April 3rd, 2008 - Century Debt

“Century Debt”
With the cost of living on the rise, a factory worker's monthly salary of 1 million Vietnamese dong (£32) doesn't cover rent and utilities, much less petrol and food. Many choose to sleep all day in order to abstain from food, and then work at night. After all, with newspapers and radios far exceeding their budgets, sleep is the cheapest form of recreation.

Distances of less than 50 km separate factory workers from their families. The workers simply cannot afford the bus ticket to go home for the Tet festival, instead spending Tet festival sitting in their tiny rented rooms. Others who live within commuting distance can save on rent, but start the day at 4am.

Despite these privations, the monthly income is insufficient and workers often borrow money from one person to pay another, in an endless cycle called 'century debt'. One way to pay debts is to work 12 hours a day, 30 days a month, which can double a person's income. Alternatively, those willing to work in a toxic environment can earn an extra 14,000 VND (44p) per day. Workplace safety is, at times, deficient. Separate explosions recently killed seven people on the same day, two while acetylene welding and five women working at a brick kiln.

Orphans in the pagoda
Over 50 children live in the Bo De pagoda in Hanoi. All are orphans, many abandoned as babies by teenage, drug-addicted or divorced mothers. Kieu Thu Huong was one such baby and, at 18, is 'mother' to the other children in the pagoda where she has lived her entire life. Some parents in extreme poverty ask the pagoda to care for their children and maintain regular contact. However, most children never see their parents again. In nearly 20 years, only one mother has returned for her child. Life in the pagoda is frugal. Money raised from Buddhist followers barely covers school fees and food. Even donations of second-hand clothes are insufficient for all the children.

Ambitious goals
By 2020, 80 per cent of Vietnamese graduates will be qualified to live and work in an English-speaking environment. Last month, Vietnam signed formal agreements on educational co-operation for the next five years with Australia and New Zealand. Australia currently hosts over 9000 students from Vietnam.

3,300,000 VND for the sins of the world
250 ml of her blood donated at the Hanoi Central Haematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital earns 150,000 VND for Nguyen Thi N, a professional blood seller. She says, 'My family has four members, but my husband is a drunk and spends all of his money on alcohol. My first child is a high school student. My second child is five years old and he suffers from heart disease. I have to sell my blood to afford medication and treatment.' Donors can safely give blood once every two-and-a-half months, but Thi N once sold her blood three times in this period, because she needed the cash. Doctors say that some of the donated blood is short of cells. Blood 'brokers' also lurk around the hospital, seeking healthy donors to link with families of those needing transfusions.

'And the nominees are...'
Nominees for the Golden Kite awards (Vietnam's Oscars) include films entitled Fated Moment, Black Forest, The Deadly Dance, Little Heart, I want to be famous, The Cost of a God, The Deaths Kiss, Saigon Love Story and Leave Love of Dust.