Infringement of relics
According to records, at the eastern gate area of Dong Hoi Citadel relic on Le Duan street (belonging to Dong Hoi ward, Quang Tri province), a series of characters and handwriting are drawn densely on the bricks. The main content is confessions of love, nicknames, phone numbers... created with charcoal, hard objects, most commonly eraser ink.
Not only in the citadel gate area, the Vong lau section above also recorded a similar situation. Overlapping, unconscious strokes have made the relic space become messy, losing its inherent ancient beauty. Many tourists when visiting cannot help but be disappointed when witnessing this offensive image at a national-level relic.
According to research, Dong Hoi Citadel was started construction in the 10th year of Gia Long, a project of great historical and cultural significance. In 1992, the project was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic. Destroying the relic by writing and drawing graffiti not only tarnishes the landscape but also directly affects the value of the project.
Not only in the Dong Hoi Citadel area, but also in Quang Binh Quan, not far away, a similar situation has appeared, although in less detail. The drawings here are mainly made of easy-to-wipe materials, but still cause offense and affect the overall image of the tourist destination.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh from Ho Chi Minh City shared that she felt unhappy when encountering graffiti on the relic. "Foreign tourists will see it very offensively. A historical relic being graffitid like that is unacceptable," she said.
Urgently overcome
On the afternoon of May 5, Mr. Tran Minh Son - Deputy Head of the Culture and Social Department of Dong Hoi ward said that after the reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper, the People's Committee of Dong Hoi ward directed the Culture and Social Department of the ward to organize a field review. Through inspection, it was recorded that there was a situation of writing and drawing graffiti as reflected.
On that basis, the locality has implemented a remedial plan, coordinated with relevant units to remove offensive characters. Up to now, the treatment work has basically been completed, many areas have been cleaned, restoring the beauty to the relic" - Mr. Son said.
According to reporters' records on the afternoon of May 5, functional forces used a soft rubbing head machine to handle the drawings on the brick surface. The city wall and foundation were lightly rubbed in combination with water spraying for cleaning. Two workers were arranged to directly remove the drawings, while another group took on overall ground cleaning. After completing at Dong Hoi Citadel, the force continued to move to Quang Binh Quan area for similar treatment.
Initially, most of the drawings have been removed, restoring the appearance of the project. However, some deep engravings, existing for a long time, require more time and careful technique to avoid damaging the original material.
Regarding long-term solutions, the Deputy Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Dong Hoi ward said that the locality will strengthen propaganda to raise people's awareness, especially the younger generation, in protecting historical relics. At the same time, the ward will install more internal regulations signs, warning signs "do not write or draw graffiti", combined with disseminating penalty regulations to increase deterrence.
In addition, state management of relics will also be tightened, including regular inspections, timely detection and handling of infringing acts" - Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Social Affairs of Dong Hoi ward affirmed.
