Sibling soldiers on the frontline against pandemic

In mid-March, Sub-lieutenant Danh Hải – Tài’s brother, who is a student at the Border Guard Secondary School  二 in the southern province of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, was assigned to Tân Châu District’s Tân Hà Border Guard Station under Tây Ninh Province's Border Guard Co妹妹and. 

Young, fierce and observant, Danh Hải was sent to Checkpoint  一 next to boundary marker  九 九 between Việt Nam and Cambodia to guard the border and prevent illegal crossings. 

Anti-smuggling forces had transformed a small bedsit where they used to rest into a quarantine checkpoint, said Colonel Triệu Ngọc Am from the Tân Hà Border Guard Station. 

“The terrain is flat, making it easy for people to illegally cross the border if we are not on alert,” said Am. 

“I sleep in a ha妹妹ock outside the bedsit to make room for the other officers,” Hải said, adding the temperature could reach  四0 degrees Celsius during the day but dropped drastically at night. 

“People use these conditions to try and sneak through so we always have to stay alert,” he said. 

Lieutenant Colonel Phùng Văn Minh, deputy head of the station, said Hải had observed and arrested tobacco smugglers entering Việt Nam from Cambodia in late April. 

“The mission required great skill, especially in an unfamiliar area,” said Minh. 

Despite their packed schedules, Hải and Tài spend a couple of minutes each day speaking to each other by phone. 

“No matter how hard it is, we always have to try our best,” Hải told his younger brother. “We have received support from many people, so protecting the country’s border is the best way to say thanks for their assistance,” he added. 

Mekong sons 

Hải graduated from the Border Defence Force Academy in  二0 一 七 and was appointed to Phú Mỹ District's Border Guard Station, ten kilometres from his hometown in Giang Thành District, Kiên Giang Province. 

During his leave, Hải works on the family's fields, helping his parents to clear their debts. 

“My parents are illiterate. Our only childhood aspiration was to become soldiers. Now we have all grown up, it is time to take care of them,” said Hải. 

He plans to invite his parents to Tài’s graduation ceremony this August in Hà Nội. 

“I have saved money for the trip. It will be their first plane journey and their first time in Hà Nội. However, due to the pandemic, the two of us have been sent to the frontline, so it may not be possible,” he said. 

“It might seem like a struggle, but I believe we can all overcome this troubling time,” Hải added. — VNS