A small settlement home to about 50 people in Dong Nai province has been referred to as the 'hamlet of five no's,' as people there have no address, no electricity, no water, no education, and no stable future.
A small settlement home to about 50 people in Dong Nai province has been referred to as the ‘hamlet of five no’s,’ as people there have no address, no electricity, no water, no education, and no stable future.
Over 10 families with about 50 members in total have been living under makeshift tents in the woods located in Dong Hoa Commune, Trang Bom District.
 |
The settlers by their tents at the hamlet in Dong Nai Province
These people are mainly from the Mekong Delta who came to Dong Nai to work as sugarcane harvesters, bringing along their children and grandchildren.
The tents are built on tree trunks and are easily blown away or torn apart whenever a strong wind hits the area.
The settlers usually start their days at around three o’clock in the morning cooking their meals before heading to the sugarcane plantation at 4:30 am.
Their main job is to chop off and harvest ripe sugarcanes which earns them an average of VND60,000 (US$2.69) to VND70,000 ($3.14) per day.
“As it is now the dry season, we have to begin our labor early in the morning in order to avoid extreme heat in the afternoon. Sometimes we have to come home at around 9:00 am due to the blazing sun,” 30-year-old Phach, one of the settlers, said.
On those days they can only earn about VND15,000 ($0.67), meaning they are unable to buy food for themselves and their families, Phach explained.
When asked why they had left their hometowns to settle in such harsh living conditions, Oanh, 31, said that there were not many jobs where they came from.
“We usually worked as cashew nut peelers and could only earn about VND15,000 to VND20,000 [$0.90] on a daily basis,” Oanh elaborated.
The tents are built up by plastic mattresses on several tree trunks.
According to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters’ observation, some members of this small community are well into their sixties and seventies, while about 10 others are children.
As parents cannot afford schooling for their children, some of the kids usually go to work with their mothers and fathers, while others stay at home and take care of the younger ones or collect and sell scraps to support their families.
The people here sometimes leave their work early to hunt voles for food. They also have to live without electricity, forcing them to pay the locals VND2,000 ($0.09) whenever they need to charge their phones.
Despite the poor living conditions, the settlers, including the children, have not been infected with any serious diseases since they first came here four months ago.
A makeshift stove is set up with rocks and firewood.
A homemade reservoir is used to store well water for all daily activities.
Members of a family gather on a wooden board.
A young boy helps his father set up a trap to hunt voles for food.
Two people have dinner by the light of an oil lamp.
Two-year-old Huyen Tran eats by herself while her parents are away from home. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A boy sleeps on a hammock, covered with a net to prevent him from being bitten by mosquitoes. Photo: Tuoi Tre
‘Bathrooms' for the women are covered up with mattresses while the men have to clean themselves out in the open.
The settlers harvest sugarcanes at a plantation.
(Source:TTNews)
