Building new rural villages associated with border protection in Muong Lat

The mountainous border district of Muong Lat borders Vieng Xay and Xop Bau districts of Hua Phan province (Lao PDR) with a 105.5 km long border. This is also the home of many ethnic minorities such as Thai, Mong, Muong, Dao, Kho Mu. Considered to be a district with an important geographical position in terms of politics, national defense and security of the province, for many years, the socio-economic development in this district, the farthest from the center of Thanh Hoa province, has also had many characteristics. Recently, the construction of new rural areas, especially at the village/hamlet level, has also been implemented by Muong Lat district in the direction of linking with the goal of protecting border security.

Building new rural villages associated with border protection in Muong Lat Lach village cultural house, Muong Chanh commune (Muong Lat) was built according to the criteria of new rural border areas.

In addition to the district town, Muong Lat has 7 communes, 6 of which are located on the border, the whole district has 31 units at the village level bordering Laos. This place is still the drug hotspot of the province because the subjects always take advantage of the rugged terrain to transit drugs into Vietnam. Many years ago, reactionary subjects also took advantage of the gullibility of ethnic minorities to incite disturbances and illegally proselytize. Accordingly, Muong Lat always identifies the work of ensuring security and safety in the border area as an important task, the construction of new rural areas in villages/hamlets is also associated with that task.

Implementing Decision No. 1810/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee on approving the plan to implement the National Target Program on New Rural Development in the province for the period of 2021-2025, Muong Lat district has issued plans, clearly defining the goals, requirements and specific implementation solutions for each year. From there, the district assigned departments, offices and specialized agencies to guide communes in developing plans for implementation. Party committees and grassroots authorities have been focusing on propagating to raise awareness among cadres, party members and all classes of people about the meaning and importance of New Rural Development at the village and hamlet level, initially creating positive consensus from commune-level authorities and people in border villages.

In fact, Muong Lat is still the poorest district in the province and one of the 74 poorest districts in the country, so economic conditions are still difficult, the rate of poor and near-poor households is still high. The terrain here is complex, the infrastructure is still weak compared to the general level of the whole province. The political security situation, social order and safety still have many potential complex factors, especially the activities of criminals related to drugs. To gradually overcome this, the district is gradually integrating the New Rural Development program to develop all aspects of social life. The roadmap for building new rural villages is associated with the goal of "taking socio-economic development as the center, ensuring national defense and security as the key".

When the economy develops, it will create conditions to strengthen national defense and security, and when national defense and security are firmly strengthened, it will create favorable conditions for socio-economic development. From the above awareness, the construction of new rural areas at the village level here requires parallel economic development associated with strengthening national defense and security. The district directs communes to organize patriotic emulation movements, movements for the whole people to participate in protecting national security; movements for the whole people to participate in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security. Villages have the task of effectively maintaining self-managed security models for villages and hamlets; collectives and individuals voluntarily register to participate in protecting landmarks, border lines, etc.

According to information from the Muong Lat District Party Committee, from the beginning of 2021 to now, the district has had 7 more villages meeting the new rural standards, including 4 border villages and 1 Mong ethnic village. Although the number of villages recognized as meeting the new rural standards is still low, the drastic implementation of the district's new rural construction program in recent times has contributed to improving the lives of people in border areas and better implementing social security policies. Movements to protect national security, protect territorial sovereignty, border security, and self-management of village security and order have been effectively organized and increasingly attracted the participation of many people from all walks of life. Crime and social evils have also decreased significantly, contributing to maintaining territorial sovereignty, border security, and ensuring social order and safety in the area.

Article and photos: Linh Truong

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