'Only peace can bring happiness to all sides'

Returning from the battle to protect the northern border 45 years ago at Po Hen (Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh), old soldier Hoang Nhu Ly is even more aware of the value of peace . He said, "Only peace can bring happiness to all sides."

Leaving behind all the worries and hustle and bustle of the last days of December 2023, we went to the border of Mong Cai City (Quang Ninh) to meet Mr. Hoang Nhu Ly (72 years old), a soldier who participated in the battle to protect the northern border 45 years ago at Po Hen Border Post (Mong Cai City), on the morning of February 17, 1979. Receiving us in a small house on Tran Nhan Tong Street, Hai Xuan Commune (Mong Cai City), he said that in the spring of 1972, he followed the call of the Party and enlisted in the People's Armed Police Force. After nearly 4 months of training new recruits at D19 under the People's Armed Police Command, stationed in Hai Phong , Mr. Ly and his teammates were transferred to Border Post 209 Po Hen (Hai Son Commune, Mong Cai City) on September 18, 1972. "At that time, Po Hen station was located close to the border river. It was called a station but it was just a house divided into many rooms, built with bricks and covered with black tiles, with wooden doors made of pieces of wood. The People's Armed Police Force was established when this station began to exist," Mr. Ly recalled. The old soldier continued, at that time, Po Hen station did not have electricity, and at night, people only used oil lamps.

Mr. Ly and his teammates rested for a day, then were assigned to an armed squad, with the main task of patrolling and protecting the border markers. The Paris Agreement was signed in 1973, the US stopped bombing the North, Mr. Ly was sent to study at the border reconnaissance non-commissioned officer course. Ba Mo Valley in Luong Son (Hoa Binh) is a regular training ground for Mr. Ly and his teammates. He recalled that on the opening day, his teacher once said: "This training school is considered a gold furnace, refining gold into gold, brass into brass. Any comrade who passes the threshold of this training school will become the core seed for the future force, and any comrade who does not train and cultivate regularly will be eliminated." Finally, after 22 months, Mr. Ly passed and successfully completed the training course. After that, he returned to Border Guard Station 209 Po Hen to work and became a scout with a very young age and military age. In the battle to protect the border, Mr. Ly was lucky to survive and return with 18% injuries. He later changed his career to become a forestry worker, ending his military career.

After his military career, Mr. Ly returned to Mong Cai City to live and work, which has been more than 40 years. He said that his wife - Mrs. Do Thi Thom (70 years old) was a midwife who worked at Po Hen branch during the period of 1976-1978 - a medical facility for soldiers and civilians in Po Hen and Than Phun areas (Hai Son commune, Mong Cai City today). At the end of 1978, Po Hen branch was ordered to withdraw to the rear in Trang Vinh commune to serve the soldiers and civilians there. A while later, this midwife was transferred to work at Mong Cai Hospital center. "We got married at the end of 1979 and had two children, a boy and a girl. Our children are now adults, all of whom are civil servants," Mr. Ly said. Recalling the difficult period after leaving the army, Mr. Ly said that he and his wife did many jobs to make a living. At one point, his family took over the forestry farm's rice shop to run a business, but life was still difficult. Ms. Do Thi Thom shared that during this period, the couple worked very hard. She worked for the government and worked with her husband on agricultural work such as rice planting, vegetable growing, aquaculture, etc. Despite the difficulties and hardships, Ms. Thom always stood by her husband to overcome the hardships together. According to Mr. Ly, the soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the war to protect the northern border in the past returned to their hometowns, each in a different place, all of them working on their own to overcome the difficulties of life, in order to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty for their families.

Mr. Ly said that Vietnam and China have closed the past to move towards a better future together, that is why, over time, the border between Vietnam and China has always been maintained at peace and the two countries have continuously strengthened and upgraded their relationship. Since the normalization in 1991, the relationship between Vietnam and China has developed rapidly, comprehensively and extensively in many fields including politics , diplomacy, economics, culture, science, national defense and security, etc. It is also thanks to the achievements of maintaining a peaceful relationship between the two countries that the lives of local people on both sides have been improved. Mr. Ly remembers that from 1991 to 1997, he used to trade with Chinese partners to import tractors to sell to the people. It was also during this period of trade that Mr. Ly's family life changed. He had money to renovate his house and take care of his children's education. "Only by experiencing war can one understand the value of peace. Only peace can bring a prosperous and happy life to the people on both sides. Only peace can develop all aspects of economy and society," said Mr. Ly. He continued that in previous years, Hai Xuan commune, the area where Mr. Ly lived, was very complicated in terms of drug trafficking. Knowing that he had a police career and was a soldier who had fought and died in the Po Hen battlefield in the past, Hai Xuan commune police encouraged him to join as a part-time commune police officer.

