In Vietnam, People Leave Mekong Delta to Find Jobs in City
2024-03-26
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1Eleven-year-old twins Dao Bao Tran and her brother Do Hoang Trung live on a houseboat in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. But their dreams take them far away.
2Tran loves K-pop. She watches videos at night to learn Korean and would love to visit Seoul.
3Her brother Trung wants to be a singer. But he says their hopes are "unrealistic."
4He adds, "I know I'll end up going to the city to try and make a living."
5Trung sees the reality around him.
6Climate change is making the Mekong Delta one of the most at-risk areas in the world.
7A United Nations climate change report in 2022 warned that there will be more floods in the wet season and drought in the dry season.
8Farming is getting harder with the loss of land due to the rising sea and the loss of water from dams on the river upstream.
9The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported that the area's share of Vietnam's gross domestic product, or GDP, has dropped from 27 percent in 1990 to less than 18 percent in 2019.
10Factory jobs in the city offer better wages.
11Therefore, the call of the city is often hard to ignore for the 17 million who live in the delta.
12That is what Do Thi Son Ca, the single mother of the twins, did.
13Soon after her children were born, Ca left the Mekong Delta to find work in Ho Chi Minh City.
14She left the children to live with her mother, Nguyen Thi Thuy, on a small houseboat ever since.
15Thuy sells meat and bean buns at the Cai Rang floating market, the largest of its kind in the Mekong Delta.
16On good days, she makes about $4, hardly enough to feed her grandchildren.
17The twins have already missed two years of school because their grandmother could not pay the costs.
18Their mother was struggling in the city and could not help either.
19Now their houseboat is in urgent need of costly repairs.
20"The storms are becoming more violent," said the grandmother.
21With heavy rains, she must pump out water so her houseboat does not sink.
22Moving away from the Mekong to bigger cities or even to other countries for a better life is not new.
23Mimi Vu is a migration expert based in Ho Chi Minh City.
24Climate change, she said, has hurt livelihoods in the Mekong Delta.
25The area is less developed than other parts of Vietnam and lacks access to education, clean water, and health care.
26"Every generation still struggles," Vu said. And moving to the city does not guarantee anything.
27The mother of the twins found a job in a clothing factory in Ho Chi Minh City.
28She also got married and had a baby.
29But like thousands of workers in Vietnam, both she and her husband lost their jobs because of low overseas orders.
30They have since moved back to his home village.
31"My family is poor. So I don't think too far ahead. I just hope my children can receive a full education," she said.
32Vietnam's government has approved a plan to strengthen the Mekong area's agricultural economy.
33It produces about half the country's rice and feeds other countries, like Indonesia and the Philippines.
34The plan includes trying new farming technologies, creating more fisheries, growing fruits, and building airports and highways to bring foreign investment.
35But moving to Ho Chi Minh City is hard to resist for many, especially the young.
36Even those in the countryside see moving to the city as the fastest way out of poverty, said 23-year-old Trung Hieu.
37Hieu shares a living space with another young man from the delta.
38After 12 hours of making parts in a factory, he works a second job transporting people on his motorcycle.
39Hieu wanted to be a teacher. But his family had to choose whether to send him to college or let his younger sister finish school.
40He chose to move to the city so that he could send money back home.
41"My sister is doing well in school. I'm very happy," he said.
42I'm Anna Matteo.
1Eleven-year-old twins Dao Bao Tran and her brother Do Hoang Trung live on a houseboat in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. But their dreams take them far away. 2Tran loves K-pop. She watches videos at night to learn Korean and would love to visit Seoul. Her brother Trung wants to be a singer. But he says their hopes are "unrealistic." He adds, "I know I'll end up going to the city to try and make a living." 3Trung sees the reality around him. Climate change is making the Mekong Delta one of the most at-risk areas in the world. 4Difficult time in the Mekong Delta 5A United Nations climate change report in 2022 warned that there will be more floods in the wet season and drought in the dry season. Farming is getting harder with the loss of land due to the rising sea and the loss of water from dams on the river upstream. 6The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported that the area's share of Vietnam's gross domestic product, or GDP, has dropped from 27 percent in 1990 to less than 18 percent in 2019. 7Factory jobs in the city offer better wages. Therefore, the call of the city is often hard to ignore for the 17 million who live in the delta. 8That is what Do Thi Son Ca, the single mother of the twins, did. 9Soon after her children were born, Ca left the Mekong Delta to find work in Ho Chi Minh City. She left the children to live with her mother, Nguyen Thi Thuy, on a small houseboat ever since. 10Thuy sells meat and bean buns at the Cai Rang floating market, the largest of its kind in the Mekong Delta. On good days, she makes about $4, hardly enough to feed her grandchildren. 11The twins have already missed two years of school because their grandmother could not pay the costs. Their mother was struggling in the city and could not help either. Now their houseboat is in urgent need of costly repairs. 12"The storms are becoming more violent," said the grandmother. With heavy rains, she must pump out water so her houseboat does not sink. 13Moving to the big city 14Moving away from the Mekong to bigger cities or even to other countries for a better life is not new. 15Mimi Vu is a migration expert based in Ho Chi Minh City. Climate change, she said, has hurt livelihoods in the Mekong Delta. The area is less developed than other parts of Vietnam and lacks access to education, clean water, and health care. 16"Every generation still struggles," Vu said. And moving to the city does not guarantee anything. 17The mother of the twins found a job in a clothing factory in Ho Chi Minh City. She also got married and had a baby. But like thousands of workers in Vietnam, both she and her husband lost their jobs because of low overseas orders. They have since moved back to his home village. 18"My family is poor. So I don't think too far ahead. I just hope my children can receive a full education," she said. 19Vietnam's government has approved a plan to strengthen the Mekong area's agricultural economy. It produces about half the country's rice and feeds other countries, like Indonesia and the Philippines. The plan includes trying new farming technologies, creating more fisheries, growing fruits, and building airports and highways to bring foreign investment. 20But moving to Ho Chi Minh City is hard to resist for many, especially the young. Even those in the countryside see moving to the city as the fastest way out of poverty, said 23-year-old Trung Hieu. 21Hieu shares a living space with another young man from the delta. After 12 hours of making parts in a factory, he works a second job transporting people on his motorcycle. 22Hieu wanted to be a teacher. But his family had to choose whether to send him to college or let his younger sister finish school. He chose to move to the city so that he could send money back home. 23"My sister is doing well in school. I'm very happy," he said. 24I'm Anna Matteo. 25Aniruddha Ghosal reported this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted the story for Learning English. 26_______________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28delta - n. the triangular or fan-shaped piece of land made by deposits of mud and sand at the mouth of a river 29drought - n. a long period of dry weather 30dam - n. a barrier preventing the flow of water 31GDP - n. abbreviation for the gross national product excluding the value of net income earned abroad 32livelihood - n. means of support or subsistence 33access - n. permission or power to enter, approach, or make use of