Returning to Ham Thuan Bac in the middle of August, the cool breezes gradually dispelled the harsh noon sun here.
Along Highway 28 in the North, I began to see green spaces in dragon fruit gardens, occasionally bright red dragon fruit appeared, adding color to a land that was previously relatively barren due to lack of water, now green covers almost the entire path leading to spacious, clean and beautiful level 4 houses... Someone said that Ham Thuan Bac is still not turning around, just starting to urge travelers from far away to come. Personally, I have lived with this steadfast land since the early days when the country was just unified because in my opinion, Ham Thuan Bac district has changed surprisingly. Besides the unique features of a peaceful and gentle countryside, there is now the urbanized color of a relatively modern new countryside with lush fruit gardens such as mango, longan, durian... which have softened the midday sun. Some specialized areas for developing garden economy and farms have grown short-term and long-term industrial crops such as rubber, coffee, cassava, cotton... which have appeared.
... I stopped at Binh Lam village, Ham Chinh commune. Here, the Ham Thuan High School for the Gifted (*) has almost no trace left, but the old image still appears in me with many memories (in 1977) with three rows of wooden classrooms and roofs thatched with coconut leaves built by the students and teachers themselves... Here, I and my colleagues from all over the country (Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Hue, Binh Thuan , Ho Chi Minh City...) shared the hardships on the truly arid Ham Chinh land, where the water source was almost gone (especially in the dry season), but in that hardship, the love between colleagues and between the "simple rural" students was warm and sweet. I still remember the content of the song I composed for the school's art troupe to participate in the "Ham Thuan District Workers, Farmers and Soldiers' Festival" at that time (in 1977) was very optimistic and full of life:
- Anyone who has come back to Ham Thuan, our hometown, has a beautiful school, has VHVL students, cheering on the victory of their homeland...
- Ham Thuan! How happy to be here, on the other side Mui Ne and on this side Ma Lam.
- Ham Thuan! How happy to be here, on the other side of Ta Cu and on this side of Ta Zon...
And then, at the end of 1978, the school was moved to the Lan San hill area (kilometer 12) near the District Hospital in An Phu village, Ham Chinh commune... Here, the close relationship between colleagues, between teachers and students became deeper and more affectionate on the sandy land. I still remember the poem: "Remembering An Phu" by Mr. Duong The Vinh - the school's literature teacher at that time:
… An Phu is where my friends and I are attached to school.
Share the hardships of morning and night together.
The afternoon rain wet the cramped room.
Lesson plan page night by night shining stars...
… Listening to the sound of the bells of Tam Hung church, I felt sad and remembered the images: Every afternoon, students working in the Trung Tram forest or on the rice fields full of grain under the scorching sun... the image of Hue teachers sitting by the window, thinking about their families on rainy afternoons in rooms that had begun to leak...
When Ham Thuan district was officially divided into two districts: Ham Thuan Bac and Ham Thuan Nam (1983), the school was officially named: Ham Thuan Bac High School. In early 1986, the school continued to move to the area near the Martyrs' Monument (in Ma Lam town).
Nowadays, Ham Thuan Bac High School is spacious and impressive, but still retains a bit of the "rustic" features of a newly established school.
Ham Thuan Bac now, farmers no longer have the situation of "depending on God for everything" with a time when there were only a few small dams with the highest irrigation capacity of about 5,000 hectares, the land was not very fertile, the fields were not enough to eat, one year was good, the other was bad. Today, Song Quao Lake (Ham Tri Commune) is considered a masterpiece of nature. With the hands and minds of humans, a majestic irrigation project has been created that has great significance for the lives of the people of Ham Thuan Bac. In addition, Song Quao Lake is also supplied with water from Dan Sach Dam, a level I branch of La Nga River, to meet the irrigation needs of over 23,000 hectares of rice and specialized areas and fruit gardens... Song Quao Lake also provides domestic water for Phan Thiet City. Not only that, Song Quao Lake has also become an ideal eco-tourism destination, besides other tourist destinations such as Da Mi Lake, Ham Thuan Lake was formed from the Ham Thuan - Da Mi hydroelectric project, creating a cluster of poetic, beautiful and lyrical landscapes in Ham Thuan Bac.
Ham Thuan Bac is always with me with memorable memories from the first days of entering the teaching profession. I hope that teachers and students of Ham Thuan Bac district will meet each other on the day celebrating the 50th anniversary of the school's founding (1976 - 2026) to review together the unforgettable days of a time...
(*) Ham Thuan Part-time High School (1976 - 1982: Ham Thuan district had not been separated).
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