People who silently keep the Central Office of the Southern Region clean and beautiful

The "Tams" in the forest

When the sound of the jungle fowl crowed, the staff in charge of cleaning the Southern Central Office Base began to wake up and prepare for their work. After finishing their personal hygiene, they took the lawn mower out to the yard, filled it with gasoline, and filled the engine with oil. Each lawn mower had a large fan attached to it, used to blow away the leaves instead of using a coconut broom in the traditional way.

Mr. Huynh Minh Duc, Head of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam Relics Group, picks up household waste left behind by tourists.

Those in charge of cleaning up remote areas brought along a motorbike, put a flashlight on their head, shouldered a lawn mower and moved towards the relic sites. A few people tasked with cleaning up around the headquarters started the lawn mower, using the wind from the fan to blow away the leaves on the grounds of the headquarters, on the internal roads, paths in the forest, and reconstructed structures such as the hall, the guard house, the Hoang Cam kitchen, the residences and offices of many historical leaders, the memorial stele house, the Cay Cho stream amusement park, etc.

Household waste that tourists accidentally leave behind such as mineral water bottles, tissues, and foam boxes is picked up by the sanitation workers, put into the trash cans, and awaited disposal. After completing the cleaning, these men start watering the ornamental plants and grass planted in the grounds of the relics. Occasionally, they trim the branches of the ornamental plants that are hanging over the path, ensuring that they are clean and neat before visitors arrive.

Mr. Doan Van Nam, one of three people in charge of cleaning the National Liberation Front Base of South Vietnam, said that his house is in Tan Lap commune, Tan Bien district. He used to earn a living by drilling wells and working as a freelancer. In recent years, he was contracted by the Management Board of the Southern Revolutionary Historical Sites to work as a cleaner there.

According to the agency's regulations, work starts at 7am, but he and his colleagues proactively blow leaves early in the morning to avoid the sun and to avoid noise and dust, affecting the tourists' sightseeing. In the afternoon, when there are few visitors, during the rainy season, he and his colleagues start the work of dealing with weeds and clearing fallen branches in the area under his responsibility. During the hot season, he spends the afternoon patrolling, protecting and preventing forest fires.

According to Mr. Nam, the work is not hard but it is also somewhat dangerous. Because he works under the canopy of the old forest, it is common for a tree branch to suddenly fall down next to him. Once, the lawn mower broke its cord and bounced up, hitting his arm. Another time, the lawn mower fan fell off, but luckily it did not hit him. "Maybe because the people here protected us, no one was hurt," Mr. Nam said happily. In addition to having a stable income, he also feels proud because he has contributed to keeping the Central Office of Southern Vietnam Base clean and beautiful in his hometown.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Hien, residing in Thanh Binh Commune, Tan Bien District, has been working here since March 2016. Currently, he and another colleague are in charge of cleaning and taking care of ornamental plants at 7 historical sites of other departments and agencies in the Southern Central Office Base. In addition to the common work like many other colleagues, on days when there are delegations of Central leaders, provincial leaders or agencies, departments and agencies coming to visit, burn incense at the sites, memorial stele houses, and plant souvenir trees, he and other colleagues must be on duty before, during and after the activities take place.

From early morning, Mr. Doan Van Nam started to blow away the leaves in the forest at the National Liberation Front Base of South Vietnam.

Before the delegation arrived, he pumped water to clean the relic, used a lawn mower to blow away all the leaves once more, ensuring that when the delegation arrived, all the grounds, paths, and stele houses were clean. At the same time, he and the relevant people prepared the sound, incense, flowers, fruit, seedlings, and watering. After the delegation left the relic, these staff members worked together to clean up the belongings and regularly watered the newly planted memorial trees to keep them fresh.

“It’s a bit sad to have just the two of us working alone every day. But every time visitors come and don’t criticize this place, we feel happy,” Mr. Hien confided.

Contribute to keeping clean and beautiful

Mr. Tran Van Thanh, resident of Tan Khai hamlet (Tan Lap commune, Tan Bien district), in addition to blowing leaves and picking up household waste, also cleans tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets in the restoration works at the Southern Central Bureau Base. This man shared: "In the dry season, cleaning here is easier, wherever the blower goes, the forest leaves are blown away. In the rainy season, the fallen leaves get wet and stick to the ground, so the blower cannot blow them all away, so after using the blower, we use a broom to sweep to ensure cleanliness."

During the recent holidays, thousands of people from all over the province and outside the province came to visit the Southern Central Bureau Base, including many young people, students and pupils. Being able to return to the source, review the revolutionary tradition, and understand more deeply the struggle for national liberation, Phan Tuan Vy, class 12A4, Nguyen Chi Thanh High School, Hoa Thanh town, could not hide his surprise when he saw that the revolutionary historical site in the middle of the jungle was always cleaned: "This is the first time I have visited the Southern Central Bureau Base. I find the landscape here very beautiful. Although there are many leaves falling every day, they are all cleaned by the ladies and gentlemen."

Mr. Pham An Chien - Deputy Director of the Management Board of the Southern Revolutionary Historical Sites said that currently, in the Central Bureau Base, there are 7 employees in charge of cleaning. Their work is during office hours, but during the working process, if there are visitors, they have to temporarily stop cleaning, so as not to affect the sightseeing and enjoyment of tourists. "Thanks to the employees actively cleaning and taking care of ornamental plants, they have contributed to keeping the environment of this special national historical site clean and beautiful."

Staff actively take care of flowers and ornamental plants at historical sites.

During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the Southern Central Bureau Base was the place where the brains of the Southern revolution were concentrated, where revolutionary activities were directed and led, and many important strategies were decided. This was where many important meetings took place, where strategic decisions on military, politics , and diplomacy were made. The special national historical relic of the Southern Central Bureau Base is the pride of the Party Committee, Government, and People of Tay Ninh province. Over the past time, the locality has always made efforts to preserve, restore, and promote the value of the relic to show gratitude for the great contributions of generations of revolutionary soldiers who lived and fought here.

Thanks to attention and focus on hygiene, for decades, the "resistance capital" of the South has always been clean and pristine, satisfying tourists every time they come to visit and learn about the heroic history of the nation.

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Source: https://baotayninh.vn/nhung-nguoi-am-tham-giu-gin-sach-dep-can-cu-trung-uong-cuc-mien-nam-a189855.html