After thinking for a night, Mr. Ly finally accepted to become a part-time commune police officer and he has been doing this job for 17 years now. With Mr. Ly's support, the security situation in the area has been ensured, and the drug use and trafficking in the area where he lives has decreased significantly. The prestige of a soldier and his expertise have made the "big shots" in the area also respect and bow to him every time they meet him. "A few years ago, the drug problem in this area was very complicated. In the morning, the subjects gathered to buy and sell drugs at the time when people went to the market and children went to school, so many people were very afraid. I, along with the commune police, managed the addicts, and gradually disbanded this drug "market", Mr. Ly said. In addition, Mr. Ly also discovered early and successfully mobilized and mediated complicated gatherings of land-related complaints among the people, preventing them from becoming hot spots and lasting. Mr. Ly participates in social work and is always fully supported by his wife Do Thi Thom. She said, "He has police and soldier skills, so bad guys are a bit wary. Now that his children are grown up, he is even more confident in his social work activities. The villagers really like him." In recognition of these achievements, in November 2023, Mr. Ly was honored to be the only individual in the part-time police force of Quang Ninh Provincial Police to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Public Security .

Not only participating in the work of a police officer, Mr. Ly also participated as Chairman of the Elderly Association of Hai Xuan Commune. He also actively contributed and participated in local movements. Talking to Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Pham Thanh Huyen, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Xuan Commune commented: "Mr. Ly is an exemplary veteran, his family is very exemplary. We are very fortunate to have an exemplary citizen like Mr. Ly. He is very active in participating in local activities and movements". Also according to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Xuan Commune, during the Covid-19 period, Mr. Ly was very active with the commune government in participating in propaganda and epidemic prevention work. He is an old man but is very active in "going to every alley, knocking on every door" to mobilize and propagate people in the area to participate in the fight against the epidemic. In his role as Chairman of the Elderly Association of Hai Xuan Commune, Mr. Ly is very active and interested in the work of preventing the Covid-19 epidemic for the elderly in the area. "Mr. Ly owns a KIA Morning car and he personally drives members of the Elderly Association of the commune to get Covid-19 vaccinations for the elderly in the area. Mr. Ly is a shining example, creating a great spirit for us young cadres to learn from and follow," Mr. Huyen shared. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Hai Xuan commune added that many people still think that the elderly who participate in the Elderly Association rarely go to work, but Mr. Ly regularly comes to work every day like a civil servant of the commune who is still working age. He works very dedicatedly and responsibly with his work, so many people love him and learn from him.

Mong Cai City is located in the economic belt of the Gulf of Tonkin, an important connection point in the "Two corridors, one belt" cooperation between Vietnam and China. There is currently one international border gate with two areas: Bac Luan Bridge I and Bac Luan Bridge II. In which, Bac Luan Bridge II area connects directly with the Mong Cai - Van Don - Ha Long - Hai Phong - Hanoi expressway. This is an important road corridor connecting the northern provinces of Vietnam with China, creating a driving force to promote the development of regional linkages. Currently, Mong Cai border gate has been equipped with modern and complete equipment. Border gate branches synchronously deploy the promotion of information technology in the implementation of electronic declaration procedures, bringing about efficiency in saving human resources, improving monitoring capacity, and reducing costs for businesses. In addition, this locality also researches and pilots the implementation of the digital border gate model at Bac Luan Bridge II. From March 2023, the Mong Cai - Dongxing international border gate pair, China (Bac Luan II bridge area) will become a road border gate authorized to carry out import and export procedures for food from Vietnam and ASEAN countries to Guangxi (China). In addition, from December 6, 2023, Dongxing road border gate (Bac Luan II bridge area) will be authorized to carry out import procedures for 3 more agricultural products, thereby increasing the import and export turnover in Mong Cai city.

The above-mentioned achievements of Mong Cai have helped Po Hen change and develop in all aspects. In recent years, Hai Son commune has always received the attention of the Party and the State, especially Quang Ninh province and Mong Cai city, which have invested in spacious and synchronous infrastructure. Since then, the appearance of the new countryside has improved a lot, people's income has increased, reaching over 65 million VND/person/year, by the end of 2023, the commune has no more poor households. In particular, Hai Son commune has been invested by the Central Government and Quang Ninh province, upgrading and completing National Highway 18C and put into use in 2023. This route has facilitated people to travel and trade goods with other regions. 100% of the village roads and alleys of the commune are concreted, spacious and clean. In association with the Po Hen National Historical Site, Mong Cai City and Hai Son Commune annually organize major local events such as: Border Sim Flower Festival, Hai Son Commune Ethnic Culture - Sports and Tourism Festival, Po Hen Market, attracting a large number of tourists from all over the country to the festival and creating stable jobs for the people.

Design: Thuy Tien

Content: Nguyen Duong

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/chi-co-hoa-binh-moi-dem-lai-hanh-phuc-cho-cac-ben-20240215192810030.htm