Hung Nguyen: Fishermen wait wearily for land to come ashore

(Baonghean.vn) - The project to plan and allocate residential land for residents of Thanh Son and Thanh Thuy fishing villages in Hung Long commune (Hung Nguyen) was approved in March 2009 and has yet to be implemented.

On an area of ​​2.5 hectares of alluvial land inside hamlet 16, Hung Long commune is planned into 3 ways, with 48 locations for houses, cultural houses, roads, drainage ditches... for 48 households in Thanh Son and Thanh Thuy fishing villages.

The households whose names were on the list were all excited, thinking that they would soon be given land to build houses on shore, escaping the situation of a family of 5-6 people crowded together on a narrow boat, drifting on the river all year round.

“At that time, they came back to draw a plan for the residential area for the fishing village households. We were very happy. Some households had prepared money so that when they were granted land, they could build houses right away so that their children would have less trouble going to school. But after waiting for nearly 10 years, the project is still on paper. We don’t know when we will have a house,” said Mr. Luu Xuan Quang, a resident of Thanh Son fishing village.

The children grew up on a small boat, drifting on the Lam River all year round. Photo: Thanh Tam

Mr. Luu Xuan Man, former village chief of village 16, Hung Long commune, also expressed: I do not understand why, although the province approved the project, the fishing villages of Hung Loi, Hung Chau, Hung Lam (Hung Nguyen) and Nam Loc (Nam Dan) have all been granted land to build houses on shore, while the fishing village of Hung Long has not been granted land yet.

Hung Long fishing village was formerly a boat transport cooperative. In the past, water transport was quite developed, but now it is increasingly difficult, so some households migrated to the Central Highlands to live, some households moved ashore and were given land to build houses, forming hamlet 16, Hung Long commune; those who stayed behind worked as sand and gravel transporters on the river, and some worked as fishermen.

The isolated, makeshift living space on narrow boats makes life even more difficult for the fishing village households. Photo: Thanh Tam

"Households that do not have land to build houses live a life of drifting on the river, here and there, sometimes they still come back to participate in activities with hamlet 16 Hung Long, especially on holidays, residents of the fishing village go ashore to participate in the village's cultural and artistic activities. They are still waiting for the day when the state grants them land to go ashore to build houses and stabilize their lives" - Mr. Nguyen Van Dang, hamlet chief of hamlet 16, Hung Long commune said.

In 2014, the authorities of Hung Long commune and Hung Nguyen district requested a policy of mixed land planning to grant land in the form of valuation for more than 10 fishing village households to build houses. Mr. Hoang Nghia Toan - Secretary of the Party Committee of Hung Long commune said. "Because there are many households living on the river, many households are too poor, the elderly want to go ashore, the commune solved the situation by requesting a policy of mixed land planning to grant land in the form of valuation. The mixed land can only accommodate a few households, it cannot be expanded for fear of future landslides."

The livelihood of Thanh Son fishing village, hamlet 16, Hung Long commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Thanh Tam

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Trong - Party Secretary of Hamlet 16, Hung Long Commune said: "Currently, Hamlet 16, Hung Long Commune still has 35 fishing households drifting on the river, there are households with 2-3 generations of nearly ten people living together on a boat. Their current life is also very difficult, their jobs are unstable. Many households with small children living on boats are at risk of being unsafe during the rainy season"./.

Thanh Tam