Lives on the Tam Giang Lagoon - Part 2

Following the 2009 mass boat migration in Tam Giang lagoon, thousands of people left the water to begin a new life on land. The Vietnam News Agency reporter is pleased to present Part 2 of a series of three articles: “Lives on the Tam Giang Lagoon”.

The peaceful beauty of life on Tam Giang Lagoon at dawn. Photo: Van Dung/TTXVN.

Lesson 2: Leaving the Lagoon – Different Journeys

From precarious boat journeys to resettlement areas, it's not just a change of residence, but a complete transformation of livelihoods and mindsets. After more than a decade, some have found their own path, but many others are still struggling between two worlds : the water and the land.

The one who sets the pace for a shift.

Some people leave the lagoon, and others dedicate almost their entire lives to helping others leave it. Mr. Vo Van Ken is one such person.

Having been involved with the floating village community for nearly 50 years, from his days as a neighborhood leader in Vĩ Dạ to his time in Lại Tân (Dương Nỗ ward, Huế city), he is the person almost everyone turns to whenever they need something. In a community where the majority of residents are illiterate and lack identification documents, basic administrative procedures such as birth registration, household registration, and identity cards all depend on him.

There were no regulations forcing him to do those things. But for many years, he practically did everything that the people living on the boats couldn't do themselves. From paperwork and procedures to major and minor matters of daily life, he became a familiar "point of contact" between a community living a nomadic life and the onshore management system.

“Back then, doing these kinds of jobs was like ‘eating rice on the ferry and carrying the village trumpet,’ but the happiest thing in my life was being loved by the people. Wherever I went, whatever work I did, they always called me Mr. Ken. Many children of the ferry-dwelling people have already gone to university,” he said with a hearty laugh.

Currently, Mr. Ken holds the record for serving as neighborhood group leader for 48 consecutive years, and has been a member of the People's Council of the ward for 10 terms, from Vi Da to Phu Mau. Now, he is entrusted with the position of Head of the Fatherland Front Committee of Lai Tan neighborhood, Duong No ward...

But it is from these seemingly small things that a connection is formed between people living almost completely isolated from the mainland and an order to which they have never belonged.

Fishermen buy and sell seafood caught and farmed in the Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon area. Photo: Hai Au/VNA.

In 2009, the largest relocation of boat dwellers in Hue was implemented. 337 households with approximately 3,000 people from riverside wards were moved ashore and resettled in Duong No and Huong An wards. To date, this number has increased to around 500 households. For the first time, many families have houses, land, and specific addresses with house numbers.

During that landmark relocation, Mr. Ken continued to be a community leader. From mobilizing people and explaining policies to assisting with procedures, he contributed to keeping the relocation process smooth.

But he also understood better than anyone that bringing people ashore did not mean they could immediately live there.

The roads are not all the same.

In Lai Tan residential area, where many families living in floating villages have been relocated, the changes in their new lives are evident in many different ways.

Ms. Vo Thi Ly is one of those who succeeded. Seventeen years ago, she and her family left the Con Hen area and moved ashore when she was still a child. Coming from a family with nothing but a boat, she chose to learn industrial sewing. With a little capital, she bought a sewing machine and placed it in her house, taking on small-scale orders. Little by little, she accumulated money, bought more machines, and expanded production. Today, her sewing workshop has 12 machines and 12 regular employees.

"To escape the old life, you have to make an effort yourself. The hardest thing is changing your way of thinking and doing things. From the life of a boat dweller, you have to strive to change," she said.

In the Lai Tan residential area, there are children who have grown up no longer living a life of hardship on boats. In Ms. Ly's sewing workshop, there are young people who have just turned 18, the first generation to have a nearly complete life on land. They no longer know the precarious life on boats like their parents did before. For them, studying, working, and earning an income on land are normal things, just like for any other resident.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a worker in the factory, said: "Life is much less difficult now. Transportation and daily life are more convenient. The economy isn't great yet, but we have enough to live on and are stable." For families like Ms. Hoa's, when they lived on boats on the river, every time they had to move, the whole family worried about young children falling into the water; and when the elderly were sick, they had to endure it without knowing where to take them.

Fishermen buy and sell seafood caught and farmed in the Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon area. Photo: Kha Pham/TTXVN.

Stories like that of Ms. Ly, who came from a boat-dwelling community and rose to prominence, are not uncommon. Similarly, the case of Mr. Ken's son, who went from a boat-dwelling child to a successful ward official, illustrates a key direction: with the right conditions and sufficient effort, people from boat-dwelling communities can adapt and gradually improve their lives.

Mr. Nguyen Van Sim (Lai Tan residential group) recalled, "In the past, people living on boats were almost completely isolated from the mainland. They had no fixed houses, no documents, and many were illiterate. Their lives were tied to the river, to endless boat trips. They sought out Mr. Ken for everything, from birth and death registrations to naming children... they always went to him."

After moving ashore, the difficulties were not the same as before, but they didn't disappear either. For large families who couldn't afford to buy more land or houses, living space became cramped. Some returned to the water, while others rebuilt their stilt houses to live in.

Cases like those of Mr. Nguyen Van Be's family or Ms. Nguyen Thi Can's family are not common, but they are not exceptional either.

From a historic migration, a community shifted. But then, each person went in a different direction. Some left the lagoon, gradually settling on land. And some left, then returned.

But whether on land or in the water, Mr. Vo Van Ken was there, as he always had been, directly involved in each of those movements through every stage.

After nearly two decades, the shift from the water to the shore has been completed spatially. But for some, the journey away from a life on the river is far from over. Only those who make sufficient personal effort and dare to change their mindset can truly move on to a different life.

For many, the journey to truly leave the life of a boatman is not yet over; but for many who have made enough effort, their lives have completely changed for the better. (To be continued)

Final article: Preserving the lagoon – creating livelihoods

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/nhung-manh-doi-บน-mat-pha-tam-giang-bai-2-20260412131805030.htm