Don't fish in troubled waters

It can be said that never before have the people of Thai Nguyen been in such a miserable situation as in the past few days, when the circulation of storm No. 11 swept away the properties of thousands of families. Many people are left empty-handed, even "negatively" because they are burdened with bank debts that they do not know what to get and when they will be able to pay back. In the midst of adversity, the spirit of "helping each other" is rekindled by hearts of sharing, giving people strength to overcome difficulties. However, mixed with that light of kindness, there are still dark spots when many people take advantage of natural disasters for personal gain.

Some individuals take advantage of the time when people's demand increases after storms and floods to unreasonably raise service prices. Illustrative photo

Sharing the loss of the people, in recent days, many organizations and individuals inside and outside the province have not hesitated to travel far and hard, contributing labor and money to help people overcome the consequences of natural disasters and soon stabilize their lives.

Some people donated money to cook charity meals, others sent brooms and mops to help people clean up; others donated gas stoves and rice cookers so they could cook again. Some people, although they themselves suffered significant losses, were still willing to share with those in more difficult circumstances. All of this created a beautiful picture of warm human affection in difficult times.

However, amidst those acts of kindness, there are still images that make people feel sad - those who "fish in troubled waters", trying to profit from the pain of their fellow countrymen. A broom that normally costs only 30-35 thousand VND, is now pushed up to 100-110 thousand; a pair of boots that cost 55-60 thousand has skyrocketed to hundreds; a bunch of green vegetables that cost 8-10 thousand VND is now "screamed" for 40 thousand VND.

Many rescue and transportation services are taking advantage of the situation to "cut corners". They charge 2-3 million VND for just a few kilometers to bring a car to a garage for repair. Meanwhile, the price to call from Hanoi to bring the car back for repair is only 1.3-1.5 million VND... Many people cannot help but ask: Are those who deliberately take advantage of others really getting richer, or are they just making their own personality poorer?

While everywhere, from the Central and the South, many hearts have traveled hundreds and thousands of kilometers to Thai Nguyen to share with the people in the flood-affected areas, there are people right on this land who are taking advantage of the hardship of their fellow countrymen to make money. Is it because they are too poor that they are "reckless"? Or is it because greed has blinded them, making them forget that in life "you have to repay what you owe, you have to pay what you owe"?

A friend of mine said: Everyone needs money, but money is not everything. You may not be rich in material things, but you must be "rich" in conscience. She and her husband work in electronics repair, and although her house was also flooded, luckily the shop she rented was safe, so compared to many people, she said she was still lucky.

That’s why she reduced the repair cost by 20-50% compared to normal days and even waived the repair cost for households in need. “Helping them makes me feel relieved,” she said. And yes, sometimes kindness is the most valuable asset a person can keep after a storm.

Money can help us live, but it cannot buy trust and respect. In business as well as in life, if we only know how to “fish in troubled waters” and get rich on the pain of others, then that wealth is only temporary. Because without conscience and humanity, no matter how much money we have, we are still poor. Please do not “fish in troubled waters” under any circumstances.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202510/dung-duc-nuoc-beo-co-f9015ad/