They have revived the dead land

Today, the green Forest Sac – Can Gio has covered all traces of the war, making it difficult for visitors to imagine this is a land once destroyed by bombs.
Passing Binh Khanh ferry, the road to the center of Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City, runs spaciously between the immense fish sauce, mangrove, tiger, parrot, coconuts … with hundreds of years of age of Rung Sac. This is the “green lung” of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southern Key Economic Region.

Reputation of the hero From the pier in Tam Thon Hiep commune, Can Gio district, we followed a canoe to the headquarters of Division 1 – a forest protection unit belonging to the Can Gio Mangrove Management Board (MB). In the midst of the immense water waves, talent Nguyen Hoang Phi, an employee of Can Gio Mangrove Management Board, skillfully allowed a canoe to turn the waves of Long Tau River towards the Dua River, soaring. The wind winds all four sides, taking a full breath, it feels like all the freshness, freshness of the sea, the green forest is going deep into the chest. Belonging to the next generation, he has never held a gun to fight in fierce war days, but when it comes to Rung Sac, Phi can never stop talking. Just right on the Long Tau river, he proudly: “This is a” graveyard “buried hundreds of enemy warships, including many military transport ships with a tonnage of tens of thousands of tons. Come is the river that contributes to the honor of the heroic Rung Sac “. The Standing Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang planted a souvenir tree at Rung Sac Square on April 27, on the occasion of the People’s Committee of the city announcing the Prime Minister’s decision to recognize Can Gio district meeting the new rural standard. 2020 Photo: HOANG Trieu In order to decipher this strategic position, in order to block the enemy’s military supply path, protect our supply forces, on April 15, 1966, the Regional Command decided to establish the Special Forest Military Zone. Sac (later renamed to Group 10 Special Forces of Rung Sac). Since then, Rung Sac is within the range of enemy destruction. Can Gio Mangrove Management Board is managing and protecting 34,713.64 ha of forest and forestry land, of which forest area accounts for 32,446.44 ha; allotted forest protection to 133 households and 11 units. Anh Phi said that in the early years of the resistance war against the US, the forest was dense with trees. But from 1964 onwards, more than 4 million liters of chemicals, 2 million tons of bombs and ammunition of the enemy fell down to devastate, making Rung Sac almost bare. The special mission combatants Rung Sac fell into poverty in the middle of the wild. However, thanks to the “natural la geotung” map with a series of canals, forest trees form favorable walls for guerrilla tactics, shielding our troops from the eyes of the enemy, along with our products. Heaven bestowed and the warfare inherent in the people, Rung Sac base was still not wavering. Residents of the forest After half an hour of floating, the canoe took us to Division 1 headquarters. It was a grade 4 house built on a triangular islet in Tam Thôn Hiệp commune overlooking the Dua River, surrounded by marshland. drown. This is the workplace and living place of 4 officers, employees, managers of 14 households and 28 employees of the subdivision. Mr. Tran Van Ho, Head of Division 1, picked us up and took us around the headquarters. What caught our eyes was the simple leaf kitchen, full of black pots and pans. Mr. Ho pointed to a wood stove hidden in the corner, and said that in the first wave, this wind was very rare. To save money, people only use firewood for cooking. In Can Gio forest, green vegetables are also precious because the soil here is almost completely acidic. If you want to grow vegetables, you need to invest in soil, manure and fresh water from the shore. However, the most precious is still fresh water. Only the rainwater tanks located around the Division 1 headquarters, Mr. Ho explained: “The water here is 120,000 VND / block, but sometimes there are boats changing. Therefore, the subdivision is equipped with these tanks to catch the water. rain water used. Many households around, when the water runs out, often stop by and ask, whoever wants to scoop as much as possible “. Telephone waves in Rung Sac are “luxury”. Where the waves can be caught, the forest guard leaves the phone “catchy” like this. Photo: TUYET TRINH Seeing that on a number of pillars in the kitchen where there are many horizontal plastic bottles, we asked