We were present at the road connecting Se Sap Mountain Village to Hong Thuong Commune (A Luoi District) while nearly 20 officers and soldiers of Nham Border Guard Station were building roads for the people.
Major Nguyen Thanh Trong, Deputy Chief of Nham Border Guard Station said that for nearly a month now, the unit's officials and soldiers had lived at Hong Thai Border Guard Station, bordering Se Sap Mountain Village to be convenient for building roads and bridges.
Senior Lieutenant Le Minh Nha, Chief of Administrative Control Team of Nham Border Guard Station, is assigned to take charge of officers and soldiers building the road. He shared, "The items of construction are basically completed; the ground was leveled; 8 small culverts have just installed, and after 2 more bridges are built, the road can be put into use. This work needs high technique, so the bridges are constructed with great care to make sure they are built in conformity with the design because in the rainy season, the water from the small streams flows in if the bridge is not strong enough, the structure will break."
In the past, this red-soil road was dusty in the dry season and muddy in the rainy season. On the days of heavy rain, the red soil sticking to the wheels and the water from streams overflowing the road hindered the people’s traffic. Since the road began to be constructed, the villagers of Se Sap Village, especially the chief of Su May Village, have visited the construction site to talk with and encourage the Vietnamese soldiers.
Mr. Su May said, "In the past, the people's lives in the village were extremely difficult. Thanks to the Vietnamese Border Guards’ help, the mountain village has undergone big changes. However, due to the mountainous terrain and difficulty in traffic, the agricultural produce from the village farmers could not be transported to Vietnam to exchange goods. Now the Vietnamese soldiers help build the road; the villagers are overjoyed and grateful to the Vietnamese soldiers. Hopefully, the road will be soon completed so that the villagers can travel easily. "
During the break at the construction site, Ms. Nang Tieu and several people in the village invited the Vietnamese soldiers to have glasses of water, sugar cane pieces... She excitedly said, "The Vietnamese Border Guards live so responsibly and sentimentally. On one occasion, nearly at 12 noon, I went back from the field and found that they were still pouring concrete; everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat. How pitiful they were! The road is about to be completed, so I am overjoyed because for a long time the cassava was cultivated in large quantities in the fields , yet the cattle could not eat up. I wanted to take the cassava to Vietnam to sell in exchange for salt, fish sauce, cooking oil ....However, because of the difficult road and musty cassava due to long-time preservation, we had to dump them.”
Viewed from the construction site, the A Sap River flows from Vietnam to Laos like the friendship connection of nature. And there, the people of the border areas of the two countries live together intimately like good brothers.
In the scorching sun of the frontier region, the road is gradually completed with the effort of Nham Border Guards and the day-to-day expectations of the people on both sides of the border. The bridges will be a string that cements the tradition of unity, special friendship, loyalty of the officials and people of Vietnam and Laos.
The budget for raw materials to construct the road was supported by Se Kong Province. The road is 4 kilometers long, consisting of 6 small culverts and 2 large bridges.
By Vo Tien