More than 60 springs have passed since the light of the Party came to the Ha Nhi people. In the sky, the bright red national flag still flies as proof of the sacred sovereignty and the eternal existence of the Party in the hearts of the people in the border area.

Revolutionary Dawn Where the Sun Sets Last

At nearly seventy years old, old Po Dan Xinh's eyes were filled with memories. With only a few days to go until the 80th anniversary of National Day, the village elder is reliving the difficult yet brilliant years of the revolution. The days when the Ha Nhi people from a dark and miserable life gradually rose up under the guiding light of the Party and Ate Ho (Uncle Ho), becoming one of the leading communities on the border in building new rural areas, firmly protecting every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland.

Going back in history, nearly 70 years ago, Sin Thau commune (then part of Muong Te district, old Lai Chau province) was a "remote and isolated" land. The Ha Nhi people's life was miserable all year round, illiterate, exhausted by opium and superstitious beliefs. In 1954, our army liberated Muong Te district, in 1959 Leng Su Sin Armed Police Station (now Leng Su Sin Border Guard Station) was established. In 1959, armed police sergeant Tran Van Tho walked more than 400km from Lai Chau town to Sin Thau, he brought the light of revolution to this land. He encouraged people to quit opium, learn to read and write, grow rice, and suppress bandits. "Cadre Tho" enlightened and nurtured the most outstanding young men of the Ha Nhi people, including the young man Po Po Chu - who later became one of the first party members, the "torch" that lit up the communist ideal in the mountainous border region of the far West.

One morning in May 1961, by the gurgling Pang Poi stream at the border junction, the first Party cell - Trung Thau Party cell was established with 5 party members, with comrade Tran Van Tho as secretary. In a simple wooden house in the middle of the forest, the Party flag fluttered to welcome the sunlight at the end of the Northwest of the Fatherland, lighting up the revolutionary flame that never went out. In the fall of that year, Lieutenant Tran Van Tho died of jungle fever at the age of 26 (in 1967, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, the first martyr of the Border Guard). Tho died, but the revolutionary seeds he sowed took deep root in the soil of the border. Comrade Po Po Chu continued the revolutionary cause, becoming Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Sin Thau commune, a person who made great contributions to building a revolutionary government and fostering communist ideals for his own family. He had 11 children, 7 of whom were party members.

A corner of Ta Ko Khu village today.

During a field trip to Sin Thau at the end of 1964, writer Tran Huu Tong recounted: “Po Po Chu sat looking out at the Pang Poi river that never stopped flowing. Now he understood more clearly what a Party member was like. He understood why cadre Tho, who lived so far away in Kinh village, dared to climb many mountain slopes and wade through many streams to get here. Passing Ta Tong slope, the cadre was not afraid of tigers, passing Pa Tan waterfall, he was not afraid of pythons, passing Phu Phang area, he was not afraid of elephants. The cadres’ hearts were harder than sen wood, the cadres went to Ha Nhi village to suffer with the people, doing good things for the people. Po Po Chu also understood why Kinh, Thai, Xa people,... who lived so far away, had previously carried rice, salt, cloth... to help the Ha Nhi people. Then the people of our country were far away from each other, did not know each other, but were still united in fighting the French, the bandits, the Americans... All those good things were due to the Party, due to A Te. Ho taught. Party members must take the lead, must do those things first, must be good.

One family, many generations, one ideal

Comrade Po Po Chu passed away in 1988 after more than 25 years of participating in keeping the revolutionary flame shining the way for the Ha Nhi community in the land of the Vietnam - Laos - China border. He had 7 children who were Party members and continued to maintain their revolutionary faith, wholeheartedly dedicating themselves to the Party and the people. From the first Party member, the Po family now has 4 generations of Party members, more than 50 people in the Party's ranks, of which nearly 30 are cadres working in the armed forces.

