PHUONG MAI, THANH TAM MY Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 14:48 + | Print A corner of Green Island. One of the “Four friends” (Friends of Do Ban) – Quach Tan, in his book Non Nuoc Binh Dinh, called Cu Lao Xanh “a windscreen for Quy Nhon gate”. He quoted an old verse: “The gate has an outer stone / The drivers run outside to call Lao Xanh island”. “From Gia Long onwards, this island belongs to Phu Yen. It was not until the Minh Mang dynasty that it was converted into Binh Dinh” (Non Nuoc Binh Dinh). Switching back and forth, so Nhon Chau (the name of Cu Lao Xanh since the country’s reunification) is also very sad. Part 1: Journey to wait for electricity In the summer of 2014, on a boat from Ham Tu wharf to Nhon Chau, I saw a few young men dragging a few box speakers, accompanied by DVD players and tapes to sell to the islanders. Traders are often sensitive to the market. In the invitation through the box speaker, just turning half the volume on the whole island, the young man said: “There will be a power grid project coming here, people buy ready-made equipment and listen to music, when the electricity comes on When you buy it, the price will increase, there are no more preferential prices.” The next day, we met again at the wharf, saw that the stack of discs in the salesman’s hand was 2/3 empty, and the disc players were sold. Before the day there is electricity From Quy Nhon City, walking on the beach, you don’t need to be very sharp to see the blurry Green Isle. But it’s an isolated island. Nhon Chau, although it is an island at the gateway to the East Sea, on an international maritime route close to Quy Nhon international seaport, for many years still has two Nos: no electricity, no island commune status. In 2014, we arrived in Nhon Chau on a wooden boat that departed at 1pm – a single trip per day. The return train will depart from the island at 6am. After three hours of stumbling due to seasickness, after a few strong men tried to pull the rope and tie, the owner of the boat named Lam finally signaled that we had to get ashore by getting off the boat and walking for a while. knee. Mrs. Lam pointed to a concrete wharf not far away: “You can’t go in that direction this season, flip the boat.” Electricity is not because of the guys selling tapes and tapes but returning to the island early. In 2014, Nhon Chau still uses diesel generators, but only for two hours in the evening. Therefore, Nhon Chau people eat early, taking advantage of the time when there is electricity, to avoid being blind when gathering. The meal at the house of Mr. Phong, the Chief of the Office of the Commune People’s Committee, has a typical fish sauce dish. His mother hesitated because of the meager meal, explaining that the market here only had one session at 9 am. She said she planned to buy beef to invite guests, but at noon when we arrived, she went to the market, the market was already closed, only a few fish left. For dinner, families often eat early, so as to turn off the electricity in time. At 7 pm, following Mr. Phong to the famous fishermen on the island, we all talked through dimly charged lights, sat outside in the yard, fanning our hands and listening to the echoes of the waves. The only hobby is fanning and drinking. A few years later, the time to run generators on the island is more rapid, every day the island has 12 hours of electricity. At 23 o’clock at night is the time to turn off the electricity until 9 am the next morning. Meals are also less rushed. But in the evening, the tape players of the fast salesmen every day work. In 2010, Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee made a dossier to submit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to build an underground cable line across the sea to Nhon Chau. But at the 6th session of the 13th National Assembly in 2013, delegate Nguyen Thanh Thuy (Delegation of the National Assembly of Binh Dinh) still had to ask the question: “Why has the Ministry of Industry and Trade not yet added an underground cable line to Nhon Chau island commune into the master plan? electricity development in Binh Dinh province by 2020”. In 2015, the Prime Minister issued a decision to recognize Nhon Chau as an island commune. Because it is an island commune, Mr. Phan Van Binh, Chairman of the People’s Committee of the new commune, was excited that Nhon Chau would propose to the city to set up an investment project to build a boat lock, pull underground cables from the mainland to the island. In October 2017, the Prime Minister issued a decision approving the investment policy of the Program “Supporting energy development policies and increasing access to sustainable energy in rural, mountainous and coastal areas”. island” using non-refundable ODA funded by the EU. Including the project of pulling electricity from the national grid to Nhon Chau island commune, with a total investment of 350 billion VND. Then, the power project on Cu Lao Xanh changed from the investor, the People’s Committee of Binh Dinh province to the Central Power Corporation. Every year, the meetings from the central to the local, see voices from voters to Nhon Chau delegates asking about electricity. It was not until October 2020 that the national grid reached Cu Lao Xanh. An island commune but not an island commune Until 2014, Cu Lao Xanh was still a commune directly under Quy Nhon city, enjoying an attractive regime for staff on the staff of communes, health, education as well as armed forces in the area. under Decree 116/2010/ND-CP of the Prime Minister – under a regulation for coastal transversal flats. In addition to the main salary, these people are entitled to an attraction allowance equal to 70% of their monthly salary. By 2016, according to Decision No. 131/QD-TTg, Nhon Chau – now an island commune – was no longer located in the coastal and island areas, and this allowance was no longer available. No need to ask for electricity, now ask for allowance policy. Many years after coming to the island commune, Nhon Chau has not yet received any support from the island commune. Although the regulations on supporting island communes are there, but “The issue that Binh Dinh voters raised is that Nhon Chau island commune has not yet received the support regime of island communes, the ministry has not mentioned”, Chief The People’s Volunteer Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai once commented in a meeting with voters in Binh Dinh in 2019. The story continues until 2021, but the main reason, according to the Chief of the Office of the Commune People’s Committee, is because Nhon Chau met the standards in 2017. New countryside. Anyway, Nhon Chau having electricity was counted as a life changer. We returned to Nhon Chau right on the moon holiday of the seafarers, eight years after the first visit to the island, we found that every house was shopping for a karaoke rig. Mr. Quy, who set up a parking lot at the foot of Nhon Chau lighthouse, excitedly invited guests to attend a family karaoke session when the clock just changed to 5 pm. He told us: “Please join the fun.” Mr. Quy is famous for his passion and understanding of the best huts on Cu Lao Xanh. His voice is sweet, so he sings bolero too. But the whole island, easily until midnight, every corner has the sound of loudspeakers singing like that. It’s like to make up for all the years of heaving and counting the hours of switching on and off. It’s really a fun that every citizen is still full of emotions. Mrs. Ly, a woman who used to work for six years away from the island as a hired worker, came back as soon as she heard that the island had electricity, because: “There is a newly built hotel, now there is electricity to welcome tourists, so I came here to have a job, again. near the house”. (There’s more)

Cu Lao Thu is another name for Phu Quy, an island district in Binh Thuan province, about 120 km southeast of Phan Thiet city. It is said that the reason why it is called Thu island is because this is a fishing ground with many mackerel. According to the website of Phu Quy district’s urban center, in the 4th year of Thieu Tri (1844), Ha total was renamed to Phu Quy town. Cu Lao Xanh is about 24 km southeast of Quy Nhon city center, which is Nhon Chau island commune in this locality. Coming to the Green Isle, visitors can enjoy the unspoiled and peaceful nature of the island, explore the ancient lighthouse, the sovereign flagpole, the Small beach… Hon Co, Thao Phu, Con Tiger, Hon Me are other names of Con Co, now the island district of Quang Tri province. According to the website of Con Co district, the island has a special position, lying across the 17th parallel, is the southern gateway to the Gulf of Tonkin, has important military significance… Ly Son island district of Quang Ngai was formerly known as Re islet. According to Quang Ngai Geography, because this island has many ré trees, a wild plant species, the folk from there call it the name. From Sa Ky port (Binh Son district), visitors can take a speedboat to Ly Son island, explore interesting destinations here such as To Vo gate, Hang pagoda, Thoi Loi mountain, Be island… Monkey Island belongs to Cat Ba archipelago, about 2 km from the center of Cat Ba town (Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city). This place is called Cat Dua Island, because according to the documents, there are many wild pineapple trees growing on the island. Coming to the island, visitors can check-in with the monkeys here, swim, kayak, watch Lan Ha Bay… Cham island is Tan Hiep island commune, in Hoi An city, located about 15 km from Cua Dai coast. According to the commune website, the Cham island cluster includes Hon Lao which is a large island, and 7 scattered small islands: Hon Ong, Hon Tai, Hon Dai, Hon Mo / Hon Mo, Hon La, Hon Kho Me, Hon Kho Con . It has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve. Administratively, Hon Son is Lai Son commune, Kien Hai district, Kien Giang province, about 60 km from Rach Gia city. This place is also known as Hon Rai or Hon Son Rai. There are a number of different explanations for these names such as because there are many otters on the island, or because there are many otters on the island…

The life of fishermen on Nhon Chau island is increasingly improved. Photo: NGOC OAI Because of difficult life, young men and women left the island to the mainland to make a living, leaving only the elderly, children and women on the island. Because of that, for a long time, Nhon Chau is also known as “old people’s island” or “old people’s island”… Memory Arriving on the island, Mr. Nguyen Duc Battle, Secretary of the Party Committee of Nhon Chau island commune, said that Nhon Chau island not only has the memories of people but also the memories of the purest Vietnamese villages. Indeed, according to culturalist Dinh Ba Hoa (who used to work at Binh Dinh Museum), based on geological and cultural documents left behind, Nhon Chau island has an ancient Vietnamese sea village hundreds of years old. In addition, from the 15th century, the Cham people moved to the island to live, the traces of their residence left on the island are quite clear… In the memory of Mr. Nguyen Van Lem (61 years old), in the past, Nhon Chau was almost isolated in the middle of the sea, living in a situation of scurrying oil lamps. “There are two wells on the island, but the underground circuit produces no water to drink. The most memorable thing is that every night of the drought season, the villagers have to catch every drop of water every night. Terrible suffering. In the past, the villagers of Nhon Chau, even in the