curiously, Mr. Ho replied: “This is the phone holder to … catch the signal”. It turns out, not only lack of necessities, but also the telephone signal here is a “luxury”. Where you can catch the phone signal, you tie up bottles like this to mark it. Lack of and many things, Mr. Ho has been sticking to the forest for more than 20 years. “So attached, now I no longer think about going ashore looking for another job. Getting acquainted with the muddy smell, the taste of salty water here and I can not leave,” – he said, his eyes dazed. up steadiness, steadfastness. Mr. Ho took us to visit the people of the second generation who are continuing their parents to protect and preserve Sac Forest. The first place we visited was the family of Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phien – brother of Phi, the leader of Division 1 Self-Management Group. Session said that his father, Mr. Nguyen Van No, was one of the 10 first forest keepers in Rung Sac. In 2012, Phien succeeded his father, “partly due to a difficult family and unable to go to school; a part has attached blood and flesh to each tree, the wave of when my brothers were in a hurry to practice speaking” . The session emphasized that the most important job of contracted households here is forest patrol. Mr. Phien’s family is managing 109 hectares, on average, each month, he patrols 20-30 times regardless of day and night, including traveling alone and with self-management team. Patrols must be done regularly to promptly detect if forest loggers or wildlife have appeared. Leaving Mr. Phien’s house, we went to the forest post of Mr. Tran Minh Tung’s family. Canoes run in the middle of the immense Sac Forest, Mr. Ho shows us how to distinguish fish, mangrove, tiger, parrot … covered like “roofs”. In more than 32,447 hectares of forest today, there are over 60 species of plants, each having its own role in the “war” with the sea. He said: “In it, mangroves play the role of reinforcing the battlefield, because with the intricate roots, the tall and wide foliage, it can retain what is most necessary that water has brought to the earth”. Launching our eyes around, we were very pleased with the blue landscape. It is hard to imagine this is a land that once suffered from enemy bombs and chemical toxins decades ago. The green color of the forest has covered all traces of the war, making it difficult for visitors to imagine this is a land once destroyed by bombs. Talking about the revival of this dead land, it must be mentioned the efforts of tens of thousands of people from all over the districts of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City, the core of the youth volunteer force has poured in here to plant trees and rejuvenate. forest creation. Among those people was Mrs. Dinh Thi Hong, the mother of Mr. Tran Minh Tung. Like the Phi – Phien brothers, Tung also had a childhood associated with Rung Sac – Can Gio. When he was a child, he went with his mother to plant forests. Growing up, thanks to planting forests, he met his wife today. Later, he and his wife stayed in Can Gio, replacing their mother to keep the forest. In the afternoon, the canoe took us back to the pier. The sudden beating in the deep water made us startled because we remembered the stories about the water in the past where many crocodiles were hiding and stalking this person. In the forest there are many dangers, poor living conditions. However, the residents that we have met or known through the story have never intended to leave the forest to live on shore. Many people stick to their parents’ career, others – like Tung and his wife – are unable to leave a peaceful life thanks to being surrounded by mother nature here. “We stick wherever we go, we can do everything together. That is happy enough” – Mr. Tung expressed. In the distance, looking at the identical mangrove forests that have opened up the direction of ecotourism development for Can Gio, we again silently thank the residents of Rung Sac who have been sticking to this day. The most fear is deforestation At night, driving a motorboat to patrol and guard the forest, there are all kinds of dangers waiting for unarmed people like Nguyen Hoang Phien if they accidentally face a logger or a wild beast. We asked Phien if he was afraid, he laughed: “The most fearful thing is the loss of the forest”. “In the past, following my father to the forest, I have many times encountered loggers and” lash out “on the river. Later, due to good propaganda and awareness raising for the people, there is no longer a phenomenon. cutting trees, deforestation “- Mr. Phien said.