Y Luyen - a giant tree in the middle of the forest

When he was the leader of Dak Lak province until his retirement, Mr. Y Luyen was always loved by his people for his simple and friendly style. He was also a prestigious person in the ethnic minority community in Dak Lak, considered a "big tree" in mass mobilization work.

In the middle of the rainy season, the Central Highlands has some rare sunny days. We went to Kram village, Ea Tieu commune, Cu Kuin district (Dak Lak), to visit the house of Mr. Y Luyen Nie Kdam, 81 years old, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, former Chairman of the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee from 1999 to 2005.

Mr. Y Luyen's house is right next to the road, opposite the Ea Tieu commune headquarters, behind the spacious row of houses is a lush garden. Passing through the gate, we saw him carrying a hoe from the garden, looking healthy. "I go to visit the garden, every morning I have to walk around a few times to see the trees, clear the grass, and dig some soil to strengthen my limbs", Mr. Y Luyen squinted and smiled, starting the conversation.

"I just finished harvesting the corn crop, the 1 hectare corn field is about 3 kilometers from my house. Making coffee now requires good health and a lot of investment, so my family only grows corn and other crops that are within our capacity, and we still have a good income," Mr. Y Luyen proudly boasted, like a real farmer.

Mr. Y Luyen with noble medals and awards awarded by the Party and State in recognition of his contributions to the cause of protecting and building the Fatherland.

When we wondered, "You used to be the highest leader of the province, why didn't you buy land and build a house in the city, but chose to live in the village?", Mr. Y Luyen smiled gently: "When I was a cadre, my wife was a farmer, raising 5 children to go to school, so life was difficult. Before, I was used to living peacefully in this village, after retirement, I became more attached to the people, not liking the noise of the city."

Mr. Y Luyen was born in Krong Jing commune (M'drak district, Dak Lak province). At the age of 19, he joined the resistance army, retreating into the forest to fight against sweeps during the day and going out at night to mobilize people to join the revolution. His feet had traveled through most of the Ede and M'Nong villages in H9 and H10, now in Krong Bong and Lak districts...

"That time was very difficult. During the day, my comrades and I fought against enemy raids. At night, we went into the village and encouraged people to help the revolution and not let foreign invaders rule. We were Vietnamese people, together we fought off the enemy and built a free, prosperous and happy life. People listened to us, some contributed labor and money to join the revolution," Mr. Y Luyen recalled.

After 1975, when the country was unified, Mr. Y Luyen was no longer in the army but continued to participate in the mass work team against the reactionary Fulro forces. At that time, he was mainly active in the Ko Tam hamlet area (Buon Ma Thuot), then the Ea Tieu area. "From 1979 to 1982, Fulro was active in this area, Kram hamlet had quite a lot of Fulro followers, as did Luk hamlet and Ea Tieu hamlet around here. Wherever there was a lot of Fulro and instability, I was there," he recalled.

Mr. Y Luyen said that in the village, he and the mass work team organized meetings, mobilized and propagated many times. When the villagers became enlightened, they called on their children (who had previously followed Fulro) to return. At that time, the State had a lenient policy towards those who returned, providing rice to eat and hoes and shovels to work on the fields, so many people who had gone astray returned without any fear.

"Old farmer" Y Luyen still works in production, contributing to building life in the village.

"I travel a lot, understand a lot, speak accurately, and correctly so people listen. I have persuaded Fulro to return so many times, I can't remember them all. When I was in Buon Ho, Mr. Y Per and I persuaded two people with "positions" in Fulro to return. In this area, at first, people who followed Fulro returned sporadically, then sometimes they returned collectively, even whole battalions," Mr. Y Luyen excitedly recounted.

Also in the process of building the grassroots force, Mr. Y Luyen chose Kram village as the place to settle down and make a living for his family. "In the past, the villages in this area had Fulro troops stationed, attracting many people to follow them to sabotage the lives of the people. I chose Kram village as a place to stop to build the village with the people, at the same time having the conditions to operate, to mobilize those who have gone astray to return and build a new life. I live honestly, and speaking the truth, I am not afraid of anything," Mr. Y Luyen said confidently.

