Revisiting the remains of Phu Loi Prison - the pride of his father's tradition

Anyone who has ever visited the relic of Phu Loi Prison (Phu Loi Ward, Thu Dau Mot City) must not have forgotten the pictures and evidence left here. From crimes committed by the United States - Diem against revolutionary soldiers and patriots who were imprisoned here, Phu Loi prison is also known as "hell on earth". This place not only contains much pain and loss, but also shows the determination, resilience and indomitable will of revolutionary soldiers and patriots before the vicious conspiracies of the enemy.

The younger generation still goes to the relic of Phu Loi Prison to learn about the nation's struggle tradition

Remnants of history

Phu Loi Prison was built by the puppet government Ngo Dinh Diem in the middle of 1957 to imprison and torture revolutionary soldiers and patriotic Vietnamese at that time.

Conspiracy to invade the South, through demonic and terrorist tactics to the "communist, extermination" campaign, the US - Diem caused countless crimes throughout the South of our country. To make "rather catch wrong than miss", the US - Diem set up prisons and prisons everywhere to imprison political prisoners, revolutionary soldiers and patriotic Vietnamese people, including Phu Loi prison.

At first, this place was only a prison with about 100 male and 4 female prisoners. By the end of 1957, the number of prisoners had increased to 3,000. By the end of 1958, the number of detainees there increased to about 6,000, including 1,000 female prisoners. They divided the prison into several areas: administrative area, family soldier's area, and Security area. Although it was called the "Security of the Institute", it was actually a prison area. The prison area consists of 3 camps (with 9 cells marked in order of A, B, C, D ...) and separated by thick walls of barbed wire. Surrounding the 3 camps are 2 high walls, some layers of barbed wire, an electric light system illuminating at night and completely separate from the outside. In the middle of the prison there was a high domed house to look over the whole camp. Surrounded by 4 entrances and 4 strictly guarded bunkers.

According to witnesses who had been imprisoned here, we had the opportunity to meet in later meetings to share, being imprisoned here, they were beaten, brutally tortured, eating and drinking activities also very harsh and needy. Rice cooked with rotten rice, served with spoiled fish, salt, fish sauce with maggot. The activities were dirty, lack of water, lying in solitary confinement, tiger cages, hard labor, when the pain was not cured ... They also imposed very strict "24 prohibitions" to find ways to beat any prisoners. at any time.

The mass murder of Phú Lợi - the culmination of a crime

Perhaps, each of us has heard of the Phu Loi massacre which took place in late November and early December 1958. That was the culmination of the crime that America - Diem had committed against the people imprisoned here. As usual, the US - Diem will organize 4 deportations of "A-class" prisoners in the mainland prisons to Con Dao. After classification, Phu Loi prison had 450 Type A prisoners who were sent to Con Dao Island at the end of November 1958. During this trip, their intention is to secretly kill the prisoners on the way to Con Dao.

According to the plan they had calculated, in this phase each exiled prisoner would receive a serving of bread (with poison) and food included. They had prepared everything on November 28, 1958, but consecutive days after the rough sea so the ship could not reach the waters of Vung Tau - Con Dao. Not giving up malice, America - Diem still plotted to kill Phu Loi prisoners again. On November 30, 1958, on a regular basis, on Sunday, the prison inmates would practice a "fresh" diet, including bread and other foods. In addition to the old bread (poisoned), to meet the ration, they mixed new bread together and distributed it to the prisoners. Many prisoners after poisoning suffered from abdominal pain, vomiting, convulsions ... By December 1, 1958, the number of poisoned prisoners continued to increase to hundreds of people, many died, many lie down. coma unconscious ... Two days in a row afterwards, more patients die and die. Severely ill patients were transferred, but then they could not be transferred back to Phu Loi.

In the spirit of resilience, determined will, the Party Committee (secret activities in the prison) decided to fight directly in public. Phu Loi prisoners stood together to unite and fight, tossing the roof of the prison, broadcasting loudspeakers for help on the tragic day of December 1, 1958. Thanks to that, the information about poisoning the prisoners was spread everywhere. People in the nearby communes rebelled in coordination with prisoners in Phu Loi to fight denouncing the crimes of the US - Diem. To run the crime of America - Diem sought non-evidence witness. This event has sparked the outrage of the Vietnamese people and peace-loving people all over the world for the crimes committed by the Americans - Wei and the Vietnamese people's struggle for independence, freedom for the nation. This wrath was later deeply expressed by poet To Huu in the poem of "The eternal love will never go away"

Under the strong pressure of international public opinion, by 1964, Phu Loi prison no longer existed. The prison system was transformed into a US-Diem military sub-zone until the day the South completely liberated April 30, 1975. Although it only existed for 8 years, but with the draconian regime that the US - Diem carried out Currently, Phu Loi Prison was dubbed the "Hell on Earth" by patriotic people and revolutionary soldiers were imprisoned.

Promoting the value of monument

One hand straight to the chest, a little forward, mouth wide open as if screaming, showing hatred to the extreme). The statue is like a historical witness, reminding us of a painful period of nationalism. It is also a symbol of the indomitable fighting spirit that his father left behind, leaving the generation behind to inspire himself to study and train, to contribute to building the increasingly rich and richer country.

Along with the hatred symbol of Phu Loi, there are a number of items that have been repaired and re-built within the precinct of the monument to retain the value of the monument and serve visitors and visitors. These are the prison quarters with the image of prisoners rebuilt very vividly, showing the harsh regime of imprisonment that the US - Diem puppet government had implemented with prisoners who have been imprisoned and tortured here.

Over the years, relics of Phu Loi Prison have been invested in by the province and cultural branches, promoting the value of the relics. Every year, the monument welcomes many domestic and foreign delegations to visit and learn about the revolutionary struggle history of the Vietnamese nation. For Binh Duong people in particular, especially the young generation, youth union members, students, students of schools ... often choose Phu Loi relic area as an indispensable address in the journey about many meaningful sources.

Reported by Cam Ly – Translated by Vi Bao