Windbreak 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’s gate’. He quoted an old verse: ‘The gate has an outside 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.
Windbreak Island

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)