His eldest son, Po Xi Tai, later replaced his father, and for many years was a party member and leader of the Ha Nhi people in the far west of the country. In 1968, our army and the Pathet Lao army launched a campaign to suppress bandits along the entire northern Lao border and the Sin Thau border junction. During that campaign, Sin Thau commune provided nearly 2/3 of the rice for combat... The commune police department at that time had 25 people, Po Xi Tai was the head of the department. Their bandit suppression feat was recognized by the Party and the State when in 1973 the Sin Thau commune police department was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, the first in the entire Northwest region. During his 16 years as a police officer of Muong Te district (old) on secondment as Secretary of the Sin Thau commune Party Committee, Po Xi Tai was truly a pillar leader and leader of the Ha Nhi community in the far west, improving their lives day by day. He passed away in 2013 to the infinite sorrow of the army and people of Sin Thau.

The Sin Thau Commune Police Department received the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 1973. Comrade Po Xi Tai is wearing a black shirt, third from the right. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security.

The second son of Mr. Po Po Chu is Po Gia Tu, who was wounded in the army and returned to join the government, and was once the Deputy Chief Justice of the People's Court of Muong Te district. The third son is Po A Sinh, former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Sin Thau commune. The fourth son is Po Diep Sang, who was a member of the Provincial Party Committee for many years, Secretary of the Muong Nhe District Party Committee, and former Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilization Committee of Dien Bien province. The fifth son is Po Dan Xinh, former Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Sin Thau commune for nearly 20 years. The sixth son is Po Dan Son, who was once the Deputy Head of the Medical Station of Sin Thau commune. The seventh youngest daughter is Po My Ly, Deputy Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Muong Nhe district (now Muong Nhe commune). Recently, after the policy of dissolving the district-level administrative unit, she proactively applied for retirement at the age of 51, without demanding any conditions, just for the simple reason of giving opportunities to young people.

Over the years, anyone who comes to Sin Thau knows the Po family - a family that has followed the Party's ideals for many generations.

The letters of At Ho light the way for the Ha Nhi people.

Today, after implementing the adjustment of the two-level government, Sin Thau commune merged with Sen Thuong and Leng Su Sin communes, becoming a commune with an area of 51,000 hectares, a population of more than 6,100 people with 19 ethnic groups living together, of which the Ha Nhi people account for 51%.

Village elder Po Diep Sang recalled that, as a party member at that time, Mr. Po Po Chu always said: "You must learn the letters of A Te Ho, because without letters it is like going into the forest without a torch or a stick." Even though at that time he had to walk through the forest for six days to get to Muong Te district, he was still determined to send his children to school. From 1973... one by one, Po A Sinh, Po Dan Xinh, Po Diep Sang... put rice and salt in their bags and walked through the forest to Muong Te district to find letters.

Village elder Po Dan Xinh said that there were 37 students who went to school with him at that time, but when they returned from summer vacation, they all dropped out, leaving him alone to study. People who went to school like him were ridiculed by the villagers for being lazy, not needing to learn anything but just living there... In 1983, Po Dan Xinh finished 12th grade and became the first person in the far West to have such a high level of education. At the end of 1983, Po Dan Xinh became the Secretary of the Youth Union and Head of the Labor-War Invalids-Social Affairs Department of Sin Thau commune, and he himself made the whole village admire him when he once jumped into the flooded Mo Phi stream to save the life of a boy named Ly Po Le. That brave act moved the people and he was admitted to the Party by the District Party Committee shortly after.

Mr. Po Dan Xinh has been the leader of Sin Thau commune for many years, always the leading figure in all local activities.

Mr. Po Dan Xinh has been Chairman of the People's Committee and then Secretary of the Party Committee of Sin Thau commune for nearly 20 years, leading the people to develop the economy, eliminate social evils and continuously study. He is also the first person to have a son who graduated from university in 2009, that is Po Hung Sang, now Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Muong Nhe commune. His family currently has 4 father and sons who are all party members... Po Dan Xinh retired in 2015 but he is an excellent Ha Nhi artisan, the most prestigious village elder in Sin Thau.