Regarding mass mobilization work, Mr. Y Luyen said that this is a special task that must be carried out regularly and continuously by the entire political system. Because at any time, the anti-government elements also put forth deceitful arguments to incite and entice ethnic compatriots to follow them, dividing the great national unity bloc.

Mr. Y Luyen gave an example of the years 2001 and 2004, when the people in Dak Lak were deceived by reactionary elements and gathered in large numbers to protest. "In 2001, right after the Dak Lak Provincial Party Congress ended, I was elected Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Before I could introduce myself to the congress with the Provincial Party Committee Executive Committee, I had to leave the hall to meet the people who had gathered at the Buon Ma Thuot intersection, urging them to return home. I both directed the forces to carry out mass mobilization work and directly met with the people, calmly analyzed and advised the people not to listen to the instigation of reactionary forces," the former Provincial Party Secretary recalled.

Mr. Y Luyen said that he had to maintain a gentle and flexible attitude towards the people; even at crossroads, he arranged forces to support the people with food and water. Through the propaganda and reasonable explanations of the provincial leaders as well as the functional forces, the people gradually understood the problem, gave up harassment, returned to their peaceful villages, and worked and produced...

Mr. Y Luyen and his partner of more than 50 years have lived together in Kram village.

According to Mr. Y Luyen, in any circumstance, we must pay special attention to building a team at the grassroots level, grasping the thoughts and aspirations of the people. However, it is not only about building sources of information, but also about specific activities and actions, "saying what you can do" to support and care for the material and spiritual lives of the people in the villages. That is the foundation for maintaining political stability, security and order right from the residential areas.

"Now people are busy making a living, getting rich, no one is looking for trouble. The lives of villagers have also changed. Many households have big houses, many families have bought motorbikes and cars, life is much more comfortable than before. But there are still remote and difficult villages that need more attention and support," said Mr. Y Luyen.

Recalling the terrorist attack on the headquarters of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur communes (Cu Kuin district) in June 2023, which killed many police officers and soldiers and three civilians, Mr. Y Luyen's voice dropped. He said that the actions of the terrorists had exposed their barbaric criminal nature. "From this incident, more than ever, our people must demonstrate the spirit of great national unity, must be alert to not listen to incitement, incitement, and oppose all plots, tricks, and distorted arguments of hostile forces," he advised.

Mr. Y Luyen believes that ideological education and building a strong position of the people's hearts are the highest measures in mass mobilization work. In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to ideological education for the young generation, because this is the age group that is developing and easily shaken in psychology and ideology.

"Educating the people about political ideology and enlightening the people is the most important and central task and also the highest measure of vigilance. No matter what the time, we must be extremely vigilant and always pay attention to the work of educating the people about political ideology," Mr. Y Luyen emphasized.

According to Mr. Y Luyen, in addition to focusing on the above issues, each party member and leader must also set an example in life, must demonstrate the pioneering role and responsibility, and be a role model of a leader in activities to show the people that when they speak, the people believe and listen...

The precious buffalo skin drum has been preserved by Mr. Y Luyen for many years.

After nearly 20 years of leaving his leadership position in Dak Lak province, Mr. Y Luyen returned to his village, living simply like a real farmer of the mountains and forests. At the age of over 80, thanks to his attachment to farming work, he still maintains his health, although he is thinner than before. He said that he regularly attends local Party activities, and although he is no longer in a leadership position, he always has constructive opinions to contribute to the activities of the village and hamlet Party cells.

Mr. Y Luyen exchanged experiences in mass mobilization work with Ms. H'Kim Hoa Byă, Head of the Mass Mobilization Committee of Dak Lak Provincial Party Committee.

Mr. Y Luyen's family has more than 1 hectare of garden land and a large fish pond right in the middle of Kram village. He said that the pond was dug by his family a long time ago and never dries up, even in the dry season. He not only raises fish in this pond but also helps provide irrigation water for dozens of hectares of coffee and fruit trees of the villagers in the village. In addition to lush coffee and durian, his garden is also covered with dozens of ancient fig and cassia trees like a small forest. He said that thanks to the lush green garden, the pond always has an underground stream flowing all year round...

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/y-luyen-cay-dai-thu-giua-dai-ngan-185230912104554909.htm