Today's miners always uphold the spirit and tradition of their predecessors.

As a cadre who grew up as a miner, Mr. Hoang Tuan Duong, former Head of the Propaganda Department of the Quang Ninh Coal Party Committee, devoted much effort to collecting documents and writing books about his second hometown, the Mining Region, and about the miners who were his colleagues. On the occasion of the 88th anniversary of the Mining Region Workers' Tradition Day - the Coal Industry Tradition on November 12 (1936-2024), a reporter from the Quang Ninh Provincial Media Center interviewed him about the miners' cultural traditions.

- Sir, about the event that happened 88 years ago, I understand that you have published the memoir "Searching for witnesses in 1936"?

+ Nearly 30 years ago, I started searching for witnesses to the 1936 strike. I eventually gathered 47 of them. I can’t remember how many times I searched and how many kilometers I traveled. I also took motorbike taxis, climbed mountains, and waded through streams. I even searched the places where the ancestors had been evacuated.

It was by chance that I met Mr. Pham Ngoc Hoa, who was the Chairman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, and he suggested that we should record the memories of those who participated in the 1936 event. After that, I started looking for them and found them: Ngo Huu Tinh, Nguyen Dinh Luong, Pham Van Khang, Nguyen Van Ty, Pham Thi Moc, Le Van Dan, Nguyen Van Ban, Ha Quang Y, Pham Van Thinh, Nguyen Van Xuan, Pham Thi That. Notably, Mr. Xuan and Mr. That were a married couple. They were flesh and blood witnesses who were present in this heroic coal region.

- Thinking back to the class of people participating in the general strike in 1936, what are your feelings?

+ I remember an old man with a very good memory drew a simulation of the events that happened in the Mining Area in 1936 and he also told me to tell them so that your generation and the generation after you will not forget this event. It was all the blood and bones of the miners. Until now, they have all returned to their ancestors. Remembering them, I still feel a stinging sensation in my nose. I would like to light a stick of incense on their graves. Following their example, today's generation of miners will never forget what they fought and sacrificed to regain. And today's generation of miners is trying to continue the work that their ancestors did not have time to do. From the bottom of my heart, I hope their souls rest in peace and be liberated in eternity.

The tradition of discipline and unity is still preserved and promoted by generations of miners.

- Is it because of the need to tell the next generation that you devoted your efforts to writing the 2-volume History of Vietnamese Coal Workers?

+ It is true that it is from the old lady's message. It is also from the indomitable tradition of Quang Ninh, the cradle of the Vietnamese workers' movement. I have the advantage of 20 years as a propaganda officer in the Coal industry, collecting documents, optimizing the collected events, and filtering them to write about the ever-growing development of the mining workers' movement. And above all, I am a person who loves mining, loves coal. I grew up as a worker at Lo Tri mine, now Thong Nhat Coal Company. After many different positions, I still asked to stay with the Coal industry. I was transferred to do other jobs 3 times, but all 3 times I asked to stay with the Coal industry. That opportunity allowed me to stick with the Coal industry from my youth until retirement. I cherished a book about mining workers from a very early age. That idea had been budding from the first days of working in the mine until much later.

- What messages do you want to convey to readers through the books you have written?

+ Throughout my working life, I have come into contact with many documents and have been fortunate to meet many historical witnesses. They are part of the history of the Mining Region, contributing to the heroic pages of history but also the pages soaked in the blood and tears of the miners before the August Revolution. Then there were the years of steadfast fighting, efforts to build and master science and technology, and strong development in the following years. The miners have always held high the flag of discipline and unity since the strike in 1936. I write books with my personal passion and with the intention of dedicating a small part of my efforts to the Coal industry. Hopefully, my books will provide some useful information for the study of the history and culture of miners.

- Sir, compared to your time at Lo Tri mine, how has the coal industry developed now?

+ When we took over, coal mining was mainly manual. The coal output was only 3-4 million tons. Workers went to work wearing whatever clothes they had, it was freezing cold, the coal furnace was covered with sticky skin, and bathing only had cold water. The food supply was only 2 pots of rice and drinking water, rice was shared, each person took their own food... Gradually, the furnace, factory, port, roads were improved and expanded, modern coal mining equipment was invested in...

Compared to the past, miners now are much happier, much better in many ways. Modern equipment and machinery. Workers get hot showers, air-conditioned cars, and a la carte meals. Monthly salaries reach over 10 million VND. There are bonuses during Tet, cars to take them home, and cars to take them out after Tet. Sightseeing tours are available every year. Miners today cannot be compared to the past, many things are much better, very happy and exciting. It is true that I used to work in mines, but sometimes I was a bit surprised by the remarkable growth and development of the industry I used to work in.

Mao Khe Mechanical Factory, where mine workers forged weapons for the insurgents of the Dong Trieu War Zone. Photo courtesy of Quang Ninh Museum.

- The miners not only got rich but also beautified the place where they lived. How do you feel about this story?

+ I realized that environmental issues in our time were not taken seriously as they are now. Nowadays, tens of thousands of miners are always fully aware of environmental protection because they live and work every day facing the heat, dust, noise, air pollution and dirty water. In fact, many of these are caused by humans and have existed for many years, so miners realize that they have a responsibility to reduce pollution and protect the environment.

In fact, in the coal industry today, every technical and economic argument is required to have an environmental impact assessment. In general, miners are trying to make the environment in the coal mines where they live better and cleaner, making their homeland Quang Ninh more beautiful and prosperous.

- Thank you for the interview!

Mr. Hoang Tuan Duong, born in 1941, member of the Quang Ninh Literature and Arts Association, member of the Quang Ninh Historical Science Association, was a miner of Thong Nhat Coal Company, Secretary of the Youth Union, Head of the Emulation Committee of the Hon Gai Coal Union, Head of the Propaganda Committee of the Quang Ninh Coal Party Committee. He has made many contributions to the coal industry in both the fields of propaganda and literary composition. He has published a number of books such as: White Strawberry Flower, Black Hien, Time Mark, First Love, Two People Standing in the Middle of the Sky, Orchid Branches by the Hammock, Collection of Stories and Poems, Looking for Witnesses in the Year 36, History of the Vietnam Coal Industry (2 volumes)...

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