middle of the sea, still went to the back of the mountain to grow cassava and upland rice to get food and survive in the midst of harsh winds. Hunger in the middle of the sea for more than a century, but the villagers still cling to the sea and refuse to leave the island…”, Mr. Lem said. It was not until after the liberation day that the people of Nhon Chau officially had their title when they became an island in Quy Nhon city. From here, the inhabitants of the island began to find new livelihoods. They left the mountains to go to the sea to catch and grow seafood. With crabs and fish, islanders sail to the mainland to sell and exchange for food and necessary necessities. However, life still changes day by day. The desire to change fate urges young people to leave the island and go to the mainland, forming a new series of “migratory” days on this island. “In the summer, young people go all the way to the mainland, to the farms or to the companies in the city to apply for a job… Thanks to that, the young generation’s life changes, they inherit more conditions than they do. me the other day,” continued Mr. Lem. Hunger To reach Nhon Chau, we boarded a wooden ship with about 300 horsepower from Quy Nhon port to overcome the waves. The sound of the engine ship was crispy, gliding slowly and steadily through each wave of the rough sea. Sitting by the window of the ship, the clear eyes of Ha Phuong, a native of Nhon Chau island, a student of Quy Nhon University, watched the blue waves of the sea. Phuong said: “I am pursuing my dream of becoming an elementary school teacher at Quy Nhon University”. According to Ha Phuong, the education of children on Nhon Chau island is very difficult. “We only attended high school on the island. Those from high school and above must go to the mainland to study. There are very few children out here going to high school.” Ha Phuong’s father is a fisherman, and his mother works as a porter in the summer to carry construction materials on the island, and in the harsh winter on the island, she almost sits at home. As for Mr. Tran Dinh Van (West village, Nhon Chau island), 35 years old, when he was 15 years old, he started to leave the island to find luck in Ho Chi Minh City, with the desire to escape poverty. However, during nearly 10 years of traveling in foreign lands and his career still did not progress, his heart urged him to return. The opportunity also comes when community-based tourism takes the throne, the islands become a “gold mine” for the tourism industry. So Van decided to return to the island, calling on like-minded friends to embark on tourism. “Initially, the island was in short supply, electricity was intermittent, so tourism was like sea foam. With guests, we take canoes to the island and then use motorbikes to do backpacking tours, sightseeing, setting up tents to light a fire, vegetarian singing along the coast. More and more changing, my group expands and does more methodical tourism than before…”, said Van. With the same aspirations as Van, Nguyen Duc Toan’s journey (26 years old, Dong village) was smoother. Thanks to his experience, his family has economic potential, Toan established a travel company, named Cu Lao Xanh Travel. Toan’s business has been doing well for many years, creating stable jobs for dozens of people and relatives on the island. Revival Cu Lao Xanh meets the criteria of green – clean – beautiful and is an island that has not been affected by the “whirlwind” of tourism and urbanization, so everything is almost intact. The island has many attractive tourist attractions such as: a lighthouse built in 1890, a national flagpole on Thanh Nien island, a freshwater reservoir, Thao Nguyen rock, Yen cape, 3 beaches along with many temples and pagodas. caves, shrines, mausoleums, stone caves, ancient stone fields of the Champa people… Thanks to that, in recent years, people on the island have started to develop community-based tourism. Currently on the island there are 9 quite professional community-based tourism models. In particular, many households are willing to invest billions to build homestay-style tourism infrastructure, green accommodation, cheap … Asked about the economic business of the people on the island, Mr. Ho Nhat Le, Chairman of Nhon Chau Island Commune People’s Committee, was excited: Despite difficult conditions, the people on the island are always curious and creative. Many new production models have been researched or applied effectively by people themselves. In which, the model of raising squid and lobster from the wild has been evaluated successfully, bringing very high economic efficiency to farmers. According to Mr. Le, recently, the “revolution” in electricity has begun to activate, launching many strengths such as community tourism and aquaculture of the people on the island. “The shortages and difficulties of the people on the island are gradually being solved by the State, so basically the life and business on the island changes quite quickly. Trade between the mainland and the people of Nhon Chau has been connected,” Le said. When preparing to board the boat to leave the island, Mr. Le pulled my hand and whispered: When young people accept to leave the mainland and return to the island, it is a good sign for Nhon Chau. Then, the “old island” will wake up and revive as the name Cu Lao Xanh that the first class of Vietnamese residents gave it. In addition to the reconstruction of Nhon Chau island, the authorities of Quy Nhon city and Binh Dinh province are always interested in the areas of health and education for the island. Currently, Nhon Chau has 8 doctors, 23 teachers (mainly teachers born on the island) who are permanently attached to take care of the health and education of the people and children on the island. Nhon Chau began to have good signs…