Indomitable female revolutionary prisoner Hai Duong

brutal torture

We visited Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phai (94 years old, Nhan Kiet village, Hung Thang commune, Binh Giang) on ​​the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8 and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. Although Mrs. Phai had just undergone surgery and had difficulty walking, her face still showed her sharpness and her bright eyes welcomed visitors from afar. Although she could not talk much, when talking about her years of participating in revolutionary activities when she was young, she still remembered her comrades in the village and commune who dug tunnels and sheltered cadres.

“After listening to him later, at that time, the blood of his revolutionary family urged him to act without fear of danger. He was a guerrilla, and together with his teammates, he dug tunnels to hide cadres. His father also hid cadres, and his uncle was a pre-uprising cadre. At the age of 18, my grandfather began to participate in revolutionary activities even though he was very small,” said his son, Mr. Vu Dinh Quyet.

During a raid, Mr. Phai and many other guerrillas were discovered by the enemy, taken to Ke Sat outpost and then led to Hai Duong Prison. During the 5 months of imprisonment (from February to July 1954), despite his small stature and weak limbs, he could not escape the beatings of being hung upside down by his feet and hands until he lost consciousness, then being doused with cold water for interrogation. However, the will of a revolutionary soldier helped him overcome those dark days. However, those tortures caused his health to deteriorate.

At the age of 95, Mrs. Pham Thi Gam (Thach Khoi ward, Hai Duong city) is still very clear-headed. Every time she mentions the days of being imprisoned in Hai Duong Prison (from March to June 1954), she cannot hold back her emotions. At that time, she joined the guerrillas and was assigned to guard Route 5 in Cam Khe commune (Cam Giang) to block the way for French tanks. One day, she and the guerrillas were swept by the enemy and ran into the rice fields to hide. They were then captured by the enemy and taken to Hai Duong Prison.

- He kept hitting me with his baton. He asked: Do you know where the Viet Minh are? - I said: I'm still young, I don't know anything.
- It said: This kid, this kid. Then it hit me again. After hitting me, it asked me questions. It hurt a lot but I had to grit my teeth and bear it, I absolutely could not confess.

The pain was compounded by the pain, because at that time, Mr. Gam also heard that because his family was hiding Viet Minh cadres, his brother was also captured and imprisoned by the enemy in Pha Lai.

Unyielding

Ms. Hoang Thi Hoai (born in 1928) is currently living in Tu Minh ward (Hai Duong city). At the age of 20, she was already a party member and was assigned many important tasks by the organization. In December 1950, she was captured by the enemy on her way to perform a mission. They imprisoned her in Hai Duong Prison. Around mid-1952, she was taken to Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi). In March 1954, under the leadership of the party organization, she and many comrades successfully escaped from prison. During her time in Hai Duong Prison, Ms. Hoai held the position of Head of the Liaison Committee for Political Prisoners of Hai Duong Prison.

On March 5, when the provincial delegation came to visit and give gifts, Hoai's health had declined significantly. He could not walk or talk. However, Hoai's relatives said that he was still conscious and aware. When people asked about the years of being captured and imprisoned by the enemy, his eyes lit up with emotion. Those eyes reminded me of his words, which are kept in a book at the memorial house of the Hai Duong Provincial Women's Union: "In prison, I was brutally beaten and extremely miserable. Only people in that situation can understand. Hai Duong prison is considered extremely barbaric, they arrested thousands of people and tortured them, selecting those who were known by name, had activities, and had titles to be tortured more to get documents. In prison, thinking of myself as a party member, I considered sacrifice as light as a feather. In that miserable situation, I could not bear to disappoint the people."

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dien in Vu Xa village, Phuc Dien commune (Cam Giang) is a former female revolutionary prisoner during the resistance war against the French. She is now 93 years old but is still lucid and healthy. Recalling the time she participated in the resistance war and served the revolution, Mrs. Dien is full of excitement and pride.

At the age of 19, he volunteered to join the local guerrilla team. Because he was small and agile, his superiors assigned him the task of communicating and exchanging information with other guerrilla teams inside and outside the commune. Mr. Dien recalled: “At that time, the anti-French movement was very active. A friend from the village above and I enthusiastically participated, protesting against the French army's conscription. I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Women's Union of Lai Cach commune.”

During his mission in January 1953, Mr. Dien was captured by the enemy and imprisoned in Hai Duong Prison. After 1 year and 2 months of detention there, he was transferred to Hoa Lo Prison. Although the prison was harsh and deprived, it did not shake Mr. Dien's revolutionary spirit. He and his fellow prisoners still listened to information from the outside, believing in the day of liberation. In 1954, after the French were defeated on many fronts and forced to negotiate to end the war, Mr. Dien was released. Until now, more than 70 years have passed, but Mr. Dien still remembers the solidarity song that he and his fellow prisoners sang when they met our soldiers coming to the prison to rescue revolutionary prisoners.

Declaring her age to join the revolution is the story of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Da, born in 1934 in the same village of Vu Xa, Phuc Dien commune (Cam Giang) who still tells her children and grandchildren. Having been enlightened about the revolution from an early age, Mrs. Da wanted to serve in the resistance war since she was a child. When the locality recruited guerrillas to fight the French, Mrs. Da declared her age 2 more to join the revolutionary ranks. At that time, she was only 14 years old. Although she was the youngest in the team, Mrs. Da enthusiastically took on many tasks such as military intelligence, ammunition transport, etc. After nearly 4 years of revolutionary activities, she was captured by the French army and imprisoned in Hai Duong Prison. Despite being imprisoned, she was not shaken, her heart was devoted to the revolution.

When he was released, Mr. Da enthusiastically participated in production emulation movements in his hometown. Now over 90 years old, he is still healthy and takes care of himself. Every day, he still rides his bike to the market. "I always remind my children and grandchildren to unite and strive to not let down the sacrifices of previous generations," Mr. Da shared.