Truong Sa in the hearts of journalists
The KN 491 ship carrying a working delegation and dozens of journalists from Cam Ranh port fenced off the waves in the East Sea as dawn just appeared. On the deck, many people quietly looked towards the horizon, where the sun was slowly rising from the sea. In front of them was an endless blue of sky and water.
That is the moment when everyone understands that they are entering a very special journey. For journalists, the profession is always associated with trips. But not every trip leaves deep emotions like Truong Sa. Because in that place hundreds of nautical miles from the mainland, each story carries in itself the breath of patriotism, of silent sacrifice and the steadfast will to protect the sea...
The first island point the delegation set foot on was the submerged island of Da Lat. It was necessary to wait for the tide to rise, and small boats could bring people from the ship to the island. In the vast ocean, Da Lat appeared small with solid structures stretching out in the waves and winds.
When the boat just docked at the pier, the island soldiers lined up neatly to wait. The tight handshakes, the radiant smiles under the sea sun and wind made the distance between the mainland and the remote island seem to disappear.
In that short meeting, I talked to Corporal Duong Van Thuan, a young soldier from An Giang who had just come to the island to perform his duties for less than a year.
In Thuan's phone, there are still photos taken with his family. When he misses home, he opens them to see. I asked: "Is being away from home for so long sad?". Thuan smiled gently: "I miss home so much, brother. But here is also my home. I protect the sea and islands so that my family and millions of people on the mainland can have peace". Those confidences followed us throughout the journey.
Covering the rocky islands in the middle of the ocean
If only looking at the map, Truong Sa is small dots in the ocean. But when you set foot here, you can feel the strong vitality of this sacred sea and island region.
Working in Truong Sa is a race against time. Each island point, the delegation only stays for a few hours. As soon as they set foot on the island, reporter groups immediately spread out to record the lives of soldiers and people here.
There are stories recorded by cameras, by cameras. But there are also stories that can only be kept in the heart.
On Da Lon C Island, amidst the scorching summer sun of the island sea, we visited the unit's green tree nursery. Inside the net house area are hundreds of young trees stretching in small trays of soil. In a place where fresh water is more precious than gold, each seed is cared for with perseverance and special love from the island soldiers.
Sergeant Bach Ngoc Chi, while watering the tree, recounted: "This is the water that brothers save in daily life to save for the tree. Seeing the tree sprout is very happy. Some trees take many months to survive".
The young soldier recounted each type of tree, each time of sowing, each tree growing well, each tree weak. For Chi, each green sprout is not just trees but also hope to green the islands in the middle of the ocean.
In Truong Sa, everyone understands that each green canopy is also a symbol of the will to stick to the island. Today's rows of phong ba trees, square banyan trees, and mù u trees are the result of many generations of soldiers and people persistently cultivating for decades. Each square banyan flower season, each phong ba fruit season brings special joy to those who are guarding the island day and night.
Where family love transcends thousands of miles of sea
Many special meetings also took place in Truong Sa. Under the canopy of an ancient Barringtonia acutangula tree on Nam Yet Island, Major Nguyen Xuan Ha unexpectedly met his younger sister, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong, in a working delegation from the mainland visiting the island.
After many years of separation, the two brothers hugged each other amidst the applause of everyone. Ms. Huong recounted that after her mother passed away, her older brother quietly registered to return to Truong Sa to work.
Perhaps for him, Truong Sa is not only a place to perform tasks but also a second homeland. Here, he found the motivation to continue to contribute," she said emotionally.
At the forefront of the waves and winds, every time a ship comes from the mainland to the island, it carries the feelings of millions of people across the country. It can be letters from students to soldiers, small gifts from workers, seedlings, books or simply greetings.
Not only are there soldiers guarding sovereignty, Truong Sa also has teachers who are sowing literacy in the open sea every day.
At Truong Sa Lon island, school drums still sound every morning like many schools on the mainland. In the small classroom, students of many ages study in the same room. Teachers have to prepare many lesson plans for each different target group.
Teacher Luu Quoc Thinh volunteered to work in Truong Sa from 2023, sharing: Every time he meets acquaintances on the island or receives letters of inquiry, his heart is always bustling and warm.
The students here are very obedient, very eager to learn. Watching them improve day by day, makes me not want to leave the island" - he said.
When the Fatherland is present before our eyes
Throughout the sea journey, perhaps there is no more sacred moment than the flag salute ceremony on Truong Sa Lon island. In the middle of the square facing the sea, the red national flag flutters in the wind. The national anthem echoes majestically in the vast space of the sea and sky.
Around us were sunburned faces of island soldiers, fishermen who had just returned from a sea trip, people living on the island and members of the working delegation from the mainland. A female journalist was moved, trying to bite her lip tightly so as not to burst into tears.
At that time, sovereignty is no longer a concept recorded in books or on maps. Sovereignty exists with people of flesh and blood who are day and night clinging to the sea and protecting the islands. For journalists, those are moments that cannot be fully recorded by camera or words.
On the day the ship left the island to return to the mainland, many people stood silently on the deck. Floating and submerged islands gradually disappeared behind the horizon. Soldiers still stood on the wharf, waving goodbye until they were just small dots in the blue sea.
No one spoke, but in everyone's heart, there were special emotions. For journalists, that trip was not only a business trip but also an opportunity to witness firsthand life at the forefront of the storm.
Each article, each photo, each film after the trip is a bridge connecting remote islands with the mainland. That is also the responsibility of journalists: Bringing the breath of life and the feelings of island soldiers to the people of the whole country.
