Difficult problem!

(Baonghean) -Currently, at the Cua Tien river wharf, there are dozens of households living adrift, sometimes on this side of the river, sometimes on the other side. Their lives are facing many difficulties, with no household registration, no houses, no electricity, no water, and no land to set up camp.

Cua Tien River is only more than 100m from Vinh market by road, flowing through Cua Nam, Hong Son and Vinh Tan wards in Vinh City, currently supporting and sheltering many wandering lives. They are residents considered illegal residents in many different rural areas, from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh, drifting to Cua Tien river wharf to make a living.

On an old concrete boat, only about 3 square meters, Mrs. Ngo Thi Hong (64 years old), from Quang Binh, confided: "My whole family of 3 generations, 7 people (2 grandparents, 2 sons and their wives, and 3 grandchildren - PV) lives only on this small boat. There is no electricity or water, the worst is on rainy and flooded days, the whole family is tossed about on this old, dilapidated boat...". When asked about her household registration book and personal papers, Mrs. Hong said: "Not only my family, but dozens of households here do not have a household registration, let alone land...".

A corner of the fishing village at Cua Tien river wharf.

Just a few steps away from Ms. Hong's family's boat is a shack made of just a few palm leaves and some old, tattered pieces of packaging, with an area of ​​only about 2 square meters, right on the riverbank of Mr. Nguyen Tien Dan (77 years old) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, from Thanh Hoa. Mr. Dan was preparing lunch, his voice choked up: "My family used to live in Thuong Xuan - Thanh Hoa, but the family's circumstances there were difficult and we couldn't make ends meet, so we brought both of our children here to live since 1976, 1977. When we were young, we were healthy and had to go fishing and work as porters to earn money to support the family, but later on, life became more and more difficult. Now that the family has both grandchildren, my grandparents gave the old boat to their son and his wife to live separately, and my grandparents temporarily set up this shack to live in, every day they go out to collect scrap metal to sell, and every day they earn a few thousand. It's better in the sunny season, but it's very difficult in the rainy and stormy season, the river water rises high, water leaks everywhere and there's no way to get in."

Mrs. Ngo Thi Hong and her grandchildren on an old boat.

According to statistics, along the Cua Tien river wharf through the 3 wards of Vinh Tan, Cua Nam and Hong Son, there are currently more than 20 fishing households with over 100 people living. Due to illegal residence, all fishing households here do not have a household registration, no house, no electricity or water and no land to set up a stake. The most valuable assets of fishing households at Cua Tien river wharf are old pots or tattered temporary shacks, built precariously on the riverbank. And on these old pots or in each temporary shack, there are from 5 to 7 people living and working. Their occupation is catching shrimp and fish, now that shrimp and fish are depleted, they work as scrap collectors or do any other jobs to make a living.

Bringing up the issue in the fishing village to meet Mr. Nguyen Van Suu - Chairman of Vinh Tan Ward People's Committee (Vinh City), he said: "According to the data, the number of fishing households living on Cua Tien River in Vinh Tan Ward is about 11 households with about 25 people, the remaining households belong to other wards. All households in Vinh Tan Ward do not have a household registration. They are mainly from Quang Binh and other provinces. Up to now, it is very difficult for us to find a solution to this problem, because the local economy is also limited, so there is currently no policy to support them to escape poverty".

It is known that 6 years ago (2007), Vinh City authorities made a list of fishing village households at Cua Tien river wharf to complete procedures to hand over to the localities. However, less than a month after receiving support money and being transported back to their hometowns, these fishing village households returned to Cua Tien river wharf to continue living. And then the illegal residence of fishing village households at Cua Tien river wharf is a difficult problem in administrative management and ensuring social order and security for Vinh City authorities.

Article and photos: Nguyen Hai (Nghia Binh, Tan Ky)