Rooster crows in Truong Sa

The sound of rooster crowing is the image of homeland that has penetrated deeply into the heart of every person. And now in Truong Sa, I hear that familiar sound of rooster crowing echoing in my ears. I am happy to confirm that coming to Truong Sa is like returning to my hometown.

A year before arriving in Truong Sa, on the islands that were all sand and coral, I was amazed by the hanging trellises of aromatic squash, pumpkins and green squash replacing sea spinach covering the ground, and in the distance were banana trees growing rapidly... Now, coming to the islands of Truong Sa, the echoing sound of roosters crowing made us even more excited, feeling as if our homeland was right in front of us.

Truong Sa is greener every day

The 2024 journey "Youth for the sea and islands of the homeland" took us to Truong Sa and DK1 Platform. Arriving at the island, shady trees guided the group to visit, children happily played on their way to school, the sound of children reading in class, the peaceful sound of temple bells echoed in the distance; next to the lush green vegetable beds were the sounds of roosters crowing, ducks squealing, pigs grunt... a homeland of Vietnam always present in the middle of the sea and islands of Truong Sa.

Chị Nguyễn Phạm Duy Trang, Bí thư T.Ư Đoàn, Chủ tịch Hội đồng Đội T.Ư, Phó đoàn công tác, Trưởng đoàn Hành trình — Ms. Nguyen Pham Duy Trang, Secretary of the Central Youth Union, Chairman of the Central Council of Young Pioneers, Deputy of the working delegation, Head of the "Youth for the sea and islands of the homeland" Journey in 2024, visited the vegetable garden at DK1/8 Platform

Just a year ago, meeting again, I saw Truong Sa greener every day. Last year, the officers and soldiers humorously boasted that although the island was hot and dry, their skin was not dark because of the cool shade of trees covering everywhere. This year, they humorously said that despite the harsh heat, the vegetables they grew were still edible and could even be eaten in hot pot. They are like that, even though life has to face many difficulties and harsh natural conditions, they are always cheerful, humorous and full of determination. Just like no matter how dry, barren or harsh it is, the lush green color is always present in the sunny and windy Truong Sa.

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 4. — *Gourds and squashes hang in a place where they don't touch the ground all year round - DK1/8 rig*

The green color today on Song Tu Tay Island made all members of the delegation admire. But it is hard to imagine that about 2 years ago, a big storm passed by and broke over 95% of the trees on the island. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khuong, Political Commissar of Song Tu Tay Island, said that to overcome the consequences of the storm, officers and soldiers were determined and made efforts to rebuild each fallen tree, adding more poles to make the trees strong and sturdy again. In addition, they planted new trees, tried to fertilize, and increased nutrients and soil for the trees to grow well and grow as quickly as possible. "With great determination, after about 1.5 years, the trees were basically restored, creating shade, ensuring a cool and fresh living environment for the people, officers and soldiers on the island," Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khuong shared.

Tiếng gà gáy vang vọng trên Nhà giàn DK1/8 — *The sound of rooster crowing echoed on DK1/8 Platform*

Gà, vịt ở đảo Đá Tây A — *Chickens and ducks on Da Tay A Island*

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 7. — *Familiar images of homeland in Truong Sa islands*

We arrived at the island on a day at the end of April, but the officers and soldiers here said that it had never rained before Tet. With the harsh weather, the determination and will of the soldiers and people here was even higher. A soldier here said: "This season is really difficult to grow, because it has not rained for a long time. But it is difficult to grow, not impossible." I asked: "So the rainy season is probably easier to grow?", this soldier replied: "The rainy season is also difficult, because vegetables are easily crushed and damaged, plus the waves and wind bring salt water in." "So which season is the best?", I wondered, this soldier smiled and wittily said: "The season... back to shore". Although every season on the island has many difficulties like that, but for those of us who came from the mainland, we all had to admire and admire the lush green vegetables, many fruit trees that bear larger and heavier fruits than when grown on the mainland.

