The "pink shadows" on traffic construction sites

Away from children, following husband to work on highway

In March, the vibrant red blossoms of the kapok tree bloom on the mountains along the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway. At kilometer 11+42 of package XL3, Ms. Li O Su (born in 1991, from Muong Te district, Lai Chau province) nimbly scoops mortar for casting beams and bending rebar. For nearly a month now, she has had to leave her young children with her grandparents to work alongside her husband on this expressway.

For nearly a month now, Ms. Li O Su has been participating in construction on the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang highway.

"My husband and I have two children, the older one is 8 years old, the younger one is 4 years old, and every night they ask for their parents. Missing them is heartbreaking, but we have to try to hold back our feelings. There's no money to be made in the countryside, but here we earn 280,000 dong a day," Ms. Su said, her eyes welling up with tears as she spoke of her children.

At Km 16+500 of package XL4, we met Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoan (from Tuyen Quang) and Ms. Hoang Thi Hien (from Ha Giang) carrying 27cm diameter iron bars and tying them together for the construction of the box culvert. Having left her children with their grandparents, Ms. Hien shared: "For women, there's no greater hardship than being separated from our children. But we have to try our best to make a living."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoan carries each iron bar, just as efficiently as the male laborers. Photo: Ha Thang.

Engineer Nguyen Xuan Tung, the project manager of Phuong Dong Construction Company, which is executing package XL4, said: "Women working on construction sites face more hardships than in other jobs. But once they start, they accept it and get used to it. They also adhere to construction site regulations better than men, so the managers feel very reassured."

At Km 313+100 of the Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway project, the section passing through Ninh Hoa town, Khanh Hoa province, also has many women working in various positions.

Wiping away the sweat from her face, Phan Thi Duyen (26 years old, from Quang Binh province) shared: "The expressway is undergoing its final construction phases, so we have to be present on the route regularly to collect material samples for testing."

Ms. Duyen, along with another female colleague, is working internally at the Office of the Executive Board No. 2, Van Phong - Nha Trang Expressway project (the section constructed by Lizen Joint Stock Company).

Ms. Phan Thi Duyen (on the outside) and Ms. Tran Thi Thu Dung discuss work with the leaders of the XL01 project management board (Van Phong - Nha Trang expressway). Photo: Cao Son.

After graduating from the Civil Engineering department at Da Nang University of Technology, Ms. Duyen has been working in the transportation sector for over five years. She then met a man from Ha Tinh province who also works in civil engineering. Currently, the couple has a one-and-a-half-year-old child. Seven months after giving birth, Ms. Duyen left her child with her parents and went to work on construction projects. "Missing my child, I can only talk and joke with her over the phone. Sometimes, I'm busy working until late at night, and by the time I finish, my child back home is already asleep," Ms. Duyen confided.

The person who always works closely with Duyen professionally in the office is Ms. Tran Thi Thu Dung (from Quang Nam, 4 years older than Duyen). "I've been working for many years, I don't remember how many projects I've completed documentation for. Sometimes I think about when I'll get married at this age, but I keep putting it off…," Ms. Dung shared.

Mr. Bui Thanh Tung, Director of Construction for Package XL1 (Van Phong - Nha Trang Expressway), said that the roles of Ms. Dung and Ms. Duyen are very important. With their meticulous approach to paperwork and record-keeping, the two sisters have contributed to ensuring the internal operations of the office are complete and on schedule.

Quick meals and sleeps in the middle of the construction site

After many days of persistent cold and rainy weather, Nghe An province unexpectedly experienced scorching hot sunshine. However, on the Dien Chau – Bai Vot expressway construction site, specifically the section passing through Dien Tho commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An province, hundreds of workers are still diligently working on the project.

Ms. Vi Thi Binh took a break on the A1 carpet spreader. Photo: Sy Hoa.

At 11:30 a.m., while waiting for the asphalt concrete truck to arrive, Ms. Vi Thi Binh (born in 1990, of the Thai ethnic group), a worker at Hoa Hiep Co., Ltd., took a nap right on the asphalt paving machine.

