing the river to find knowledge, ghosts returning to the village… were all huge challenges for the border guards stationed in the villages. To effectively implement family planning, contraceptive methods were also taught to each family by the local women’s association and youth union. The border guards directly provided funds and means for them to go to district and commune health centers. In recent years, many couples have voluntarily sterilized themselves.
I met Mr. Ho Nam carrying bamboo from the forest. I asked him why he was carrying bamboo, he smiled at me, revealing his white teeth and replied: I heard from the soldiers that this year there will be a lot of sunshine, so there will be heavy rain and wind, so I brought this bamboo to cover my house, because when it rains, I will be worried. "I will be worried." The saying is very simple but it is a great awareness of a person when they are enlightened. From a wild tribe, currently, Ca Day village has 1 student studying at university, 15 students studying at high school and middle school, 34 students studying at primary school and kindergarten.
Border military medics examine, treat and dispense medicine to the Chut ethnic people.
Colonel Bui Hong Thanh - Commander of the Ha Tinh Border Guard Command shared: “Providing enough food periodically, combined with protecting clean water sources to limit disease outbreaks is a regular task closely combined between soldiers stationed in the village and the people. I believe that the backward customs of the Chut people will be eliminated. And they will have the will to rise up to join the progressive flow of society”.
I returned downstream at noon when the sun was scorching hot. The Tiem River, a source from Ca Day Mountain, had dried up. Crossing the river, I turned back. Looking at the village with fresh water for daily use, food and clothes, I felt a surge of confidence that one day soon the people of Ca Day Village would become more civilized and well-off. On the hillside, a woodpecker had returned to its nest to find food and was scratching its beak on a bamboo tree. Thinking about the miracles at the foot of Ca Day Mountain, the source of the Ngan Sau River, with the Ma Lieng ethnic people, my heart was filled with emotions that were difficult to put into words.
Huong Khe, August 2023
Tran Hau Thinh
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