Cleanse yourself, harm others?

(Baonghean) - "Is the place you live a good place to live?" The question seems frivolous, perhaps even lofty, and perhaps even cheesy, like a question from a beauty pageant. Why do I say that? Because in our country, it seems people have only focused on asking "good questions" to find "good answers," rather than identifying the problem and taking action.

"Live eating contaminated food, die buried in chemicals."

Therefore, it is quite possible that many of us view that question as something for others to answer. We mistakenly believe that "worth living" or "not worth living" is a matter for others, a matter for those coordinating UN programs, or at least a national issue...

Once, I attended a rather insightful lecture about the importance of a clean and safe living environment. Yet, between lectures, he indulged himself with several cigarettes, filling the air with smoke, even while pregnant women were trying to approach him for conversations. It turned out he still considered the issue of "living environment" to be outside the scope of this lecture!

Every day, I hear stories about vegetables sprayed with excessive pesticide residue, chemicals used to transform contaminated meat into seemingly clean meat, noodles soaked in borax, low-quality bottled beverages, and even tap water in some places being dirtier than pond water...

Authorities have intervened, detected, and dealt with the issues, but it seems they haven't been able to stop it. And in the cases where authorities have intervened and dealt with the problems, do you notice a common thread? It's sad to say, but it's our own people, not anyone else. Our own people are poisoning themselves. Why? Because people grow contaminated vegetables to sell to others, while they grow clean vegetables for their own consumption. Similarly, the same applies to those who produce contaminated meat and noodles. So, there will be a tragicomic situation where, on the table of a household that grows its own vegetables, only the vegetables are clean, while everything else is likely contaminated. Similarly, on the table of a household that produces contaminated meat, only the meat is clean, while everything else is contaminated.

Recently, there was a massive fish kill. Public opinion is focused on several industrial facilities with discharge pipes that release waste directly into the sea. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has also launched an investigation. While no final conclusion has been reached, the truth is that the fish deaths were most severe in the area surrounding the discharge pipes, spreading throughout the coastal provinces of North Central Vietnam. Now, with fish contaminated with lead at levels hundreds of times higher than the permitted limit, the consequences are unavoidable. National television recently broadcast news reports about seafood traders and markets facing hardship due to unsold goods. Coastal fishing vessels are also struggling because their seafood is contaminated, making it difficult to sell their catch.

Now, the story has gone further. It's not just about one family benefiting themselves while harming another. It's quite possible that this region, in its pursuit of growth at all costs, is negatively impacting both that region and others. Industrial facilities, especially heavy industry and those involving toxic chemicals, if not properly managed in terms of environmental treatment, will cause terrible and long-lasting harm and consequences. If a region only pursues growth, focusing only on the "surface" of revenue collection while neglecting environmental protection, it's like being greedy and sacrificing the whole picture.

Currently, many marine life is dying along the northern coast of Central Vietnam. Not only is the seafood trading and processing system affected, but fishermen and seafood restaurants are also struggling. Furthermore, the number of tourists visiting beaches is likely to decrease, primarily in areas with industrial facilities suspected of discharging waste into the sea, followed by neighboring regions.

Protecting a livable environment is never, and will never be, someone else's responsibility—someone else's, another family's, or another region's. It must first and foremost be a story for ourselves, our own family, and our own region. The question, "Is the place you live in livable?", has become a real obsession!

Paulownia tree