The homesickness of Nghe An workers

Compress love

Compared to everyone else in the village, Luong Van Luan in Ngoc Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) returned to work later because after Tet he stayed a few days to play with his children. Luan's family consists of an elderly mother, a husband and wife, and two young children. Luan is the breadwinner of the family, taking care of himself and the other four people.

In the Ngoc Lam resettlement area, there is only a small area of ​​rice fields and acacia hills. Just looking at that area, it will not be enough to eat, let alone cover living expenses. To have the expenses to take care of his old mother, young children and save for the long term, Mr. Luan had to leave the fields and hills to his wife to work, and he himself left his family to go far away to find work.

Trucks carrying Nghe An workers to all regions to earn a living. Photo: Cong Kien

For the past few years, Mr. Luong Van Luan has been working as a construction worker in a construction team, specializing in small projects in the northern provinces. He stays at the construction site all year round, stays in a shack or temporary house, and saves every penny of his wages to send back to his family. He usually only comes home on holidays.Lunar New Year, the rest stick to work to earn money, moreover if they take many days off the contractor will find a replacement.

He confided: “Working far away, I miss my mother, my wife, and my children so much, but I have to keep it in my heart. There were times when I wanted to go home, but I thought about it again and again, because I work far away and have an income, and my children will have less trouble, so I have to continue working. I just hope there will be more work in my hometown so I can return home and reunite with my family…”

The day he left, his wife and children saw him off to Ho Chi Minh road to catch the bus. He held his little child tightly as if he didn’t want to let go. When the bus stopped at the side of the road, he passed the child to his wife. The child was bewildered, not understanding what was happening as she watched her father get on the bus and wave his hand, the bus gradually disappeared…

Sharing the same fate of being away from home, Mr. Kha Van Hung and his wife also went to work later than expected because they stayed with their children for a few days. There were not many fields and hills, and the family had many siblings, so it was not enough to produce, so Mr. H. and his wife had to leave their two young children with their parents to go to the South to work.WorkerWorking in Binh Duong, each person works at a company, Mr. Hung and his wife rent a small room.

The "One-stop" transaction point in Ngoc Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) is crowded with people completing procedures to go to work far away. Photo: Cong Kien

Every month, food, accommodation and other expenses take up a large amount of money, and we have to save as much as possible to save money to send home so that our parents can take care of our children's food and education. "The cost is expensive, but working there still gives us a steady income to cover our minimum living needs. It's just that we can't be with our children, so we miss them a lot. My husband and I hope to find a suitable job in Nghe An so that we can visit our children every week, but it seems difficult," Kha Van Hung confided.

We went to the "one-stop" transaction point in Ngoc Lam commune, where it was packed with people coming to complete documents and procedures to go to work far away, and the judicial and office staff were always working at full capacity.

Mr. Lo Huy Hung - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said: "Due to lack of land for production and lack of jobs, many workers in the commune have to go far away to find work, young people go to work far away, so there are residential areas where only the elderly and children are left at home. Preliminary statistics show that up to now, the whole commune has more than 800 people who have gone to work.work far away, this number may increase in the coming days".

Wish for reunion

Not only Ngoc Lam commune, the source of young laborers leaving home to work far away is a common situation in many localities in the province. In particular, mountainous districts often have a large number of people leaving their hometown, even many villages are devoid of young people - the main source of labor for the family.

In the days after Tet, the “one-stop” transaction points of the communes were crowded with people jostling to complete documents and notarize papers to leave their hometowns to find work. And bus stations, train stations, and intersections on national highways were also crowded and bustling with people boarding buses and trains to leave their hometowns to find work.

People who leave their homeland to make a living in a foreign land often feel sad and worried when they set off. Photo: Cong Kien

The luggage of the peopleexileGoing to the South or the North to look for work is usually quite easy, with just a suitcase containing clothes and documents. But when getting on the bus or train, everyone's mind is heavy, because in front is a foreign land, behind are family and relatives waiting every day.

Like Mr. Nguyen Van Binh in Thanh Son commune (Anh Son), he felt remorseful when he left his sick wife to take care of three school-age children. Although he loved his wife and children, he had to leave because if he stayed in the countryside, his family's life would be more difficult and arduous.

Or like Ms. Vi Thi Huong in Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong), her husband passed away early, leaving her with two young children, one learning to talk, the other just learning to walk. With no other choice, Ms. Huong had to send her two children to her elderly mother and go to Thai Nguyen to work as a factory worker.

Workers leave for far away places with heavy feelings of separation from their homeland and the desire to reunite with their families. Photo: Cong Kien

Her job was already stressful, and she often received news of her children being sick, so her heart was always in turmoil. During the Lunar New Year holiday, she had more than 10 days off, and when she returned home, she and her children had just found warmth again when they had to say goodbye. On the day of departure, Ms. Huong tried to hold back her tears and boarded the bus to the northern provinces...

The lines of cars and trains are running in a hurry, bringing Nghe An citizens to all regions to earn a living, find jobs and start a business. There, countless people carry the burden of being away from home and the desire to reunite with their families, sharing the common wish that their homeland will have more jobs so that they can return in joy and reunion…