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)

Sink over time Go Boi, a famous harbor, a bustling fishing village more than 400 years ago. This is the place where in the novel series “Con River in the flood season”, writer Nguyen Mong Giac describes it as an important saltwater harbor, an important focal point of communication with Dang Trong – Dang Ngoai, a place to receive migrations. From the North to the South, it was the place (along with the Thi Nai estuary) of the Tay Son Dynasty that sent naval troops to conquer the South to defeat the North. A tributary of the Con River flows at the foot of Banh It tower The side of Duong Long tower. Photo: TRUNG PHUONG Late in the afternoon, standing on Go Boi bridge watching the water of the Con River billowing, feeling strangely buoyant, seeing historical lines flowing layer by layer across the bridge. Remember the folk song that your mother used to lull you: “One day, no one will leave anyone / Only embroidery should be sharpened to make needles”, the lullaby voice sounds like a sad, sad Nam song. How much water has passed from the Con River over Go Boi Bridge, over the years has buried this historic saltwater harbour. And maybe it’s not economical so people don’t need to dredge it, just let it sink over time. But the image of the gourd sailing across the country, from the Central to the North, to the South, even through Nam Vang (Cambodia)… will never fade in the memories of the people in my hometown. Going to Go Boi, one must remember poets Xuan Dieu and Han Mac Tu. Xuan Dieu was born here, used to write love poems about Go Boi and Tuy Phuoc: “Sleeping in Tuy Phuoc is to not sleep at night The crickets stay awake with me all year round Wake up the stars, wake up the branches At night, the homeland loves the scent of the land.” Xuan Dieu could not sleep because simply: “Can’t sleep because the strong wind blowing from the sea keeps reminding / When my mother was born / I breathed the fish sauce of thousands of Go Boi…”. According to Hoai Thanh – Hoai Chan in “Vietnamese poets”, poets living in Binh Dinh are often haunted by the moonlight. The moon in Binh Dinh was strangely beautiful, mysterious or strange, inspired by Che Lan Vien, Quach Tan, Han Mac Tu, Yen Lan… Even later, Van Cao went to Quy Nhon to play and discovered Quy Nhon beach. like a half moon: “Half moon/Night/Lying on the sea sand…”. Most of the talented Vietnamese poets and artists who have met in Quy Nhon, all love the mysterious moon, meditate in Binh Dinh, hanging loosely on the lonely Cham towers. Even Trinh Cong Son is still haunted by the ancient towers, “hearing the autumn leaves and the rain rustling the little heels…” (Old Diem). Watching the magical moon Han Mac Tu also lived in Go Boi, because here is still the grave of the poet Han’s mother. It is said that at that time, the mother and son of the Han poets went to Go Boi to cure leprosy for Korea but in the end failed, the mother was lying eternally in Go Boi, the child was lying down watching the fanciful Binh Dinh moon in Ghenh Rang… read documents that know Han poet has known Xuan Dieu since then, when Han Mac Tu wrote to Xuan Dieu: “I sent you my collection of poems, because reading your poems, I find my pain is greatly relieved”. The land of Go Boi also once harbored the famous poet Han Mac Tu. And his best and most painful poems were written in this land. Go to Go Boi, look back up the Banh It tower, up to Do Ban citadel, remember the poets Yen Lan, Che Lan Vien – the names that make up the famous “Ban Thanh four friends”. Yen Lan is not only famous for “Ben My Lang”, he also has many other important contributions in the process of modern Vietnamese poetry. In the memoir “Yen Lan – remember you forever” (Van Hoc Publishing House – 2001) by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan – the wife of the poet Yen Lan – has quoted Che Lan Vien’s opinion: “Yen Lan is talented, talented. special and very soon”. It is not because of friendship that Che Lan Vien appreciates Yen Lan so highly. Before 1935, when New Poetry was still a toddler, Yen Lan had unique creations: “Mourning triangle sails about her resting quietly The rhythm of delaying harmonizes to pat the island far away”. Or describe the afternoon sun of Sam Son: “Empty far away The roof is dumbfounded, poetic and touching Afternoon pigeon wings incubated all over the manor.” “Sorrow triangle”, “tempo of delaying harmony”, “poetry of stone carving”, “afternoon of pigeons” – language structures, shimmering images interwoven magically, as if Yen Lan just wrote yesterday or today. Che Lan Vien is from Quang Tri but studied and grew up in Do Ban, Quy Nhon. In 1937, Che Lan Vien published a collection of poems “Dieu Ruan” that shocked the piano. In an article, Yen Lan once mentioned this collection of poems: “In the afternoon, Che Lan Vien and I often go upstairs to the East Thanh gate of Binh Dinh to admire the scenery and discuss poetry. Cham and Cham towers should discuss and write something together. Then Che Lan Vien published the volume “Diem Ruan” and me with the collection “The Well of Chaos” consisting of 28 poems written about the Chiem nuns…”. Han Mac Tu once read this book of poetry and asked Yen Lan why it was not a “well” (abandoned well), but “chaos”? Yen Lan asserts that it is a “well of chaos” (understood in the sense of chaos…). After reading the draft of this poem, Han Mac Tu was inspired to write the song “Moon commits suicide”: “Cold wells! Cold wells Why is no one good I heard that autumn hides here… Chaos, chaos, oh well chaos I’m panicking, I’m panicking Jump into the well to pick up the moon.” The song “Moon commits suicide”, Yen Lan planned to print in his book “The Chaos Well” as a preface, but unfortunately the poetry book was lost and Yen Lan’s poetic face seemed to be defective. In the last years of her life, Yen Lan also squeezed herself to make the quartet genre more attractive and more modern. With more than 400 quartet songs, Yen Lan is evaluated: Among the few great masters of modern Vietnamese quartet poetry, Yen Lan belongs to the “godfather” category (Truc Thong). Looking back at me Also, poet Nguyen Xuan Sanh was born in Da Lat but from a young age he studied at Quy Nhon National School (old), then moved to Hanoi. At the age of 15 (younger than Che Lan Vien when he was 16 years old when he published “Dieu Ruan”), Xuan Sanh released his epic “Lost Species”, with innovative poems of the type now commonly known as “postmodernism”. modern day”, breaking the standards of traditional poetry, with strange and “fragrant” sentences: “The white wind will smell the willow-shaped season / Far away from the pale green sad blue path…”. Now go to Go Boi to enjoy the coolness of the East Sea breeze, to look back into the past. Suddenly looking upstream, remember the castles and citadels of the Cham people, of the heroic Tay Son dynasty; looking down to the sea, remembering the rowboats that were horizontal and vertical for a while; remember the ships of the Portuguese and Spanish docked at Nuoc Man sea, now there is Xuan Phuong church, Lonely Song Village… And looking back at me, my age is already “sixteen years old”… Down there, how much water of the Con River is still flowing through Go Boi Bridge… Tuy Phuoc, February 2021