The story of Nghe An workers stuck in the heart of the epidemic in Da Nang

Struggling in the midst of the epidemic

For more than 2 weeks now, Mac Van Thai (26 years old, Chau Ly commune, Quy Hop district), has been wandering around in a dilapidated rented room in Ngu Hanh Son district (Da Nang). Thai is one of thousands of Nghe An workers stuck in the heart of the epidemic in Da Nang, most of whom have expressed their desire to return home. Even though they have to be quarantined for 14 days as prescribed. "We are very poor here. If we don't work, we don't get paid, so everyone wants to return home early. But everyone will comply with the regulations, and will not run away," Thai shared with Nghe An Newspaper reporters over the phone.

More than a year ago, Thai and a group of 15 fellow countrymen from Quy Hop came to Da Nang to work as construction workers. The work was hard but the income was not worth much. Every time they received their salary, they only kept a little for personal expenses, the rest had to be sent back to their families. That is why, when Da Nang implemented social distancing, work was stopped, causing many workers to suffer. "We Thai people celebrate Independence Day very big. No matter where we go, we often return to our hometown to celebrate Tet. I hope that the authorities will soon organize to bring workers here back, then quarantine them according to regulations so that we can celebrate Tet," Thai expressed his wish.

Construction workers from Nghe An live in dilapidated camps. Photo: KH

Not far from Thai's boarding house, a group of 11 people from Nghia Dan are also struggling to live in a dilapidated camp. They are road workers who are unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "There is a shortage of everything here, everyone wants to go back to their hometowns. Luckily, a few days ago, a group of fellow countrymen came to support with some food and provisions, but now they are all gone," said Nguyen Van B. (46 years old, Nghia Loi commune, Nghia Dan), revealing that a few days ago, this group of workers had 16 people. But unable to bear the hardship, 5 of them returned to their hometowns. They got into a construction concrete mixer truck, crowding each other inside to "pass" the checkpoints.

Most of these construction workers live in groups and have always eaten at restaurants. Therefore, in the boarding houses and workers' camps, there are no cooking utensils or food. So when Da Nang was quarantined and restaurants closed one after another, these workers had to find food on their own.

Many groups of workers have long been eating out, without cooking utensils or food. So when the restaurants closed, they faced difficulties. Photo: KH

Not only manual laborers, many Nghe An students studying in Da Nang are also in the same situation. Thang (20 years old, from Dien Chau district), a student at a university in Lien Chieu district, said that like many other poor students, every summer vacation, he often stays in the city to find a part-time job to earn a little money to cover expenses.

At the end of July, Thang had summer vacation. But right after school, the epidemic broke out, putting Thang in a dilemma. He couldn't go back to his hometown, but he couldn't stay either. "Normally, I usually apply for a job at a coffee shop, but now they're all closed. I don't know what job I can find. At first, I thought I would stay and work extra to send money back home to help my parents raise me, but now I have to call my parents to ask for help sending money," Thang said.

Humanity in hardship

More than a week ago, the hometown association called “Song Lam Association in Da Nang” decided to establish a “subcommittee” to support fellow countrymen and students from the same hometown who are facing difficulties in the midst of the epidemic. A group of 12 people were assigned specific tasks, from logistics to transportation... After only 1 day of posting on social media to find people in need, the hometown association’s “hotline” was almost overloaded. “There are 15 people from Dien Chau here. We’re so hungry, guys...”, one of the popular messages commented under posts in the hometown association group. Immediately, the hometown association members would ask for the specific address. In just a moment, the relief goods were delivered.

A group of Nghe An compatriots carefully equipped with protective gear set out to deliver relief goods. Photo: KH

Most of the relief goods were also donated by Nghe An philanthropists. They are usually businessmen, people who have lived for a long time and have stable jobs in Da Nang. There are also people whose circumstances are not so good, their income is just enough to make ends meet. But they are also willing to donate eggs, homemade foods with a strong local flavor such as pickled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, etc.

All relief items are disinfected before being delivered to the workers. Members of the relief subcommittee are also fully equipped with protective gear each time they deliver gifts. After only 5 days, the group has visited 200 locations, not to mention the students who received them at the gathering points. Thereby, helping nearly 2,000 compatriots, most of whom are workers and construction workers who are unemployed due to the pandemic. In some places, there were even more than 150 people from Yen Thanh who were stranded and were given relief by the group.

More than 150 workers from the same hometown of Yen Thanh are staying at a place to receive relief goods. Photo: KH

“There are many Nghe An workers in Da Nang. They are really having a hard time. But this solution is only temporary. Most of them have expressed their desire to return home. In the long term, I hope the two local authorities will soon organize to welcome these workers back,” said a member of the association.

In addition to providing relief, at each meeting, the group also called on workers not to flee back to their hometowns on their own, to “ensure the safety of their hometowns and villages”. “Many of them have fled back. They came to deliver relief goods today, but a few days later they were nowhere to be seen. If these people returning to their hometowns are not detected and quarantined in time, the risk of spreading the disease to the community is very high,” this member added.

According to the reporter's investigation, many workers in Nghe An in recent days, unable to bear the hardships of life, have tried every way to return to their hometowns. To avoid control, they often ask acquaintances to take them by motorbike to the road to avoid Da Nang city and then stand on the side of the road to ask trucks for a ride. Some even accept to walk dozens of kilometers across Hai Van pass. Recently, on August 6, a group of 4 construction workers from Tan Ky and Quy Hop were taken by authorities to a centralized quarantine in Thua Thien - Hue after more than 1 day of walking, crossing Hai Van pass to escape from Da Nang.