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Na Tang people rebel illegal loggers

  • It was a cold January night, the north wind whistled continuously through the cracks in the old door. Breaking the mood the phone rang. A person on the other end spoke urgently - please come immediately, Khuoi Quay forest in Na Tang village is being destroyed. The voice had such burning passion and worry that I felt the need to leave immediately for that remote place.

    An excavating machine expanding the road to Khuoi Quay

    After a quick search of the map on the web and a few phone calls to my people, I had a general view about Na Tang. This was a remote village in Binh Xa commune, located between Ban Chat and Po Hang, in Dinh Lap District, Lang Son. It’s a village made up of 45 households of pure Nung people. Adjacent the village is Khuoi Quay primary forest, a forest well protected by Na Tang people since the commune was established. The commune even put forest protection in their village regulations. Whoever was violating these regulations would be charged severely, I felt sure. Unlike natural forest in the nearby areas of Lam Kha and Dong Thang which have mainly green ironwood, Khuoi Quay forest is predominantly “Khao” and sweet-gum. The forest is also famous locally for the quality and flavour of its bamboo shoots, which have made their way to the district market.

    The road to Na Tang was full of red dust that penetrated my clothes and clogged my mouth and eyes. Our guide advised us: “go to the forest to have a look and return as soon as you can. Although the loggers are not there at the moment, they are watching the area. Don’t hang around, I am uncertain of your safety”.  
     
    Almost reaching Khuoi Quay, I was astonished. The path that villagers used to collect bamboo shoots had been excavated to make it passable by trucks and driven 3 km into the core of the forest. At the forest edge, felled chestnut trees were scattered all around, most of them sawn into large pieces, ready for transportation.
     
    Seeing a stranger, Na Tang villagers are watchful. The phone caller gave me a signal to go to a small house. “Right now in the commune”, he said, “there are two different opinions. The majority of the people were determined to keep the forest. However there were some who wanted to exploit it, so they threatened the majority. If they knew it was I who invited you here, I could be in trouble. Even the commune leader continuously receives threatening calls”.
     
    From the villages, I began to piece together the story. In August 2013, Na Tang people started to see excavating machines enlarging the road to the Khuoi Quay forest. However, due to the impenetrable nature of the forest and dangerous road, not many of them realised what was happening inside. Only at the beginning of November 2013, when the main road was nearly finished did Na Tang people see Khuoi Quay trees being logged, and hear the screech and roar of chainsaws shattering the peace and quiet of the countryside.

    Villagers try to protect the forest

    Infuriated by the destruction of their forest, more than 40 households of Na Tang village went to the forest. There were clashes between the village people and those who enlarged the road to destroy the forest. On 13 November 2013, 45 households jointly signed their petition to the commune People’s Committee, but with no result. At the beginning of December, the petition was sent to the district People’s Committee and the district relevant functional bodies.

    Looking at the scrawling words on the petition, I felt the sorrow and anger of the people. Most Na Tang adults have had no schooling and are mostly illiterate. In order to draft the petition, they had to choose the most educated ones to do it.
     
    The Nung villagers face other problems too, for they are very poor, and to go from Na Tang to the district centre to present the petition is an expensive journey, taking one and a half hours by  motorbike. So the villagers selected six individuals to represent them, and each household contributed 100,000 dong (about $5) for the six to make the journey.  The petition to the People’s Committee of Dinh Lap district dated 7 December from Na Tang people may have been poorly written, but the determination was clear “If the People’s Committee of the commune and district will not get involved and confiscate the timber, 45 Na Tang households will deal with the poachers who have intentionally destroyed the primary forest. We will confiscate the wood cutting machines, destroy their camp, their excavating machine, and fight with the poachers; we will confiscate their wood carrying buffalos and trucks”. Simple living country people had become more than “hot tempered” when seeing poachers stripping the forest in front of their eyes.

    In the face of this determination from villagers, representatives from the commune forest ranger and local authority came to inspect the damage and count and measure the timber. The loggers withdrew their equipment. However, up to now, none of the poachers have been charged. Na Tang people have been waiting day by day. But everything remains unchanged. Every day, they have to guard the logged timbers. The situation in the commune is tense as they know if they relax for a moment the timber and logs will vanish without trace.

    Waiting for relevant authorities

    Mr. Be Manh Quan, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Dinh Lap district was clear that when they received the petition they assigned the Protection Ranger Division in coordination with the district police and relevant bodies to investigate the situation and make recommendations for a solution. However, according to Mr. Quan, one month later and the district leaders have neither received any report nor any concrete solution from them. The district People’s Committee has urged them to urgently fix the problem. “Our view point is that wrong doers should be charged”.

    A close-up of timbers chopped down and split into boxes in Khuoi Quay forest

    Of course, the forest destruction is as clear as day, and the perpetrators known to all. According to Na Tang people, those who enlarged the road and destroyed the forest were not strangers as they were all from the adjacent communes. The commune even signed a minute with the driver of the excavating machine. And he also counter-signed it. The commune representative said openly: We only wish to keep the forest. Why have these law breakers not been charged? Is there any power behind this action? What are we supposed to do with the logged timber? We would like to deliver those unsolved questions of Na Tang people to the relevant authorities and responsible bodies of Dinh Lap district. 

    Source: LISO