To this day, I have been with Kon Tum for more than 28 years. I don't know if I have a relationship with this land of Kon Tum in my "past life", but in my mind, I will be attached to this place for the rest of my life.
In the summer of 1988, a friend who studied at the same university in Da Lat invited me to go to Kon Tum to visit because he had relatives there. Two days of traveling and exploring this new land gave me an extremely interesting feeling. It is a highland town "as small as the palm of your hand". Just go around a few small streets and you'll end up in the street. Around 9 p.m., the streets were deserted, "the streets were so sad"...
The pace of life here is unusually peaceful. A gentle, friendly, likable person, always with a "cute smile" on his face. The climate here is relatively pleasant and cool all year round. The Dak Bla River is gentle and poetic, winding in the heart of the city, making an unforgettable impression on travelers who first set foot here.
And when I said goodbye to Kon Tum, I thought that one day I would return to visit this place.
In the summer of 1991, I graduated from university and returned to Gia Lai to work. At the end of that year, Kon Tum and Gia Lai were divided into two provinces. I thought I would work in Pleiku for the rest of my life (because my family lives in An Khe), but I didn't expect that "fate" would "push" me to Kon Tum.
Luckily, at that time, I was working at Bao Gia Lai. When the province first split, Kon Tum Newspaper was very short of workers. On the last 2 days of the weekend, the guys from Kon Tum Newspaper came to Pleiku to visit home, went to Gia Lai Newspaper to visit, and at the same time "invited me" to go to Kon Tum to work. Having been "tempted" several times, I was satisfied so I agreed to leave home one more time to come to the land of Kon Tum.
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| Village in town. |
In 1992, I left Gia Lai Newspaper to move to Kon Tum Newspaper to work. The brothers and sisters at Gia Lai Newspaper who were assigned to work at Kon Tum Newspaper all did not have their own homes. Everyone lives in the same dormitory, next to the workplace. When I went to Kon Tum for work, I also lived in the dormitory of the Kon Tum Newspaper agency.
Life at that time was still difficult and lacking in many ways. The agency's headquarters is a row of shabby, old, 4-level houses with overgrown grass. The inner blocks are dormitories for officials, reporters, editors and staff. The working facilities are still basic, there is no means of transportation, and the salary is meager, but the brothers and sisters still try to overcome it and strive to work their best. The relationship between colleagues is very friendly, the feelings are as harmonious as siblings.
Gradually, I fell in love with this land. Because, I have "married" the land and people of Kon Tum.
Kon Tum is a land of cultural colors. This land has 7 local ethnic minorities living together for a long time (Ba Na, Xo Dang, Gie - Trieng, Gia Rai, Mo Nam, Brau, Hre), combined with northern ethnic minorities and Kinh people from regions throughout the country have created extremely unique cultural identities.
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| Cherry blossoms bloom on DakKe Lake. |
That is the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space, which is honored as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. These are traditional festivals imbued with national cultural identity (New Communal House Celebration, New Rice Celebration, Buffalo Stabbing Ceremony, Grave Leaving Ceremony, Water Drop Celebration...). They are sinus dances, gong songs, epic stories, folk songs... reflecting economic life, culture, daily life, love between couples, families, and communities. They can also be traditional folk musical instruments such as the silk lute, flute, and ta vau; It can also be the art of sculpting folk wooden statues with many sophisticated and unique features.
Journalism allows me to travel to many places and meet many people. I have been to many villages and hamlets in all communes of districts and cities in Kon Tum province, some places even many times. Being able to go to learn about a new land and talk to many people in society made me even more attached to the people and land of Kon Tum.
Many times when I sit and reflect on life and current work, I understand more deeply the saying that our ancestors summed up: "If the land is good, the birds will perch". Maybe it's like that for me. And I think I will stick to this place for the rest of my life. That's also because I have a "predestined relationship and a debt" with this northernmost land of the Central Highlands.
By: Quang Định