Mỗi ngày, những mầm xanh luôn vươn mình trên đảo — *Every day, green shoots always grow on the island.*

Ms. Dinh Thi My Thao, a resident of Song Tu Tay Island, said: "This month is too sunny, so it's a bit harder to grow vegetables, but there are still enough vegetables to eat. If you grow too much, you share it with the soldiers, and if you have extra, you can share it with the people. Here, you can grow many kinds of vegetables such as water spinach, green cabbage, white radish, squash, pumpkins of all kinds, and even fruit trees..." Then Ms. Thao boasted: "Life here is harmonious, there are many trees so it's very cool." Not only overcoming the harsh weather conditions, the officers and soldiers here also become... agronomists, doing their own research to grow plant varieties. On Song Tu Tay Island, every afternoon, a nursery team will go collect casuarina fruits to screen, separate them, and then take the seeds to the nursery. But everyone pays attention to the characteristics of each type of tree to overcome all obstacles. For example, with casuarina trees, you must pick them before 5 p.m. so that the fruits do not turn dark brown. Because according to the soldiers, if the fruit turns dark, it means the seeds will separate and fall to the ground, so when planted, it will not be effective.

Những cây dừa là tình cảm từ đất liền gửi ra các điểm đảo ở Trường Sa đã được cán bộ, chiến sĩ vun trồng và giờ đây quả ngọt đã hiện hữu — *The coconut trees are the sentiments sent from the mainland to the islands in Truong Sa. They have been cultivated by officers and soldiers and now the sweet fruits are present.*

Dưa hấu tại đảo — *Watermelon on the island*

Cây ăn quả hiên ngang trước nắng gió Trường Sa — *Fruit trees stand tall in the sun and wind of Truong Sa*

Firmly stick to the sea and islands

On floating islands, creating green spaces is difficult, and on submerged islands, it is even more challenging. Taking us on a tour of a lush vegetable garden where land and fresh water are both limited, Tran Thien Thoai (20 years old), a soldier on Da Thi island, said that water for watering plants is used from daily water (reserved rainwater). "Every time I wash dishes, I will use salt water to wash them first, then rinse them with fresh water in the final step. The last water after washing dishes is used to water plants. Or all water such as washing rice, washing vegetables, etc. is used to water plants," Thoai said, adding that although it is sunny and the amount of fresh water is limited, the sea is calm so it is better. On rough sea days, sea water rises, condenses into frost that falls and kills plants. Therefore, when the wind is strong, we have to cover more carefully.

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 18. — *A beautiful corner at Sinh Ton Dong Island*

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 19. — *Flowers in bloom*

Những con đường xanh mát rợp bóng cây — *Green tree-lined streets*

Không thiếu các loại cây trái trên đảo — *There is no shortage of fruit trees on the island.*

On the submerged island, the conditions are harsher, but gourds, squash, and luffa fruits hang; vegetables are still green; flowers still bloom boldly against the wind and waves... Captain Bui Xuan Quoc, Political Commissar of Da Thi Island, affirmed: "To stabilize the thinking of officers and soldiers here, we always try to create a living environment as close to the mainland as possible. To do this well, we create landscapes by planting lots of trees, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. We create conditions for our brothers to cultivate them themselves to inspire that no matter where they are, no matter how harsh the conditions are, the green color of the mainland still extends to the sea and islands, affirming Vietnam's strong sovereignty ."

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 24. — *Soldiers increase production every day*

On An Bang Island, the green color makes us not dare to think that this place was once called Lime Kiln Island because it was too hot. Saying goodbye to the island, everyone misses the cool, fresh green and secretly admires the efforts of the growers. On the island, people grow vegetables with their own techniques, which when told, people from the mainland like us have to "wow". As Captain Bui Xuan Quoc said, during the stormy sea season, twice a day, officers and soldiers on the island have to use fresh water to wash each leaf of the plant, ensuring that the vegetables are not contaminated with salt and the soil is not contaminated with salt. Not only that, Major Nguyen Van Nam, Deputy Political Commissar of An Bang Island, also said that every day the vegetable pots here must always be rotated to cover them, not letting the wind and sea salt affect them...

Gà gáy ở Trường Sa- Ảnh 26. — *Nurseries on the island*

A very special thing is that at all the current island locations, including DK1 Platform - where the ground is not touched all year round, besides the green trees, there is still the sound of roosters crowing every day. All the island locations now raise pigs, chickens, ducks... to maintain life no different from the mainland. Each green color that grows, each chicken and pig that is raised in extremely harsh conditions is the presence of the spirit and indomitable will of the army and people at the forefront of the wind and waves.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ga-gay-o-truong-sa-185240521180659894.htm