Ms. Binh is from Thanh Hoa and married a man from Dien Chau. After many years working as a concrete worker in industrial parks in the South, in 2023 she joined Hoa Hiep. Her job is to take pictures, keep track of work, and count materials.

"The job requires me to be on the construction site all the time, rain or shine. Before and after Tet (Lunar New Year), the asphalt paving work continued through the night. On those days, I also had to stay awake with the team. Now, eating boxed meals on the construction site and snatching a few hours of sleep in the car has become a habit," Ms. Binh recounted.

When asked about her family, her voice softened. She and her husband have been married for five years, but have yet to have children. She works at the construction site, and they only see each other by phone. "Luckily, my family and husband understand and sympathize, and the company's management and colleagues at the site have also encouraged and helped me a lot," she explained.

Currently, there are quite a number of female workers on the Dien Chau – Bai Vot expressway construction site. At its peak, there were up to 18 of them. "Although they are women, they work day and night just as hard as the men," said Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Cong Thang, Director of Enterprise 28.3, Truong Son 28 Branch, Truong Son Construction Corporation, and Commander of the Than Vu 2 bridge project.

In Ha Tinh, the weather is extremely harsh right now, with scorching sun. However, on the North-South expressway construction site, the atmosphere is more urgent than ever.

Under the scorching sun, Ms. Le Thi Phuong (born in 1982, from Thanh Hoa province) smiled brightly and said: "Having worked on highway construction sites for ten years, I didn't even know what International Women's Day (March 8th) was!"

She married a construction worker, so for the past 10 years she's always followed him to work. They have one child who lives with his paternal grandparents in their hometown. Due to the nature of their jobs, they can only manage to return home during long holidays.

Not far from where Ms. Phuong works is the underground drainage construction team. Besides the male workers, this team also includes two female workers. One of them is Ms. Mai Thi Nho (born in 1992, from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province). "Everyone wants to be with their family on holidays, dressed up nicely, but due to circumstances, we have to put it aside. My husband and I have five children. After the harvest season in our hometown, we both go to work as laborers, earning about 250,000 VND per day, with meals provided," she said.

Put aside personal feelings

At the Long Thanh super airport project (Dong Nai), among thousands of engineers and workers, there are many women. They have to temporarily put aside their family work, brave the sun and wind, and stick to the huge construction site from morning to night.

Mr. Nguyen Chau, the site manager of zone 6 (Vinaconex contractor), who is constructing the passenger terminal, led us to an area where many female workers were busily working. Ms. Vo Thi Suong was cleaning the site at the command post. To avoid the heat, Ms. Suong had to wear many layers of clothing, a hat, a thick face mask, and gloves. Even so, the sun still penetrated, causing her skin to tan and her clothes to be soaked with sweat.

Ms. Suong said that she is 54 years old, her husband passed away, her three children are all grown up, so 6 years ago she moved from Binh Thuan to the southern provinces to work, staying at many construction sites. Recently, she applied to work at the Long Thanh airport construction site as a cleaner.

"My children are grown up and I am still healthy, so I want to work to take care of myself. A salary of 300,000 VND/day is enough to cover food, rent, and save for my lonely old age," Ms. Suong shared.

Not far from where Ms. Suong was working, a petite woman with nimble hands and feet was busy at work. That was Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan (33 years old), originally from An Giang province. After leaving school, she married and traveled with her husband to various construction sites. Each time she was about to give birth, she would return to her hometown, and once her children were old enough, she would leave them with their grandparents so she could continue working. Over the past ten years, she couldn't remember how many construction sites she had visited in the South.

"There were no jobs in our hometown, and we couldn't make ends meet, so we had to leave. Every night, missing our children, my husband and I could only video call them to encourage them. Sometimes, during breaks at work, we would look at pictures of our children to ease the longing," Loan confided.

Husband and wife stay at the construction site together

Continuing on the bus to move to the construction site of the air traffic control works, we saw many couples drinking water and having a snack together during their break between shifts.

Ms. Vo Thi Kieu (right) happily works with another female worker. Photo: Nguyen Nham.

