People who don't take holidays to keep the streets clean

(PLVN) - While everyone is gathering, going out, and eating during the holidays, somewhere on every street, environmental sanitation workers are still busy with garbage trucks and bamboo brooms. Without complaining, without lamenting, they quietly clean the streets...

Quietly among the holiday crowd

Going around Vinh city ( Nghe An ) on holidays, a familiar image is the environmental sanitation workers with their old garbage carts, slowly moving along the streets. While the streets are bustling with people going out and shopping, the environmental workers still quietly bend down to pick up each bag of garbage, pull the heavy garbage carts, and sweep each layer of dust from the streets to keep the city clean.

Working in this profession means there are no real days off. During the holidays, the amount of waste increases dramatically, mainly from restaurants and eateries.

Ms. Ho Thi Tien (32 years old) shared: “Compared to normal days, there will be more garbage on holidays, mainly from restaurants and eateries. But I am used to it so I don’t think about it, just do it.”

Ms. Tien and her colleagues have just finished cleaning up a garbage collection point in Doi Cung ward. Photo: Thien Y.

Starting work in the evening, usually from 5-6 pm, sometimes until 2 am, environmental sanitation workers always have to face the stench, dust and danger of having to work in the middle of the night.

Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen (46 years old, name changed) frankly said: "To be honest, it's a holiday and I'm sad to see them go out and have fun while I'm at work. But what can I do, it's work, I have to accept it. There were days when I worked until after 1am and ate my meals as soon as I got home."

Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen is busy cleaning up trash. Photo: Thien Y.

Ms. Huyen added: “Many people are very conscious, throwing trash in the right place, at the right time. But there are also many people who lack awareness. One day when I passed by, they threw trash behind me. Many times they even said harshly: 'I paid the money, you have to do your job', but I just kept quiet and cleaned it up, afraid that if I spoke up, they would curse me, or even beat me.”

After cleaning this spot, Ms. Huyen continued to the next spot. Photo: Thien Y.

Luxury dinners with family

For many sanitation workers, a family dinner has become a luxury. Children have to study and sleep by themselves because their mothers have not returned home from work.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh (36 years old, name changed) confided: “I work the night shift from 6pm to 2am, sometimes I don’t get home until 3am. Every afternoon, I try to eat dinner before my husband and children so I can go to work on time, and when I come home in the morning, I try to eat a little and then catch up on sleep. It’s hard for my husband and children to sit down and eat together. Sometimes I feel sorry for other families when they gather together on holidays, but I don’t feel inferior about my job. I feel proud because my job helps the city become cleaner and more beautiful.”

Ms. Tinh is proud of her work helping to make the city cleaner. Photo: Thien Y.

In the same situation, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huyen (40 years old), who has been doing this job for 16 years, shared: “When I see people taking their children out, my heart sinks. Sometimes I just wish I could have a day off, take my children out to eat something, play somewhere. But then I get used to it, everyone has a job, some are even more dangerous than me. I just hope people understand and are more aware, don't leave trash lying around, don't dump trash when the car has just left."

Dinners with her husband and children are a luxury for Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huyen. Photo: Thien Y.

Work starts in the late afternoon and lasts until dawn the next day. Some days, Huyen gets home at 4-5am. The family only eats lunch together, and each person has their own schedule in the morning and evening: the husband goes to work, the wife goes to work, the children eat, study, and sleep by themselves.

Mr. Quan (24 years old), a young worker who has been working for nearly a year, shared that every job is hard, but this job is much more difficult. “Especially on holidays, when my friends go out and I go to work, I feel sad, but since I have chosen, I have to accept it. I just hope that when people throw away trash, they will put it in bags and tie it properly so that we don’t have to work so hard.”

Mr. Quan hopes that people will understand so that littering will no longer occur. Photo: Thien Y.

The average income of an environmental sanitation worker is only about 7 million VND/month, slightly higher during holidays. But compared to the job that requires sacrificing health, time and the dangers of working late at night, that number is still very low.

They, the people who silently keep the city clean, are still working hard with their garbage trucks and bamboo brooms on every street and corner. They don't need to be praised, they just want to be understood and respected, they just want each citizen to have a little more awareness, so that their work is less arduous.

God's Will

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/nhung-nguoi-khong-nghi-le-de-giu-cho-pho-phuong-sach-dep-post547286.html