Peaceful Tet Festival of the Thanh Hoa Floating Village People

DNHN - We had the opportunity to visit the Thanh Hoa floating village community, which was recently granted land ashore. We could see neat and clean houses, straight concrete roads, and the excitement and joy of the locals in their newly painted homes.

“Living Ashore ”- A Turning Point in the Lives of the People Living on the River

The Peaceful Tet Festival is a lifelong dream for the people of floating villages throughout the country, and Thanh Hoa Province in particular. It seemed like this dream would never come true, but thanks to the humane and decisive policies of the provincial leaders, the impoverished floating villagers were able to celebrate Tet ashore in their dream homes.

Accompanied by the commune cadres, we visited the home of Mr Nguyen Van Muoi, 67 years old, in Lam Dat Village, Thieu Vu Commune, Thieu Hoa District. He and his wife were weaving rattan and bamboo items to supply to a nearby company.

Mr Muoi shared, “The dream of many generations of our fishing village is to live ashore, and now that dream has become a reality. I am very grateful to the Party and the State. On the day of the new house inauguration, the Provincial Party Secretary also attended the event with our fishing community, and we were overjoyed!”

Recalling the years when they were still living on the river, Mr Nguyen Van Muoi’s eyes welled up with tears: “Life was very hard, my dear. In the past, it was bearable, but in recent years, the shrimp and fish have become scarce, the weather has become harsher, and our difficult life has become even more challenging and dangerous. But we still had to cling to our boats because we had nowhere else to go. And now, this year, the entire fishing community can celebrate Tet ashore, living in tall and clean houses. Last Christmas, our whole community decorated our houses to welcome a warm, peaceful, and loving Christmas. The atmosphere in our Catholic fishing village was truly lively.”

The spacious 100-square-meter house in Lam Dat Village, right in the centre of Thieu Vu Commune, was handed over to Mr Muoi’s family at the end of August 2023. Although the furniture and belongings in the house are still simple, we can feel the warmth and happiness. They are preparing for the most fulfilling Tet celebration they have ever had.

The Resettlement Area Project for the people living on the river in Lam Dat Village, Thieu Vu Commune, Thieu Hoa District, with a total investment of nearly 6.3 billion VND, boasts a synchronous technical infrastructure. In just over 3 months, 28 out of 28 households have completed the construction of their houses and auxiliary works, moved from their boats, and settled in the resettlement area with great joy. After the houses were handed over, the authorities supported the households in sending their children to school, finding and supporting vocational training, and connecting them with local businesses and factories to find suitable jobs based on their age. They also surveyed the area of agricultural land, land contracted by the commune budget, and land of farming households who no longer need to use it, and prioritised the allocation of this land to households who want to engage in agricultural production, thus stabilising their lives.

After a survey, Thanh Hoa City identified 66 households eligible for consideration of land allocation and support for livelihood stabilisation, including 31 households that already have houses and land and have requested to dismantle their boats (9 households without city household members); 22 households with city household members); and 35 households that do not yet have land or houses (32 households requested to be allocated land; 3 households requested support for livelihood stabilisation). Thanh Hoa City has arranged for resettlement land, allocated land for housing, and provided financial support for house construction for the households living on the river.

In addition to allocating land, Thanh Hoa City also provides financial support of 100 million VND per household for house construction (from the city’s Fund for the Poor and from the Caritas Thanh Hoa organisation). Furthermore, Thanh Hoa City has paid attention to implementing social security policies, organising activities to encourage people living on the river to change their professions, introducing suitable jobs, and creating sustainable livelihoods so that the people living on the river can develop their economy and contribute to building a prosperous and civilised city.

Ms Nguyen Thi Thuy, 48 years old this year, is from the Hac Bridge fishing community in Dong Tho Ward, Thanh Hoa City. Her family has just been granted land by the State and provided with 100 million VND to build a house ashore in Nam Ngan Ward, Thanh Hoa City. She did not have the opportunity to go to school and is illiterate, which put her at a great disadvantage. Now, her house is built right in the city centre, close to schools, and her children and grandchildren can attend school.

While busily preparing the family’s Tet sticky rice cakes, Ms Thuy happily shared, “This is the first Tet that my family has made our pot of sticky rice cakes to celebrate. The Year of the Cat 2024 is the happiest Tet for my family and the people of the Hac Bridge fishing community.”

Recalling her life on the river, Ms Nguyen Thi Thuy confided, “My ancestors have lived on the river for generations. When I grew up, I got married and had children, and I followed in my ancestors’ footsteps. But life became increasingly difficult, with shortages of food and clean water. The most challenging times were during the floods when the whole family had to take turns staying awake to ‘watch the flood’. The cold, the freezing weather, and the hunger during the storms are unforgettable experiences for families who live off fishing.”

“That’s why I only dared to dream of having a small piece of land ashore to build a bamboo hut, let alone imagine building a house worth hundreds of millions of VND like this. If it weren’t for the care and support of the authorities at all levels, I don’t know when we would have a house to live in. Now that we’re living ashore, our lives will be reorganised, and our children and grandchildren will be able to go to school properly and have a brighter future. In the past, our children had to climb ashore to go to school, which was very difficult and dangerous.”

Working Together to Ensure “No One is Left Behind”

One of the major policies that Thanh Hoa Province implemented very early on was the issuance of Directive No. 08-CT/TU on October 10, 2003, by the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, entitled “Promoting the mass movement to support and assist poor households without houses, living in temporary and dilapidated houses, and stabilising the lives of people living on the river”. After nearly 20 years of implementation, the entire province has mobilised resources, allocated land, and supported the construction of 812 houses for poor households living on the river, mainly those belonging to religious communities. This achievement is the result of the efforts of the entire political system from the province down to the districts and communes, as well as the contribution of the great national solidarity bloc in the province.

Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Secretary Do Trong Hung has directed that in the two years of 2022 and 2023, the province must complete the allocation of land and support the construction of 324 houses for poor households currently living on the river so that they can move ashore and settle down. Carrying out this task is very challenging and requires great caution and determination.

The directive from the top leader of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee demonstrates the determination and efforts of the Party Committee, the government, and the Fatherland Front Committee of Thanh Hoa Province to ensure that poor households living on the river are not left behind.

By the end of 2023, more than 200 households of people living on the river in Thanh Hoa City and several districts have settled into new houses. The policy of supporting housing construction for poor households living on the river reflects a profound sense of humanity and a spirit of unity and determination, which has quickly come to life.

Sharing with us, Ms Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, Head of the Provincial Party Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Department and chairwoman of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, said:

“This is a specific program for the people living on the river. The Provincial Party Secretary has chaired many meetings with the Provincial People’s Committee, departments, agencies, and districts to find the most effective solutions. The leadership style of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, headed by the Secretary, is very decisive, hands-on, and flexible in finding effective solutions that comply with regulations for the people. Therefore, in just over a year, several hundred households have been able to move ashore. The Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee’s directive for this program is a comprehensive solution, which includes allocating land, mobilising resources to build houses, and, subsequently, creating sustainable livelihoods and stabilising the lives of the people living on the river. The allocation of land and support for new house construction are the first steps towards settling down, but establishing a livelihood is even more important. Therefore, when building resettlement areas for the people, the localities prioritise convenient, centralised locations near the centre, so that the people can continue to live close to each other and support each other as they have always done. At the same time, this helps them integrate quickly into the community and facilitates their production activities… In the coming time, the Party committees and authorities at all levels need to continue to pay attention to and support the people in stabilising their lives, so that the program can be sustainable and in line with the province’s policies.”

Minh Hien