Mr. Nguyen Van Da, a safety officer at Company 36, the construction unit of the Long Thanh airport air traffic control tower, said that there are many couples here, all of whom have 5-10 years of experience working at the construction site.

While turning a steel bar to position the floor at the air traffic control tower construction site, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh (46 years old) shared that she and her husband have been working at various construction sites for six years. Their two children are grown up and take care of themselves back home. "Once they turn 18, they'll come to work at the construction site with their parents. It's stable here, and the salary is 300,000 VND per day, which is much higher than the income back home," she said.

Seeing that we had a camera, Oanh's husband smiled and said: "Please take a nice picture for us. It's been a long time since we took a picture together. This March 8th, we have some nice pictures to post on Zalo to show off!"

Right next to her, Ms. Vo Thi Kieu (41 years old, from Vinh Long province) was also tying rebar. Ms. Kieu has two children, but her eldest, 22 years old, is already working, while her youngest, 15, is in 9th grade. To make work more convenient, she and her husband rent a room near the construction site for over 1,000,000 VND per month. Her youngest daughter is being cared for by her paternal grandparents and is studying in their hometown.

Ms. Kieu proudly shared that she and her husband had recently returned to the construction site after going back to their hometown a few days ago: "During the recent Tet holiday, my husband and I stayed and worked throughout the holiday, so we managed to earn some extra money to save," Ms. Kieu said.

Happiness blooms in the middle of the construction site

Mr. Thien and Ms. Kha's couple.

For many officers, engineers and managers of the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway construction site, the beautiful love story of the young couple Tran Thanh Thien (35 years old) and Dang Thi Tiet Kha (27 years old) made them very emotional.

They were from Dong Nai and Phu Yen, several hundred kilometers apart. Before the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway project started, they had never met and knew nothing about each other. However, in that sunny and windy place, they met each other at the construction site and their feelings blossomed.

A wedding took place, the guests were not only friends of the couple but also colleagues at the highway construction site.

Born in Dong Hoa town, Phu Yen province, geological design engineer Dang Thi Tiet Kha joined Deo Ca Group to work in the internal department, while engineer Thanh Thien worked as a technician on the construction site. Both were assigned to the Quang Ngai - Hoai Nhon expressway construction site.

Mr. Thien said that when they first entered the construction site, they were all strangers, they didn't know anything about each other and they worked in two different departments. However, during group meals and team activities, they found each other.

"I took the initiative to get to know her. I thought I would be rejected, but I ended up getting married! The day I proposed and Kha accepted, I called my mother to let her know so she could prepare for the wedding. At that time, my mother said I was lying!", Mr. Thien confided.

Ms. Kha said that at that time, both of them were "single" and lived far from their families, so when they "caught each other's wave" and found each other compatible because of the same situation, the conversations that followed nurtured their feelings even more.

"I feel grateful for being a girl living far from home at a construction site and being cared for by loving shoulders. There is no greater happiness!", Ms. Kha shared.

More than a month since the day their happiness blossomed, the couple continued their days at the construction site.

Le Duc

The foster mothers are hard-working and patient.

Ms. Phan Thi Dung.

Although not directly involved in construction work, Phan Thi Dung, a catering staff member at the XL3 package of the Tuyen Quang - Ha Giang expressway project, is responsible for cooking meals for 40 workers every day. She wakes up at 4 am to prepare breakfast, ensuring it's ready by 5 am. After breakfast, she cleans the kitchen and then prepares lunch and dinner. On days when workers have unexpected overtime shifts, she has to work until 11 pm.

"There were rainy days when I went to the market but the construction site road was muddy and I fell off my bike, most of the food was spoiled, so I had to pay out of my own pocket to go to the market again," she said.

Sharing the same cooking duties, Ms. Tran Thi Oanh, a cook at the XL4 construction project, said that regardless of the weather, she has to prepare meals for 50 workers every day at 5 am. To ensure meals are on time and nutritious, she has to make the most of every moment to carefully select the food. "If food poisoning occurs, the construction progress will be significantly affected," she shared.

Ha Vu

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nhung-bong-hong-tren-cong-truong-giao-thong-192240308004807081.htm