Long Bien Bridge and people's life underneath it

From my point of view and from what I have learnt, there are differences between the repair replacement supports because there is so many times Long Bien Bridge destroyed by the enemy’s bombs. Hence, each time the bridge was repaired, it made the differences. Moreover, Vietnamese workers at that time did not have highly good quality and skill in this field. Consequently, although the bridge was restored, it could not return to the original one.

However, this is not totally a disadvantage. It was these differences that enclosed and symbolized the victory of Vietnamese sovereignty and national reunification against both French and US domination.
Understanding this meaning, we know that the existence of the bridge is a national pride.
People on the Island, or more usually called, “Bai Giua” (the Middle Ground) do different “jobs” to make a living.
Absorbing from what I saw, people here are not native Hanoi resident. They are from different places, for example, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh Province. The reason why they leaved their hometown to live here, as far as I know, is because at their home town, they could not find a way to earn money. Besides, there are also people moved to live here because they own no land, have no where else to settle down, so that they choose this place. When moving here, it can be possible that all of these people expect a better live; however, it turns out to be a hard-to-come-true dream. Their daily life is so harsh.
There is a fact that they do not have a family - register, diploma or basic knowledge to get a proper job. On the Island, most of people here make their daily life by farming. Some other, such as healthy men, is working as hired labor in some constructing buildings (working as builders for example), etc. There are also some families earn money by collecting and categorizing nylon rubbishes to sell to firms for recycling. Lastly, families living beside the river’s banks are fishermen.
It is transparent that their lives are depended strongly on the Red River. Unfortunately, in recent months, the Red River is at its lowest water level within more than a hundred year. This makes even more burden for people living on the Island. They are lack of water to plant tree and to irrigate their arid fields. The fishermen also face troubles. Their boat-houses are stuck in mud. It is harder to go fishing to earn money. Their life is becoming much more miserable.
In general, most of families on the Middle Ground are living at poor conditions. Having so many difficulties at having a settled income pushes their dream of a better life away.
Actually, my hometown is in Hanoi, but it is an outskirt area, so that my family members just know a little about Hanoi great bridge – Long Bien Bridge, and they nearly do not have any close memory about the bridge.
However, with native Hanoi residents, especially the senior citizens, Long Bien Bridge is a part of their heart and soul. There are so many memorable times as well as important events attached with the bridge. Firstly, it should be mentioned about the construction of the bridge in the period of 1899-1902. When Long Bien Bridge was built, it was called the Doumer Bridge. This original name was after the name of the Governor General of Indochina. At that time, Long Bien Bridge was the longest bridge in Asia. More influential, it was also the symbol of French assimilation towards Vietnam culture. It is the idea of bringing into Vietnam, particularly in Hanoi, a modern and civilized small Paris. This assimilation policy reflects the French desire to totally conquer Vietnamese society and culture.
The second remarkable event going with Long Bien Bridge that I would like to mention about is Vietnamese triumph in the end of French War. Right across Long Bien Bridge, there was the joy of liberty from capital residents, Communist soldiers – the Vietminh. People stood on the two road edges on the bridge to cheer with Vietminh revolutionary forces matching across the bridge. Furthermore, the bridge also witnessed the defeat of French as well as their withdrawal of the troops. To mark this glorious event, the bridge was renamed Long Bien Bridge as the name of a small village located on the Red River bank.
In the glow of Long Bien Bridge victory, there are also many times the bridge was destroyed by tons of bombs. Hanoi people and part of the army force had worked so hard to repair the bridge. Nowadays, there are still vestiges of the restoration, for example, the bridge’s supports, spans. This “scar” of the bridge marks the spirit of Vietnamese people to fight against the US war; therefore, it is the symbol of Vietnamese victory.
Without a doubt, Long Bien Bridge truly is the bridge of history and it will live permanently in each Vietnamese people mind, especially Hanoi people.
For us, the young generation, the bridge brings along with it the message from the magnanimous past of our previous generations, in keeping and protecting national independence and sovereignty.  But that is not all. Obviously, how to preserve the bridge intrinsic value is another essential issue. On one side, it is important to restore the bridge quality for people daily demand of transportation. On the other side, it has to be considered carefully about how the bridge will be preserved. As mentioned above, there are many valuable merits that the bridge is holding in: the “differences”, the historical marks of the previous hard-working, national victory, etc. Therefore, the idea of restoring Long Bien Bridge into it original shape means that all those values will be deleted forever. It has to be cautious about the “colonial form” from foreign country.
With this duty, the young generation will be the one with the greatest support and effort to keep our national pride.