The coolies struggle to make a living in the harsh sunlight of Vinh city.
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite the scorching heat, with temperatures sometimes reaching nearly 45 degrees Celsius, porters in Vinh city still struggle to earn extra income and improve their lives.
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| The harsh weather, intense heat, has greatly affected daily activities. However, at bus stations and wharfs in Vinh city, freight vehicles still come and go quite busily. And the people who work as porters, commonly known as porters, are still busy and tired with their work to make a living. Photo: Cong Kien |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Long and Mr. Cao Xuan Tien are both over 30 years old, and have been working as porters in the Vinh Market Bus Station area for more than 5 years. Mr. Long said: "The normal work of loading and unloading goods is very tiring, and it is even more tiring on hot days. There are times when I feel exhausted and unable to continue working, but I still have to try, because I am still young...". Photo: Cong Kien |
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| The daily work is loading and unloading goods onto and off the truck. When there are few goods or goods of small size and weight, Mr. Long and Mr. Tien usually take care of them themselves. But when there are heavy and bulky goods that are difficult to transport, they have to call more people to join in the loading and unloading. Photo: Cong Kien |
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| In the Vinh Market Bus Station area, Mr. Le Van Tan (nearly 60 years old) is known as a porter with about 20 years of experience. "My house is in Hong Son ward, I have many children, and my family is poor, so I have to stick to this hard job to make a living. The heat has been terrible these past few days, but I still run continuously, whenever someone calls me, I run, regardless of the fact that at noon the temperature on the street can reach 50 degrees Celsius. Earning 300,000 VND a day makes me happy, even though I am exhausted and don't want to eat or drink" - Mr. Tan said. Photo: Cong Kien |
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| About the same age as Mr. Tan, Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, in Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city), transports goods by cyclo from points in the city to the bus station, train station and vice versa every day. For light goods, he sits on the bike and pedals, for heavy goods, he gets off and pulls the bike in front. Like that, there are days when he travels dozens of kilometers in the scorching sun and the hot road, with heat blowing from all sides. Mr. Thanh said: "There are trips where I am drenched in the sun for 2-3 hours straight, making my eyes dark and my mouth dry. But for the sake of food, clothing and family life, I have to work hard to earn money, afraid that in a few years I will be old and weak and won't know how to make a living..." . Photo: Cong Kien |
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| Normally, loading and unloading goods is the job of men, because they can withstand harsh weather conditions. But for Ms. Tran Thi Duyen (over 30 years old) in Hung Binh ward, for several years now, she has specialized in transporting goods to the bus station for truck owners. Not only that, she can carry bulky goods weighing over 100 kg, which means she is not inferior to men, with some days earning over 300,000 VND. She confided: "For life and the future of my children, I am willing to do hard work, working hard in the midday sun to make a living...". Photo: Cong Kien |
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| The sun was about to reach its zenith, but Mr. Truong Van Danh (65 years old) with a thin body and haggard face still tried his best to move steel bars from a cyclo to a cargo truck. Sweat soaked his faded shirt and even the scarf on his shoulders... Mr. Danh has been doing this job since he was not yet 30 years old, almost every day "exposing" himself to the streets. He said: "If the sun keeps going like this, I probably won't be able to last much longer, I have to quit this job, at night my whole body aches. But if I stop, I don't know what to do to buy medicine for my wife, buy rice every day and take care of living expenses for my children and grandchildren." Photo: Cong Kien |
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| For about 5 years now, Mr. Dang Van Cong has been unloading goods for trucks around Vinh market. He said that this job requires a lot of energy, especially on hot days like today, but in return, he has a steady income of over 200,000 VND/day, sometimes double that, helping to cover expenses and raise children for school. For those who do this job, the biggest wish is for the weather to be less harsh, so that the job of making a living is less difficult and arduous. Photo: Cong Kien |
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| Although his face was soaked with sweat, Le Van Quan (nearly 40 years old)'s eyes still lit up with joy every time he had goods to transport, which meant he had work and a source of income. Like many people working in the cargo handling industry, Quan hopes to find a job that is less difficult and tiring, and that does not require him to "expose" himself to the midday sun. "Until I find a suitable job, I still have to work hard to unload goods to make a living and take care of my family," Quan shared. Photo: Cong Kien |
.jpg "Cận cảnh nơi tâm lũ Mỹ Lý, sơ bộ có 150 ngôi nhà bị lũ cuốn trôi, thiệt hại ước tính hàng chục tỷ đồng")
.jpg "Cận cảnh Thuỷ điện Bản Vẽ tiếp tục điều tiết lũ vào sáng 23/7")
