Happiness from the "land of fire"

After graduating from university in 1973, the boy from Quang Binh and the girl from Nghe An were mobilized to the "fire land" of Quang Tri to "sow knowledge and cultivate people". From hardships and difficulties, the two young teachers have tied their lives together to build a happy home, "ferrying" many generations of students to grow up. That is the beautiful, humane story of teacher Dinh Duy Thiep and teacher Nguyen Thi Dao, in Dong Le commune (formerly Dong Van sub-district, Dong Le town, Tuyen Hoa).

Every time they miss their students and Quang Tri , Mr. Dinh Duy Thiep and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao take out their souvenir photos with generations of students to look at.

A difficult time

Following the call of the revolutionary government of Quang Tri province, the Central Government mobilized a team of teachers from all over the country to support the Quang Tri Education sector to overcome the consequences of war and take care of the cause of educating people. Responding to that call, in 1973, the young man Dinh Duy Thiep (Yen Hoa commune, old Minh Hoa) and the beautiful girl Nguyen Thi Dao (Thanh Chuong, Nghe An) who had just graduated from Vinh University (Mr. Thiep studied Biology pedagogy, Mrs. Dao studied Mathematics pedagogy) were mobilized by the Ministry of Education to teach in the "fire land" of Quang Tri. They were excellent students of the school, with good ethics and strong political will.

Mr. Thiep was assigned to teach at Vinh Linh A High School (now Vinh Linh High School). The school is located in Ho Xa, with 38 classrooms, 100 teachers and over 1,000 students. Vinh Linh at that time was difficult and lacking in every way when people and students did not have enough food and clothes. Mr. Thiep said: “At that time, the main task of a young teacher like me was to teach, coordinate with parents and students to cut bamboo, wood and leaves to build schools. In my free time, I went to the students' and people's houses to help with production. Life was difficult and hard, but we still loved our jobs and were attached to this land.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dao taught at Vinh Linh B High School (now Cua Tung High School). That was also a poor area, which had been "plowed by bombs and bullets" during the war. The students here were mainly farmers' children, and life was extremely difficult and deprived. Ms. Dao recalled: "The teacher's salary at that time was only 51 dong with 13.5 kg of rice/month. To overcome the difficulties, we had to grow sweet potatoes and cassava for vegetables and tubers. On rainy and flood days, students who lived far away stayed at school, so teachers had to cook rice for them to eat. When I saw their torn clothes, I had to patch them up. Some students did not have enough clothes to wear to class, so I had to cut down my salary to buy clothes for them"...

Despite the hardships and difficulties, the teacher-student relationship in the "fire land" of Quang Tri remained close. Grains of rice, cassava, and sweet potatoes were always ready to share, warming the human bond. What made the teachers happiest at that time was that all the students were well-behaved and rarely dropped out of school. Later, many of Mr. Thiep and Mrs. Dao's students became successful, becoming leading officials of the country. Some were successful in the police, army or business... "Later, we returned to Quang Binh (old) to work, but many generations of Quang Tri (old) students came to visit or invited us back to the old school to meet. Every time like that, teachers and students would talk about old stories all night and all day long"...

According to statistics, from 1961 to 1974, nearly 3,000 teachers from the North crossed the Truong Son mountain range to support the South, both teaching and participating in the resistance war against the US. Among them, Quang Binh was one of the provinces with the largest number of teachers participating in the support. The luggage of the "ferrymen" was only a few sets of clothes, a mat, a blanket, a pen, a notebook... But with love for the profession and enthusiasm of youth, teachers devoted their youth to the "fire land" of Quang Tri, helping generations of poor students grow up here...

Happy

Although they studied at the same university and were promoted at the same time, Mr. Thiep and Mrs. Dao did not know each other. In 1974, a teacher who taught at the same school and shared a room with Mrs. Dao got married to a colleague. After the wedding, this teacher decided to transfer to Vinh Linh A High School. To create favorable conditions for the couple, Mrs. Dao applied to transfer schools on their behalf and was accepted.

Teachers who used to teach in Quang Tri province at a meeting with former students.

On the day of returning to the new school, the beautiful young teacher, from Nghe An, was still confused when a male colleague, from Quang Binh, came out to welcome her and carry her luggage in. At that time, Mr. Thiep and Mrs. Dao were both agile, active, and intelligent, so they were elected as officers of the school's Youth Union. During their professional and Youth Union activities, the two young teachers had a lot of sympathy and fell in love without knowing it.

After 2 years of love, although colleagues helped and supported, both families objected. Ms. Dao said: “When we fell in love, both families objected because of the geographical distance, our house was short of people so our parents wanted their children to live nearby. Besides, life was too difficult at that time, without family by our side, our parents were afraid we could not overcome it. To prove that our decision was right, we worked hard, produced, supported each other in life, then gradually overcame difficulties to get married.”

The young couple's wedding was held right at the school in the "new life" style. Mr. Thiep recalled: "At that time, the school's Board of Directors mobilized all teachers to dismantle the partitions of the two classrooms, arranged tables and chairs to create a wedding hall. When guests arrived, the wedding gifts were only pens, notebooks, and towels. Some students also came to join in the fun with gifts from the countryside, such as: dried fish, sweet potatoes, cassava... We also invited guests with some plates of candy, tea, and cigarettes. It was so simple, but my wife and I felt extremely warm and happy."

Also in 1976, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue provinces merged into Binh Tri Thien province, the young couple moved back to their hometown to work at Tuyen Hoa High School. Mr. Thiep was later promoted to Principal, working at a number of high schools in Tuyen Hoa and Minh Hoa districts (old). Now they are old, their children have grown up and become successful, but every time they recall the years of working in the "fire land" of Quang Tri, they still feel moved and nostalgic.

Spring King

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/hanh-phuc-tu-dat-lua-195507.htm