Two homelands, one roof

After the Geneva Agreement in 1954, the country was temporarily divided into two regions. The North was completely liberated, while the South fell into the hands of American imperialism. The US set up the puppet government of Ngo Dinh Diem, sabotaged the agreement, divided the country, and turned the South into a new type of colony and military base in Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands of cadres, soldiers and youths from the South gathered in the North, including many children of Quang Tri hometown, who were assigned to study and work in Quang Binh - a province with a strategic position, both the front line of the socialist North and the solid rear for the battlefield in the South.

The association of Nai Cuu village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district, who used to live in Uan Nam village, Lien Thuy commune, organized a meeting in 2021 - Photo: XH

Although their new life in a foreign land was not without its difficulties, their love for their country, their revolutionary spirit, and especially the care and sharing of the people of Quang Binh helped them quickly integrate and become deeply attached to this land. Many of them became husband and wife with Quang Binh girls. These relationships were not only private but also a symbol of the strong bond between two homelands that were once separated by war but were connected by human love.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, living in Quang Tri town, confided that in 1954, her father gathered in the North and was assigned to work in Quang Binh. More than 10 years later, her father married a woman in Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province and gave birth to 5 children. With the help of the government and people of Dai village, Hoa Trach commune, her family soon stabilized their lives. The children were able to study properly, and most of them later worked in state agencies.

Sharing the same story, journalist Nguyen Duc Dieu, former official of the Journalists Association of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, shared that, implementing the Geneva Agreement, in August 1954, along with many people from Nai Cuu village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district, his family was allowed by the revolutionary government of Quang Tri province to gather in the North. From Ba Long war zone, after more than 10 days of trekking through forests and streams, 8 family members walked together to Lien Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province. Everyone's feet were blistered and bleeding.

Seeing the prosperous landscape of Le Thuy, the crowded villages, the green trees, lying along the banks of the gentle and cool Kien Giang River, the three men decided to ask the local government to temporarily reside in Uan Ao village, Lien Thuy commune to do business and live, waiting for two years after the general election, the country was peaceful and unified, then brought the family back to their hometown. No one expected that after more than twenty years in the North, the dream of returning to the birthplace of the family members would come true.

The beloved Uan Ao village has become a second homeland filled with happy and sad memories that will never fade in the minds of Mr. Dieu's family members. Leaving with nothing, the first days of living in a foreign land encountered many difficulties and shortages, but in return, his family received warm affection. The government and people here wholeheartedly helped the people from the South to regroup. The local people were willing to share food and clothes, let the people from Quang Tri stay, and even shared their fields and cows to increase production.

Determined to stay in the North for a long time, Mr. Dieu's family and the people of Nai Cuu village gathered to ask the local government to let them move to the border area between Uan Ao and My Trach village, My Thuy commune (Quang Binh) to reclaim land, build houses and stabilize their lives. At first, the new village had only 6 houses, then it became more and more crowded with 24 households and more than 120 people.

In 1958, in the movement to build agricultural cooperatives in the North, following the wishes of the people, the local government decided to allow families from the South to gather and settle in Uan Ao village to establish an agricultural cooperative, named Uan Nam Agricultural Cooperative. The cooperative was granted 20 hectares of land, a few buffaloes and cows and some farming tools by the government.

On the opening day of the cooperative, everyone was as happy as a festival, “drums were beaten, flags were raised”, pigs were slaughtered for a celebration party. After nearly 18 years of existence, Uan Nam Agricultural Cooperative has become a common home, providing full meals and warm clothes for the people of Nai Cuu village.

Although small in scale, every year the cooperative has exceeded its obligations to the state, contributing a lot of rice to help the North support the army and people in the South to fight the enemy. In addition to its main occupation of farming, Uan Nam Agricultural Cooperative also built a duck incubator, providing duck breeds for the people of Lien Thuy commune and some neighboring areas to develop livestock farming.

For over 21 years living in Quang Binh, the members of the Uan Nam Cooperative have left a beautiful mark on their spirit of work, solidarity and will to rise up. They enthusiastically work, produce, build a strong cooperative, and participate in thousands of working days of irrigation, building dikes against floods, building roads, and filling bomb craters. The children of the families are cared for, raised and educated properly.

Many young people in Uan Nam village have graduated from high school and continue their studies to serve the cause of building their homeland and country. Many of them have grown up to become principals, general directors of large enterprises, leaders of press agencies, the Provincial Labor Federation, etc. After the complete liberation of the South, most of the families in Nai Cuu village who settled in Uan Ao returned to their hometowns, but their new homeland, Uan Ao and the Uan Nam Agricultural Cooperative, will always be in their memories.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former General Director of SGS Rubber Investment Joint Stock Company, said that after the Geneva Agreement in 1954, his father - Mr. Nguyen Chiu gathered in the North and settled in Uan Ao village, Lien Thuy commune, Le Thuy district. Here, he met Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ta and got married. In 1956, Mr. Hoa was born.

During that period, his family faced many difficulties but was taken care of and loved by the neighbors. Like many children here, he was able to go to school and get a good education. In 1977, his father brought the whole family back to his hometown in Nai Cuu village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district. Later, people who used to live in Uan Ao village established a fellow countrymen association to maintain their feelings, bond, and help each other like family.

Mr. Duong Tien Dung, Hoa Trach commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province shared that he had traveled to many places in the province and heard many touching stories about Quang Tri youth who gathered and stayed in Quang Binh. They left a deep impression of the spirit of overcoming difficulties and sacrificing for the homeland during wartime.

Mr. Dung’s family also has many relatives, including his aunt, uncle and siblings, who used to live in Quang Binh. Although they returned to Quang Tri after the war, they still visit every year, nurturing the strong bond between the two homelands and two warm, intact families as before.

Nguyen Vinh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/hai-que-huong-mot-mai-nha-194366.htm