After working at battlefields and military hospitals for 40 years, retired Lieutenant Colonel and doctor Trang Xuan Chi continues to contribute to his community as a Red Cross volunteer. He talks with Bich Huong about his experiences and thoughts.
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Doctor Trang Xuan Chi hands over a VND32-million saving book donated by Binh Dinh Newspaper’s readers to five orphans living in Thi Nai Ward, Quy Nhon city. Photo ND/BDO
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Inner sanctum: What drives you to be so enthusiastic in helping poor disadvantaged people, especially AO victims?
I was born in the central province of Quang Nam's Hoi An City but the faded memories about my hometown only come to me in my dreams. My grandmother evacuated me and two of my cousins to neighbouring Binh Dinh Province because of war against the French in 1947 when I was 11. One of my clearest memories is the death of my mother two years before, when she died soon after giving birth to my sister. Life was so tough for us at that time, I was very sad and desolate when I saw hunger, thirst and sickness take my grandmother and cousins. I once walked about 600km to return to my hometown to look for my father but could not find him. Years later I learnt that he died the same year we left Hoi An. I was lonely on Earth for a long time. I finally found family love when I was serving in the resistance army as a postman. I was selected to attend army medical school in 1953 and I have worked as a nurse and then a doctor ever since.
On the battlefield, I had the chance to see the determination and magnanimity of young 18-19 year old soldiers who went out to the front lines for the country's freedom and independence. Along with the continuous victories came a flow of injured solders. Looking at the too-young soldiers who had left a part of their flesh and bones on the front lines, I always thought to myself: "Now I can treat and relieve their wounds but what can I do to reduce the consequences of poisonous Agent Orange?" I told myself that if I survived through the war, I would do my best to help other disadvantaged people, especially my fellow soldiers and their children.
Inner sanctum: How did you become a "special volunteer" for the Binh Dinh Province Red Cross?
I retired in 1992 after being head of Internal Medicine Department of Military Hospital 13 in Binh Dinh for over ten years. At that time, many private hospitals and clinics invited me to work for them but I refused because I was planning to spend time during my retirement studying about traditional medicine. In 1998, Chairman of the Binh Dinh Red Cross Vo Van Bong asked me to help at its charity clinic. I and two other retired army doctors, Pham Dong Tien and Nguyen Huu Huong, worked at the clinic, offering free examinations and treatment to poor people. I also go to remote areas to visit children with heart problems, poor disabled people and children of veterans who were exposed to AO.
In 2000, the American Red Cross had a project to support Vietnamese AO victims. With my accumulated expertise and understanding, I was responsible for collecting data and making a list of beneficiaries. I've travelled to more than 150 communes and wards in the province. The more places I visit, the more needy people I find and the more I want to do to help them. I take their pictures, write down what I witnessed and heard and then send stories about their lives to organisations, newspapers and other mass media outlets. In response to my stories, donations and offers to help have been offered, including free treatment. I can't remember how many people have been given timely, meaningful support that saved the lives of those in need, bringing new hope to them and their families. If I hear something new about disadvantaged people, I can't sleep until I do something for them. Many times I have hunched over my computer at night to write about them: the misery of a blind mother walking along the street with her two children to sell lottery tickets, poor women working hard to feed ill husbands and pay university fees for their children, AO victims with deformities and mental disabilities.
Inner sanctum: People call you "Red Cross Chi" or the man connecting people. Can you explain the nicknames?
I could not have done so much for needy people without the help and enthusiasm of other people including my family, organisations and especially people in the press who have helped me deliver my message to donors across the country and abroad. They call me "Red Cross man" because I take part in almost all Red Cross activities in the province. Those who I've helped call me father as a way to say "thank you". I'm happy to help them and happier when they consider me family. One happiness the charity work brings to me is that I've met many kind people who are willing to lend a hand to underprivileged people. They don't know or don't have enough time to go down narrow roads to find the people who need support. In 2002, Prof Dr Bui Duc Phu from Hue General Hospital phoned me at 8 pm while he was reading about a poor boy with an innate heart problem on Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper. He said, "Bring him to the hospital and we will offer him a free surgery", which made not only the boy and his family happy, but me and my family happy as well.
One of my articles about a girl who was seriously burned was in a paper that went out at about 5am. Only three hours after, I received a phone call informing me that the newspaper has raised more than VND60 million (US$3,000) to treat the girl. Many people send me money and ask me to deliver the money to those who need it. They trust me, even though they don't know who will benefit.
Inner sanctum: Do you remember the people you have helped?
For more than ten years I have filled my life with the fate of disadvantaged people. They have become part of my life, clues of time, places or names can remind me of certain situations, but to be honest, I don't remember everyone. The list of AO victims, the list of children with heart problems, the list of disabled, all are full of names, pictures and notes. Now, people call me when they want to help others, when they need help, and when they know about someone who is in need. I will visit them, adding to my list and engaging more and more people in the circle of sympathy, love and sharing.
Inner sanctum: Do you have any wishes for your self?
At the age of 75, I am still healthy enough to do charity work and my family have encouraged and supported me a lot, which make me more consistent in what I do. Deep in my heart, I want to say thank you to my wife and my children for helping me to do unpaid work. I always hope that the information about needy people, especially AO victims, will reach more and more people. Support of all kinds would be very valuable to me and disadvantaged people. I believe and follow the motto that: A kind heart can awaken thousands of other kind hearts.
A humane heart can light up tens of thousands of humane hearts.
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