The Ha Nhi people's hearts are like trees in the forest, united with the Party.

The Ha Nhi village elders still tell their children and grandchildren: "Only when we walk in the forest at night do we appreciate the torch, only when we lie in a cold cave do we appreciate the fire, and when we drink river water, we must remember the source. The Ha Nhi people's hearts are like trees in the forest, with only one core, only listening to the Party and doing good for the people." This ideology is not only a teaching in every family, but also a guiding principle in all activities of cadres and party members here.

That is why, after nearly 7 decades, since the day Hero Tran Van Tho came to the Ha Nhi people and organized the establishment of the first party cell, the Po family now has 4 generations of party members. Village elder Po Diep Sang has 44 years of Party membership and comrade Po Diep Thang is the youngest 4th generation party member at 21 years old, currently a student majoring in Party Building and State Administration at the People's Public Security Academy.

Village elders and party members Po A Sinh, Po Diep Sang, Po Dan Xinh, and Po Dan Son are still important pillars in the community. Village elders are discussing local affairs with officers of the A Pa Chai Border Guard Station. Photo: NGUYEN TUAN HUY

Outstanding party members of the third generation of the Po family include Colonel Po Chi Linh, former Political Commissar of the Military Command of Muong Nhe District; Po Chinh Pha, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Sin Thau Commune; Lieutenant Colonel Po Po San, Deputy Chief of Police of Muong Nhe Commune; Senior Lieutenant Colonel Po Bach Long, Head of the Immigration Management Department of Dien Bien Provincial Police; Po Dieu Ninh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dien Bien Province; Po Hung Sang, Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Muong Nhe Commune; Po My Le, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Sin Thau Commune; Lieutenant Colonel Po Bach Quan, Head of Pa Thom Border Guard Station (Dien Bien); Major Po Dan Xuan, Deputy Captain of the Fire Prevention and Fighting - Rescue Police Department of Dien Bien Provincial Police; Major Po Pu Dong, Team 2, Traffic Police Department of Dien Bien Provincial Police...

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dien Bien province, Po Dieu Ninh (far left) and Women's Union officials reviewed the heroic tradition of the nation at the A1 National Martyrs Cemetery.

Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Sin Thau Commune Po My Le and the delegation offered incense at the Monument of Heroic Martyrs and the Statue of Hero Tran Van Tho. Photo: NGUYEN TUAN HUY
Lieutenant Po Cong Minh, Armed Forces Team Leader, Muong Nhe Border Guard Station guides soldiers in preserving weapons and equipment.
Major Po Pu Dong, Team 2 of the Traffic Police Department of Dien Bien Provincial Police on duty in Muong Nhe commune. Photo: NGUYEN TUAN HUY

The descendants of generations of the Po family in Sin Thau in particular and the Ha Nhi community in the border area in general still pass on the teachings of their ancestors from generation to generation. During the admission ceremony in 1961, party member Po Po Chu spoke with a trembling voice: “The Ha Nhi people are like birds falling into abysses, like people walking in dark caves, with the light of the Party and of A Te Ho to guide the way. The Pang Poi stream never flows backwards, just like the hearts of the Ha Nhi people never forget the Party, forget A Te Ho…”. More than six decades have passed, that oath still echoes in the great forest, among successive generations of party members, among devoted cadres who day and night keep the torch of the Party burning brightly and unfading, illuminating the mountains and forests of the border fences.

Until today and tomorrow !!!

The village elders of the Po clan are recalling the revolutionary tradition of their clan at the foot of the Monument of People's Armed Forces Hero Tran Van Tho. Photo: NGUYEN TUAN HUY

HOANG LE ANH MINH

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/cuoc-thi-viet-vung-buoc-duoi-co-dang/ngon-lua-dang-chay-mai-duoi-chan-nui-khoang-la-san-840263