The hard work of a porter

(Baonghean) - To make a living, many farmers come to Vinh city to work as porters. Working hard, they shoulder many worries with the hope of earning more income for their families.

Hard work

Near noon, the sun was about to reach its zenith, the heat was scorching the streets, but dozens of porters were still sitting in areas such as: Tam Giac Flower Garden, Kenh Bac Bridge, Cua Nam Flower Garden, Nga 6... (Vinh City) waiting for work. Most of them were from the suburban wards and communes and neighboring districts such as Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Nghi Xuan (Ha Tinh). They did not refuse any job, from cleaning houses, cleaning windows, carrying, to moving things, construction...

Women also work as construction workers. Photo: PV

Most of the female porters here are over 40 years old. Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, from Nghi Loc (46 years old) said that she and her husband have 2 children who have gone to university. The joy is multiplied but the burden is also doubled. In the countryside, she could not earn enough to support her children, so she had to follow some sisters in the neighborhood to Vinh City to find work.

Ms. Mai shared: “The first few days, no one hired me, then later I got hired, but the work was very hard, the most tiring was still loading goods. The trucks mainly arrived at noon or at night, so there were times when I almost fainted after loading goods. Falling and getting injured while loading goods, having a crooked spine, twisting my legs, or spraining my ankles were all normal…”

According to her, each time she carries heavy loads from the truck, she earns only 50,000 - 60,000 VND/person, and on days when she can do a lot, she gets about 200,000 - 300,000 VND in wages. The remaining average income is about 100,000 VND/day." Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan in Nghi Xuan district (Ha Tinh), who has 10 years of experience as a porter, confided: She got married and had 5 children. Her husband is sick all year round, so in addition to a few acres of contracted rice fields, during her free time, she often goes to Vinh city to find work, to earn extra income to support her children's education and to buy medicine and food for her husband.

The number of male porters who go to the city is also quite large. They do all kinds of jobs, whatever they are hired to do, mainly manual labor such as loading, transporting goods, moving houses, construction... There are many porters who are over 60 years old, but in sunny days as well as rainy days, they still try hard to make a living, save money to send back home to support their families and children...

The burden of a female porter at night. Photo: Tien Dung

Overcoming difficulties, nurturing dreams

Mr. Tai, a porter from Hung Nguyen district, said: Many people who worked all night carrying heavy loads fainted due to overwork and had to go to the hospital for emergency treatment. In addition, the job of a porter, in addition to hard labor, also inhales a lot of dust, so many people have respiratory diseases. Meanwhile, very few people have the conditions to have regular health check-ups. "The job of a porter is mainly a verbal contract with the employer, so when risks such as falling and injuring, if the employer is kind, they will pay a little money for treatment, otherwise, the porter has to bear it himself. In addition, if you do not control yourself, it is easy to fall into social evils" - Mr. Tai sadly confided.

Although it is a hard, tiring and precarious job, the porters have to persevere to make a living. They not only have to earn a living but also nurture dreams such as wanting their children to have a good education.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mo, a regular porter in Vinh City, confided: “My husband and I only have a few acres of rice fields, but we have to raise two children to go to university, so we have to try. Thinking about the future of our children, no matter how difficult it is, we will overcome it.” Looking at Ms. Mo’s thin body, her deep eyes filled with longing for a change in her family’s life, we took out our cameras to take a portrait of her, but she covered her face with her hat and shook her head: “Don’t take a picture, uncle. I can suffer no matter how hard it is, but my children are still in school. If their friends see and know that their mother is a porter, it would be a pity for them!”

During the off-season, many workers go to the city to find work. Photo: TD

Although the city's porters are from different backgrounds and circumstances, they are very united in life. They are willing to share food and clothing, work together, visit each other when sick, and share the difficulties in life. Ms. Mo said: "Last year, when Ms. Ha's child in Nghi Loc passed the university entrance exam, we still gathered together, contributed money and gifts to congratulate her. It was very happy."

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