Mong people: Putting aside symbols, moving towards peace

Together with the officers of Vang Ma Chai Border Post, we visited Giang A Dia's family. In the ancient house, imbued with the Mong ethnic identity that has faded over time, Dia slowly cleaned the gun left by his father. After shaking hands, Dia shared with us that, for the Mong ethnic group, flintlock guns are not only a survival tool but also have a profound symbolic value, passed down from generation to generation, demonstrating the authority and role of the man as the pillar of the family. In particular, in traditional ceremonies such as funerals, flintlock guns are used to announce news, bid farewell to the deceased and pray for a bountiful harvest. The gun above is what his father left him to use whenever the Giang clan or his family "go to the village".

Mr. Giang A Dia handed over the flintlock gun to the Border Guard.

According to Dia's recollection, the gun was made from a 1.2m long crowbar by his father and 6 brothers, with many stages from drilling and chiseling done meticulously and elaborately by hand, and it took 3 days to create a complete gun like this. Dia confided: It is not just a gun, but also a precious thing that my father left to me, to my family, and the Giang clan. That is why I cherish it very much. However, when the border guards propagandized and mobilized me, I understood that using homemade guns is a violation of the law. Besides, I directly saw many people using guns causing bad consequences, so I volunteered to hand in the flintlock gun. I handed it in first, made it first so that my brothers and children could follow suit and hand in homemade weapons and support tools like me.

It is known that the new Si Lo Lau commune was recently established on the basis of merging 4 communes: Vang Ma Chai, Mo Si San, Pa Vay Su and Si Lo Lau. These are highland border communes with many difficulties, small economic scale, high rate of poor and near-poor households; uneven educational level. Especially in the customs and lifestyle of people in remote, isolated and border communes, there still exists the habit of using homemade weapons to hunt animals in the forest, protect crops, defend themselves when going to the forest and to make offerings in funerals and decorate the house. From those seemingly harmless habits, it has led to violations of the law, violations of the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives (VLN), and Support Tools.

Joining hands with all levels, sectors and the entire political system in propagating and mobilizing people, especially ethnic minorities in mountainous and border communes, to strictly comply with the provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Support Tools, Vang Ma Chai Border Guard has implemented the motto of "going to every alley, knocking on every door" to check for people who still use and have homemade weapons to propagate and directly explain the dangers, tragic and harmful accidents when storing, buying, selling and using illegal weapons, explosives and support tools; the provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Support Tools. From there, mobilize people to hand over homemade weapons and support tools to the station or competent agencies.

Thanks to the exemplary leadership of Mr. Dia and the propaganda and mobilization work of the officers of Vang Ma Chai Border Post, people in Si Lo Lau commune voluntarily handed over their homemade flintlock guns.

Sharing with us, Major Pham Minh Tri - Political Commissar of Vang Ma Chai Border Guard Station said: The unit propagates with the motto "accompanying, listening", "slow and steady wins the race" so that people understand and voluntarily follow. During the process of propagating and mobilizing people to hand over weapons, explosives, and explosives, Giang A Dia - a prestigious person in Po Xa village understood and agreed to hand over 1 flintlock gun. Not only voluntarily handing over the gun, Dia also mobilized his brothers and sisters in the village to hand over 11 flintlock guns.

The actions of Mr. Dia and the people in Po Xa village (Si Lo Lau commune) have practical significance, being a “living proof” of the change in people’s awareness. This is also the result of the perseverance, closeness to the people, and adherence to the village of border guards and local authorities in the journey of building a civilized lifestyle and maintaining security and order in the Fatherland’s border.

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/xa-hoi/dong-bao-mong-gac-lai-bieu-tuong-huong-toi-binh-yen-1381737