"Living Documents" of Con Dao

Driven by a desire to do something for those who fell, for nearly twenty years, he has "assigned himself" a special, quiet task: searching for documents, evidence, names, and biographies of martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Con Dao prison. Diligently and passionately pursuing new information, he finds warmth in connecting with the families of the martyrs. Many respectfully call him the "living archive" of Con Dao. He is Bui Van Toan, a former political prisoner of Con Dao, a doctor of history, and a Hero of Labor during the đổi mới (renovation) period.

Former prisoners return to visit Con Dao prison.

I've known him for almost ten years now, and whenever we meet, I often hear him complain: "I don't know how much longer I can work, I'm getting old..." Yet, every now and then, I see him proudly displaying a new book, organizing a program about Con Dao, not to mention traveling all over the country to meet old comrades and relatives... Because Con Dao has become a part of his "blood and flesh."

Every time he recalls those painful yet heroic memories, the former prisoner of Con Dao is overwhelmed with emotion. In the harsh conditions of imprisonment, lacking everything, his group, besides editing and presenting the wall newspaper, had the crucial task of compiling a list of all prisoners in the camp so that they could fight for their release when the opportunity arose. Mr. Toan reminisced: “A fellow prisoner would read out their name, alias, and hometown to me the night before, only to be tortured and beaten to death the next day. Sometimes, after writing something down, we had to chew and swallow the paper to avoid detection by the enemy…” From those rare scraps of paper meticulously filled with information about fellow prisoners, the awareness of preserving that information began.

The Con Dao Former Prisoners' Association mobilized several agencies, organizations, and businesses to provide funding for printing. At that time, volunteer vehicles, laden with heartfelt support, transported books to provinces and cities throughout the country.

After liberation, Mr. Toan and other former prisoners returned to Con Dao dozens of times to gather information about the lives, struggles, and heroic sacrifices of their former comrades. Feeling indebted to the people and the land, he requested early retirement to dedicate his time entirely to his heartfelt aspiration. "The Fierce Battles of Con Dao" is the first achievement of his years of passionate research. The vivid historical accounts of Con Dao were researched, analyzed, and connected into compelling evidence, which Mr. Bui Van Toan subsequently recreated in more than 10 books: "Con Dao - 6,694 Days and Nights," "Con Dao Paintings," "Con Dao Prisoners' Newspapers," "Con Dao - An Unyielding Epic," "The Legend of Con Dao," etc. At the age of 60, Mr. Toan began diligently teaching himself to type on a computer and draft documents. After much trial and error, he finally mastered the software to process the massive stacks of documents and data he had collected and researched. Exactly five years ago, the book "Con Dao Prison - List of Martyrs and Fallen Soldiers from 1930 to 1975" was released to the public, compiling information on 3,277 death row prisoners and martyrs in Con Dao, organized by name, year of birth, hometown, date of death, burial status, prisoner number in Con Dao, sentence, and sentence details... Not allowing himself to rest on his journey back to the past, and still having the strength to read, travel, and repay his "debt" to his fellow prisoners, he collected and compiled a second book in three volumes titled: "Con Dao Prisoners 1940-1945," with over 3,200 pages, providing information on 6,342 prisoners, with the search function organized by province and city nationwide...

This is the result of more than ten years of quiet, persistent copying from a massive amount of documents, death certificates, and records stored in archives at the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Archives and Con Dao District Archives, from countless living witnesses, and with the enthusiastic help of former comrades. His constant encouragement and support came from Tư Cẩn, whose real name is Trịnh Văn Lâu, a former Central Committee member of the Party, former Party Secretary of Lưu Chí Hiếu, and Secretary of the Provisional Island Committee leading the uprising to liberate Con Dao. He is now nearly 90 years old. “The determination to complete the next book dedicated to Con Dao probably helped my father overcome three strokes that almost killed him,” he honestly said.

The Con Dao Former Prisoners' Association mobilized several agencies, organizations, and businesses to support the printing costs. At that time, volunteer trucks, laden with heartfelt contributions, transported books to provinces and cities across the country. Since the publication of these "projects," many families have learned the date of death, and even the burial place, of their loved ones. Thousands of people have had grounds to be posthumously awarded the title of martyr by the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, recognized as veteran revolutionaries, or receive benefits under policies caring for meritorious individuals in various localities. His small house on Hoang Van Thu Street in Ho Chi Minh City occasionally welcomes special guests, relatives of Con Dao martyrs. "Wives cry their eyes out when they find even a little information about their husbands. Children proudly return to their father's grave at Hang Duong Cemetery... That warms my heart and motivates me to continue," he expressed. Thanks to his efforts and those of many other former prisoners, more than 10 people have been awarded and posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, such as Cao Van Ngoc, Luu Chi Hieu, etc., overcoming countless obstacles from human indifference and the complexities of paperwork over many years.

Mr. Bui Van Toan and his colleagues at the Con Dao Museum.

Through works imbued with emotion, dedication, and hard work, despite his advanced age, he continued his studies and successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in history. In 2011, he was awarded the title of Hero of Labor by the State – a title given to former prisoners in gratitude to generations of Con Dao prisoners. Now at 75, the old soldier still reflects: “I only regret that my time is running out and my strength is limited. There are still so many unknown martyrs, so many families who still have to observe July 27th as a common memorial day for their loved ones, so many comrades who have not been honored as they deserve…”

At the end of July, the third joint memorial service for the martyrs of Con Dao is about to be held. As a member of the organizing committee, he has been busy for months preparing to ensure that former prisoners and their relatives have a moving and meaningful reunion. Because, as he shared, for most of the former prisoners, who are nearing the end of their lives, each meeting could be the last. The meaningful gift that Mr. Bui Van Toan is giving to his comrades this time is boxes of newly reprinted and supplemented books: Newspapers of prisoners at Camp 6B Con Dao, List of former political prisoners detained to protect their integrity at Camp 6B, Three of the largest hunger strikes in the history of Con Dao prison...

The annual memorial service for martyrs who died in Con Dao, held on the 20th day of the 6th lunar month, has been taking place for the past three years. At the 2014 ceremony, attended by nearly 700 people, former prisoners will donate over 300 million VND and a national flag signed by former prisoners to the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.

Text and photos: TRÀ MY and THÚY HÀ

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tu-lieu-song-cua-con-dao-post208790.html