Nghe people make a living in Noong Het land

(Baonghean.vn) - Making a living has brought the Nghe people to the land of Noong Het (Xieng Khouang province, Laos). And this peaceful land has 'kept' people from the East of Truong Son mountain range, many people consider Noong Het their second homeland.

Noong Het town today has the appearance of a modern urban area in the middle of the mountainous border area.

The shortest route from Nghe An to Noong Het town (Laos) is through Nam Can international border gate. In recent years, this border gate has become a bustling trading place, connecting the solidarity and friendship between people on both sides of the border.

Passing the majestic Truong Son mountain range, the primeval forests and the villages hidden in the mist, we arrived at Noong Het town when the sun was high in the sky. No longer recognizable as the shabby, low-lying town of the past, Noong Het now appears with high-rise buildings and modern architecture springing up side by side. Here, it is not difficult to find restaurants, shops and hotels owned by Vietnamese people. Traveling in the Land of a Million Elephants, we can still feel the spirit of Nghe An in the language and rhythm of life here.

The motorbike repair shop of Mr. Nguyen Chinh Loi, from Nghia Dan district in Noong Het town, is always busy.

Located right next to the main road of Noong Het town, the household goods store of Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, 48 years old, from Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district. The store is spacious with a lot of goods. From machinery and equipment for production and daily life to wooden beds, cabinets, furniture, and many household items...

Mr. Trung shared: “There are many Nghe people here who have lived for 20-30 years, they have acquired Lao nationality. At first, I was confused by the language barrier, but luckily there are quite a lot of Vietnamese people here, so I learned gradually. And now I am quite fluent in Lao.”

Nghe people are making the border town of Noong Het bustling and bustling.

In the conversation between people far from home, Mr. Trung shared that no one wants to be far from their family, but because of life, they have to travel abroad. To open a business near the main road in the hometown, it costs 2-3 billion VND, with little capital, how can he compete with others, so he decided to come here to do business. Money is scarce, people are clever, doing business in Laos is now more difficult than before, so earning 10 million VND a month is not a simple matter.

Next to Trung's shop is the motorbike repair shop of Nguyen Chinh Loi, a native of Nghia Dan district. Loi has been doing business in Noong Het for 3 years. Business is going well so he invited his younger brother to come and work with him. A few times a month he returns to his hometown to get spare parts to serve customers' needs. Loi said that doing business here is easier than in his hometown. However, Loi also believes that the peaceful life of this land is the main reason that keeps him and many other fellow countrymen attached to Noong Het.

Ms. Vi Thi Huong's grocery store in Noong Het town.

In the small town of Noong Het, there are about 100 Nghe people living and doing business.

At this time, Noong Het town has about 100 Nghe An people doing business and living. There are people who have been in Laos for several decades, and there are also people who have just come here to make a living. And most of them choose to do business and trade to make a living.

Ms. Vi Thi Huong, a Thai ethnic in Ky Son, came to Noong Het to get married and immigrated here for more than 15 years. She shared: “My husband is Laotian, I got to know him and then married him, then "got married and followed my husband". At first, I encountered many difficulties due to cultural differences and the difference in currency denominations. However, there are many Vietnamese people living here, most of them are from Nghe An, so gradually I started to get used to it. I decided to open a grocery store here and now it has become a trusted address whenever Vietnamese people come here and need advice and help".

Female student Noong Het on the way to school

Ms. Huong also added that not everyone who comes here has the same luck as her, because many Nghe An women who come here to marry Lao men are mostly ethnic minorities. They marry men from villages far from the center, do not have enough economic conditions to get citizenship (costs about 100 million VND), so life is quite difficult and struggling.

There are some Nghe people who work seasonally in Noong Het, some who have settled there permanently, their average age is from 18 to 50 years old. Their lives are quite precarious, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes difficult, sometimes favorable. Despite that, they always preserve their cultural traditions, national identity, and maintain close ties with their homeland Vietnam. Perhaps thanks to that, the friendship between Vietnam and Laos is increasingly close.

Thai Orchid – Vuong Van