The cramped, insecure life of the 'stilt house' village along the Vinh River.
(Baonghean.vn) – Located less than 500 meters from the center of Vinh city, the temporary fishing village along the Vinh River is like a completely different world.
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| The fishing village has 7 households with nearly 40 inhabitants, of which 6 households live in temporary shelters erected on the riverbank, and 1 household lives directly on a boat anchored nearby. |
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| Stepping into the fishing village felt like wandering into a minority ethnic village, with rows of closely packed stilt houses thatched with palm leaves... |
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| In 1978, Hoang Chuc moved here with his parents from Quang Binh when he was only 3 years old. Now he has 4 children, the eldest 16 years old, the youngest almost 2 years old, and his family is the only one living on a boat. |
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| In this fishing village, these families have been living here for 30-40 years. To this day, many families have three generations living together under one roof. |
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| To reach these houses, one usually has to go through a bamboo passageway that runs under the floor. When the water rises, they use the upstairs windows to get in. |
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| Everyone here uses water from the Vinh River for washing clothes and bathing, while drinking water comes from a well drilled by a household in the hamlet. |
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| Every day, in the evening, the men of the family would go fishing and return at dawn. While their wives took the fish to the market, they would catch up on sleep. |
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| As for the women, besides selling goods at the market, they also help their husbands and children mend torn fishing nets every night. |
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| Because the adults are busy with their daily lives, the children here usually play by themselves. |
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| Nine-year-old Nguyen The Phong, having just returned from school, quickly climbed upstairs to change his clothes and help his mother prepare for his father's night shift. |
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| With makeshift houses, children's education interrupted, high birth rates, and an unstable economy primarily dependent on fishing on the Vinh River, these families face extremely difficult living conditions. |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc, a resident of the fishing village, said: "Previously, there were many fish in the Vinh River, so life was better. Later, the fish decreased due to water quality issues and many people using electric fishing devices, so the fish population declined significantly, and life became increasingly difficult." |
Thanh Cuong
