Fight to prevent illegal immigration in border areas

(Baonghean) - Faced with the situation of Mong people illegally migrating to Laos, causing significant impacts on the stability of social order in the highlands, the provincial Border Guard has coordinated with localities to deploy many solutions to limit migration, gradually stabilizing the lives of people in border areas.

Officers of Nam Can Border Post (Ky Son) propagate the Border Law to Nam Can Secondary School students.

Support returnees to stabilize their lives

Due to being gullible and listening to the bad guys' enticements, in February 2017, Vu Va Co in Nam Can village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son) sold all his assets and illegally migrated his wife and children to Laos. After 3 months of returning, he and his wife, along with their 5 children and grandchildren, became homeless, without any land to produce.

Reluctantly, Mr. Va Chu Co - Vu Va Co's father had to help his son's family. Mr. Co shared: "My son kept hearing people say that migrating to Laos was fun, but when he arrived, he realized how hard it was, with no house or land, so he had to find a way back. Therefore, our Mong people should work hard and not migrate to Laos anymore."

Mr. Gia Chong Tenh, 55 years old, from Ca Duoi village, Na Ngoi commune (Ky Son) is also someone who understands the hardships of migration. Two years ago, with the excuse of reuniting his family and relatives in Laos, he quietly sold all his assets and illegally migrated to Laos with his wife and children. Just over a year later, he was returned to Vietnam by the Lao government. Returning to a state of empty house, empty garden, nearly 10 mouths in the family had to live at the house of his eldest son.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dang Khoa - Deputy Chief of Political Affairs (BĐBP) of the province said: The underlying cause of illegal migration across the border comes from limited awareness and lack of understanding of the law among people in remote areas.

In addition, the nomadic lifestyle of the Mong people has existed for generations, combined with the fact that some households lack land for farming, so their lives are difficult; in particular, many people, because they listen to bad people's enticements and promises of a better life on the other side of the border, do not hesitate to leave their villages to go to Laos.

Most of the households migrated through unofficial channels, some used passports to openly visit relatives, while the rest crossed the border illegally. This situation has caused disruption and difficulties in the management of household registration, household registration, and control of border security and order.

In particular, some people take advantage of this migration to infiltrate and carry out dark plots, illegally transporting drugs...

To help limit illegal migration, the provincial Border Guard has coordinated with all levels of sectors and local authorities to implement many programs and solutions to support returnees, including activities to help people develop socio-economy with practical and effective models, from building houses, public works to production capital.

Some resettled households were "guided by hand" by border guards, supported with breeding cows, breeding pigs, breeding fish, wild ducks and disseminated breeding and production techniques suitable to the local climate and natural characteristics to stabilize their lives.

In 2017, all four households that illegally migrated to Laos and returned, namely Va Tong Xo in Lien Son village, Nam Can commune; Ly Va Gio in Noong Han village, Doc May commune; Mua Y Tu and Mua Ba Mai in Keo Bac village, Na Ngoi commune (Ky Son)... were helped, supported and encouraged by the Border Guard and local authorities to develop the economy and stabilize their lives.

Diversify forms of law dissemination

Along with efforts to help migrants return to develop the economy and prevent human trafficking, the provincial Border Guard has coordinated with all levels and sectors to promote propaganda and legal education for ethnic minorities in border areas in many forms such as direct dialogue on migration, preventing human trafficking; mobilizing returnees to self-criticize and speak to the people; implementing the National Border Law education program for 9th grade students of secondary schools in border communes...

From there, make people understand that illegal immigration across the border cannot bring a prosperous life, but on the contrary, it also brings many consequences for family, community and society.

Like My Ly Border Guard Station, in charge of My Ly and Bac Ly communes - 2 remote, extremely difficult areas of Ky Son district, with a total population of 1,938 households/10,072 people, including 3 ethnic groups: Thai, Mong, Kho Mu living together.

From the results of the survey on legal awareness of cadres and people in the area, the Station has coordinated with local Party committees and authorities to provide documents, leaflets, and compile lesson plans with easy-to-remember content in both common and ethnic languages, presented via electronic computers; built a legal bookshelf with 34 books; and at the same time established the core "nucleus" of 3 groups and teams to disseminate the law and 2 legal propaganda clubs to contribute to improving legal knowledge for cadres and people in the border area.

Last year, officers and soldiers of My Ly Border Guard Station mobilized and promptly prevented 19 households from giving up their intention to migrate to Laos.

Officers of Thong Thu Border Guard Station (Que Phong) disseminate the law to the people.

Some units such as Nam Can Border Guard Station (Ky Son) have coordinated well with local authorities to successfully organize conferences against illegal migration to Laos. In addition to the participation of officials and people in the commune, there were also the presence of households who migrated and returned with real stories about the difficult and hard life during the migration process as living witnesses.

With the characteristics of an area where 100% of the Mong ethnic people live, with a 25 km border with Laos, and a complicated migration situation (according to local leaders in the first 8 months of 2017, there were up to 6 households illegally migrating to Laos, most of which were in Nam Khien and Lien Son villages), this is the most effective and vivid way of propaganda for the people.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dang Khoa - Deputy Chief of Political Affairs (Provincial Border Guard): In addition to policies and strategies to support people in economic development, to solve the problem of illegal migration from Vietnam, the Vietnam Border Guard Command and the Border Guard Department of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army have coordinated well in managing and protecting the border and preventing illegal migration of Vietnamese Mong people to Laos; and developed a plan to receive people returning from Laos when the two governments of Vietnam and Laos agree on solutions.

The Nghe An Border Guard Command also coordinated with the Military Command of Xieng Khouang Province, Laos to organize a joint exercise to prevent Vietnamese Mong people from freely migrating and illegally entering and exiting Laos, contributing to maintaining peace in the villages and ensuring security and order in the border area.

PV Group