Workers and the journey 'Southward' after Tet

(Baonghean) - After a few days of returning home to celebrate Tet and enjoy Spring with their families, workers in rural areas in the province are busy "going" to the South to earn a living. And like every year, the bustling passenger buses at the beginning of the year take them away from their hometowns, carrying with them many hopes for the new year.

After Tet, rural workers in many rural areas flock to big cities to continue their daily journey of making a living. The countryside is deserted again after Tet. Along National Highway 1, bus stations, pick-up points or commune centers, in the days after Tet, there are many passengers carrying luggage, gathering and waiting for buses to leave their hometowns and continue to work in the working regions.

Carrying heavy bags of belongings and food, standing on National Highway 1 through Quan Hanh town (Nghi Loc) to catch a bus to the South, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy from Nghi Lam commune expressed: "My family is in difficult circumstances, and I have to raise two small children. Farming is not worth much, so my husband and I have to leave our children with our grandparents and go to work far away to earn money to raise our children and build a life."

Workers in Yen Thanh district welcome guests to the South to work after returning home for Tet. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Before Tet, Thuy and her husband left Ho Chi Minh City by bus to return to their hometown and also by this means they returned to the city to continue their work, working as workers for a shoe manufacturing company. Each time they returned to their hometown for Tet, then “hit the road” to work, the bus fare cost 3.5 million VND/person, thus “losing” a month’s salary.

Ms. Thuy confided: “When I go away, I miss my children and my home, but in the countryside, I work hard all year round with a few fields, raising pigs, chickens... but have no surplus. Every time Tet comes around, my husband and I have to pack up and leave, seeing the children away from their parents is a pity.” Therefore, Ms. Thuy wishes that if she had a stable job in the countryside, with a monthly salary of 3-4 million VND, it would be good, working during the day, and coming home at night to gather with the whole family, raise and take care of the children...

Nguyen Trong Duong, born in 1991, from Xuan Tuong commune (Thanh Chuong), has been working as a worker for Hoa Phat Steel Company in Binh Duong for nearly a year. His income is 6-7 million VND/month, after deducting all expenses, he can save 2 million VND/month.

This Tet, he received a bonus of 1 month salary along with savings of about 20 million VND, to go home and buy some household items. Luckily for him, the company provided a car to take workers home for Tet so he didn't have to pay for transportation.

Passengers take the bus back to work after Tet. Photo: Viet Phuong

There is one thing that anyone can easily notice, in the line of people waiting for buses and trains to the South, almost everyone’s face is filled with sadness. Another year they have been struggling to make a living in a foreign land with mixed hopes and worries… Many people have to leave behind their old parents and young children. But they still go with the hope that their lives and their families will be less difficult.

Among the numerous reasons given by those who left their homeland, the majority were because their families were having difficulties in production, unstable jobs, and uncertain incomes. Their departure from home in search of work has left many localities deserted after Tet, with some places having only the elderly and children remaining in their hometowns.

When it comes to making a living far from home, almost everyone thinks: "If only there were stable jobs in the countryside, no one would have to "leave home" anymore, how great would that be...". There are no exact statistics, but every year in Nghe An, tens of thousands of young workers go to the South and North to make a living.

Leaving home to find a job and increase income for themselves and their families is a common trend among young people today, many of whom have university degrees. Although they celebrate Tet with their families, everyone is always worried about the burden of making a living after Tet.

In recent years, with the efforts of localities in attracting investment, many enterprises have come to Nghe An to build factories and industrial production enterprises effectively, attracting thousands of skilled workers in the locality. However, due to many reasons, many young workers still "go South" to find jobs. Therefore, reuniting and having fun during Tet, then parting ways to continue making a living has become a cycle of labor in many rural areas.

Xuan Hoang