Helping locals escape poverty
Nguyen Van Si’s family is an underprivileged household in Tan Ho Co Commune, Tan Hong District, Dong Thap Province. Si and his wife have three children, and their house is located beside the So Ha River, next to the border. Previously, the couple struggled to make a living and earn money for their children’s education.
After conversations with the Party member from the border guard station assigned to support his family, Si gained more determination to strive for improvement. His children have now grown up, have jobs, and earn stable incomes.
When we visited his house, Si was peeling and washing cassava for his wife to process into cakes to sell at the market. At the same time, Lieutenant Nguyen Van Sau, Deputy Political Commissar of the Dinh Ba International Border Gate Border Guard Station and the Party member responsible for Si's family, was helping and chatting with him.
Si said in enthusiasm: "In recent years, thanks to the border guards, my wife and I have learned how to do business, and now we're no longer classified as poor or near-poor households. My family wants to stay here forever; if we left the border, we would miss the border soldiers terribly. By staying here, I can also help the border guards with many tasks."
Le Van Son, who lives in the same commune as Si, has frequently crossed into Cambodia to herd livestock. After several visits from the border guard station’s Party members who explained border regulations to him, Son no longer violates border crossing rules and keeps his cattle within Vietnam. Son's family also received support from the temporary housing elimination programme in Dong Thap Province.
The Border Guard Station at the Tinh Bien International Border Gate is responsible for Tinh Bien Ward and An Nong Commune in Tinh Bien Town, An Giang Province, covering nearly 10 kilometres of border. Lieutenant Nguyen Van Phat Anh, political commissar of the border guard station, reported that 35 Party members have been assigned to oversee 70 households in the two communes and wards.
At this time, the border areas of Nhon Hung and An Phu Wards in Tinh Bien Town are in the rice harvesting season. Golden fields are filled with laughter and conversation. While people are happy about the good harvest, residents in the border region remain vigilant because this is when wrongdoers often take advantage of crowds to slip across the border.
Ta Ngao Hamlet in An Phu Ward, where many Khmer people live, has seen many changes. Lieutenant Phan Thanh Long, head of the mass mobilisation team at the Nhon Hung Border Guard Station, is very familiar with the residents of Ta Ngao Hamlet.
Almost every week, Lieutenant Long visits the households under his supervision to understand and listen to their thoughts and aspirations, then reports to his superiors to find solutions for the legitimate requests and wishes of the residents.
Lieutenant Long shared: "This is a border area where people frequently cross the border. We regularly raise awareness among residents about not crossing illegally, not participating in or organising unauthorised entry or exit; not smuggling nor abetting smuggling; not using, storing, nor trading drugs."
Neang My's family in An Phu Ward is one of the households receiving assistance from Party members of the Nhon Hung Border Guard Station. Neang My's family earns a living from making palm sugar, earning over 200,000 VND per day. Weekly, soldiers from the border station visit Neang My to educate her about the Party and State’s new laws policies.
Through this close relationship, Neang My has come to understand the Party's guidelines and policies, the State laws, and the local regulations, which she shares with her relatives and neighbours.
Neang My shared: "The border guards are very close to the people. Whenever we don't know or don't fully understand something, they all guide and instruct us thoroughly. Information reported by residents about smuggling or drug use is always addressed, so people feel very secure."
Promoting the role of Party members
The Dinh Ba International Border Gate Border Guard Station is tasked with managing and protecting 17.6 kilometres of border through Tan Ho Co Commune and Binh Phu Commune in Tan Hong District.
Implementing a directive of the Standing Board of the Border Guard Party Committee regarding the assignment of border guard stations’ Party members to supervise households in border areas, since 2018, the Border Guard Station of Dinh Ba International Border Gate has identified this as a model that creates greater military-civilian solidarity and bonding. Through this model, the border guard station receives various information provided by residents, including many valuable reports that contribute to maintaining security, order, and social safety in the border area.
The station has 45 Party members overseeing more than 200 households, primarily families of policy beneficiaries, those in difficult circumstances, or those with members who have violated the law. Members of these families are mostly away working during the day, returning home only in the evening.
Therefore, in addition to their regular work, Party members visit households outside office hours, perhaps at 4:30 am when residents are preparing for work, or at night when they return home. The border guard station’s Party members visit families to understand their thoughts, share life's joys and sorrows, economic development models, livelihoods, and so on.
Lieutenant Nguyen Van Sau, Deputy Political Commissar of the Dinh Ba International Border Gate Border Guard Station, explained that due to the nature of their work, the border guard station’s Party members have proposed flexible scheduling for household management to allow various approaches to household engagement, such as through production activities, conferences, meetings, parties, and so on.
The border guard station’s Party committee collaborates with local Party committees and authorities to create positive effects regarding the model's value. The border guard station’s Party members and local Party members work closely together to support border households, thereby contributing to building a strong people's border defence.
According to the An Giang Border Guard, over the past seven years, border guard stations’ Party members have actively advised the stations’ Party committees and leaders in implementing many activities to provide timely support to their assigned households regarding housing, livelihoods, and essential supplies.
Specifically, they have donated 48 homes, presented 7,395 gifts and 145.5 million VND in cash, 5.45 tonnes of rice, and other essentials with a total value of nearly 9.13 billion VND.
The Party members have also advised their units to support 43 underprivileged students who are children of families under their supervision.
The Dong Thap Border Guard has five border guard stations directly tasked with managing and protecting over 50 kilometres of border. To date, the units have assigned 125 Party members to oversee 568 households. For the Border Guard Station Command, each officer is responsible for 2-3 households, while each team and post leader oversees 5-7 households.
Colonel Nguyen Van Minh, political commissar of the Dong Thap Border Guard, stated that since 2019, the model has brought many practical benefits, especially promptly providing assistance, educating and encouraging households to strictly comply with legal regulations and enhances awareness of national borders.
Through the covered households, they have promptly educated other families in border residential clusters not to participate in nor abet illegal activities, and to change their forms of production and labour to escape poverty.
Border guards and Party members are close to the people, understanding their family circumstances, local customs, the thoughts and wishes of the people, and firmly grasping public opinion concerns, thereby promptly developing solutions that contribute to building a peaceful and safe border area.
