Silent hearts in the dark

Coming to Hoi An, perhaps no one does not want to pass through Cua Dai Bridge at least once because of its extremely poetic location. Standing on this bridge looking to the west, you will feel the magic of the sunset on the waves of the Thu River, looking to the east, you will see a vast, rosy dawn spreading out onto the sea. Yet, I do not understand why cruel fates come here to choose as the place to end their lives. Realizing that sad stories keep happening from time to time; feeling the pain of those left behind with rainy and windy days and nights crying their eyes out waiting for the bodies of their loved ones at the bridge, Nguyen Van Luan determined to discuss with two sympathetic friends to establish the SOS Cau Cua Dai group. The deepest wish of Luan and his friends is how to support the search for the victims' families and promptly prevent rash actions. On September 7, 2022, the group was officially established.

Heart can not let go

Initially, the group consisted of only 3 people of similar age, around 25 years old, whose main activity was to support the search and rescue of victims and groups specializing in rescuing the destitute and those who were at risk of missing in the water. Later, when the group's humanitarian activities spread, many sympathetic people joined in and the team has now grown to 20 people of all ages from all over the place. With a larger team, the friends planned to take turns on duty at night to promptly detect people who showed signs of doing something rash and approach to stop them in time.

Since then, the team has been able to support more cases. The scope of support has also expanded, helping in many situations from traffic accidents, patching, emergency car repairs anytime, anywhere, even at night when on the wrong side of the road, to cases of illness, difficulty...

Những tấm lòng thầm lặng trong bóng đêm- Ảnh 1. — Discussing with his brothers how to start the old canoe they asked for to serve in underwater search and rescue.

However, initially, the lack of support equipment was also a certain limitation for participating in underwater search and rescue. Therefore, when knowing that the other team had a degraded canoe that was no longer in use, the group took the opportunity to ask for it, bought machinery and equipment, and refurbished it to use so that the rescue could be more timely and convenient.

When I asked why he intended to establish the group, Captain Luan confided: "I am a Duy Hai native living near the bridge. When I heard that this bridge was being built, I was extremely happy because it was so beautiful. Yet, someone chose it as a place to end their life. So I decided to establish the group and received a lot of support and response from my brothers, friends, and colleagues. The important thing is that we have the same goals and clearly defined the spirit before joining the group: "No salary. Regardless of sun or rain. No holidays. No concept of evening, noon, night, early morning. And completely voluntary". Thanks to clearly defining the criteria, our team has always maintained and promoted its activities. Although this work is not easy at all, people love and hate it, and sometimes we are abused, it is very sad, but perhaps because of the "karma" that many times we are tired, but our hearts cannot let go".

Contemplatively watching the calm flowing water, Luan slowly said: "In more than 2 years of operation, the group has helped support the search and successfully prevented many cases. Each case is a different situation and leaves behind its own worries. How many traffic accidents, how many salvage and search cases that the team has the fate to support, some cases are lucky to be safe in the joy of reunion, there are also many cases of death and separation, and there are also cases where the team has to ask for donations from the people to help them get to the end of their lives."

Những tấm lòng thầm lặng trong bóng đêm- Ảnh 2. — Together with the authorities to support the search for victims at Binh Minh beach

Sad things happen from time to time. In just a very short time recently, the team's diary is full of indescribable feelings: On the night of April 8, 2025, the team promptly discovered and saved a young man who had a foolish intention at the foot of the bridge. At 2:30 p.m. on May 11, they received a recording from a girl reporting to the group that an 11th grade male student had texted his family that he was running to Cua Dai bridge to finish, so the team immediately sent someone to intervene in time. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.

On May 17, 2025, after receiving information from the family of a quarreling couple with negative intentions, the team promptly analyzed and successfully prevented a case of suicidal thoughts. At 2:23 a.m. on May 21, after receiving information from the family, the team promptly monitored and successfully prevented a case of suicidal thoughts at the bridge (this person had been prevented before). On the afternoon of May 23, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m., they supported the successful prevention of 2 cases with negative intentions.

At 1:27 a.m. on May 27, 2025, when the rain suddenly poured down with strong winds, the team received a distress message from a friend in Ho Chi Minh City, saying that a friend was in a dead end and texted with the intention of ending his life at Cua Dai Bridge. Through the description of the person, the team discovered and approached the suicidal person while he was wandering along the bridge corridor. Thanks to timely explanations and prevention, the team led the friend away from the bridge and stopped his negative intention.

On June 3, passersby reported two cases with strange symptoms, so the group assigned members to intervene promptly. Fortunately, nothing unfortunate happened in both cases. On the evening of June 4, upon receiving news of something unusual at the bridge, the whole team quickly gathered and promptly rescued a 36-year-old man from Phu Tho , and took him to the emergency room. Before this case was over, another case appeared, a man from Hoi An was sad because his family was broken, so he came to the bridge to seek help, and the group tried to stop him, calling his family to pick him up. They thought everything was okay, but unexpectedly the next day the man returned to the bridge, so the group had to stay awake all night...

The value of life

Unexpected phone calls and strange messages kept ringing through the team's hotline. Regardless of day or night, early or late, near or far, Luan and his brothers did not mind the difficulties, responding in the most timely and fastest way possible. Thanks to that, many cases that received support realized the value of life, of blood relations, and from there they learned to appreciate their lives more.

Những tấm lòng thầm lặng trong bóng đêm- Ảnh 3. — Night tire repair support group for unexpected situations

In addition, the team also receives many calls for urgent support in patching and repairing vehicles. It doesn't matter whether it's day or night, sunny or rainy, or on holidays..., as long as we receive the message, we will be on our way as quickly as possible and provide the most effective support possible. For those who can afford it, we will only receive the exact amount of money for materials and spare parts, but for those in difficult circumstances, it is completely free.

And even in traffic accidents, as soon as there is information, the team will go to support. It all comes from compassion, empathy and not from profit. "For the team, the most valuable thing that we want to receive is handshakes. We just hope that there will be less uncertainty in life and no more rash decisions so that every family can be safe," Luan shared.

There are many, many more silent contributions of the group that cannot be fully expressed in the framework of pen and paper.

Saying goodbye to Luan, my heart was filled with an inexplicable feeling. I admired a simple young man with immense compassion. I deeply appreciated the silent thoughts and actions that you and your team have been contributing.