On the weekend, before the sun rose over the mountain peak, more than 60 officers and soldiers from the Nhon Mai commune Military Command, Nhon Mai Border Post, Nhon Mai commune Police, militiamen, and local youths gathered at the center of Tham Tham village to continue their mission of helping residents recover from the flash floods. The forces were divided into teams, each visiting households severely affected by the floods to provide assistance.
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Local forces assist Mr. Va Ba Cha’s family in dismantling and relocating their home to a new site. |
During the flash floods a few days earlier, the sturdy wooden house of Mr. Va Ba Cha in Tham Tham village withstood the torrent, but landslides from the mountains caused the house to tilt and become buried in mud and rocks, requiring dismantlement and relocation. A laborious job needing many people, it caused great concern for the homeowner.
Therefore, when officers and soldiers came to help, Mr. Cha was deeply moved. “The night the flood struck, my family only had time to flee to save our lives. My wooden house and all our possessions were buried and severely damaged. In our most difficult time, we were very touched by the support from local forces and fellow villagers to help us quickly stabilize our lives,” Mr. Cha shared. After the flash flood, the sun blazed, and the air reeked of mud, but officers and soldiers kept encouraging each other to carry on with their work. By noon, the heat intensified, and their clothes were soaked in sweat and caked with mud.
During the recent rainy days, many officers and soldiers from the Nhon Mai Border Post remained in the field to support local people in responding to and recovering from the natural disaster. On the night of the flood, they barely slept to ensure the safety of the population. After the disaster, they continued to assist each household in dealing with the consequences. Cadet Sergeant Le Nguyen Quoc Chan, currently interning at the Nhon Mai Border Post, shared that life for people in border areas is already hard, and now the flash floods have made it even more difficult. Seeing their hardships, he and his comrades encourage one another to make every effort to help families affected by the disaster quickly return to normal life.
By dusk, Mr. Cha’s house had been completely dismantled. The timber was neatly arranged by the soldiers, ready to be reassembled at a new location. The forces began their return march to base, a journey of nearly two hours on foot due to landslides temporarily cutting off the road connecting the Nhon Mai commune center to Tham Tham village. Speaking with us, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Thuong, Political Officer of the Nhon Mai Border Post, affirmed that in the coming days, the unit would continue to deploy manpower to assist the people in recovering from the natural disaster.
Translated by Chung Anh