The happiness of seeing the development of the country

One afternoon in early April, we visited the family of Mr. Siu Dok (69 years old, Vietnamese American) in Kenh Mek village, Ia Le commune, Chu Puh district, Gia Lai province. Standing out in the spacious, well-appointed house in the hometown of Mr. Siu Dok's son is a trellis of purple bougainvillea that casts a cool shade across the sky. Under the porch and inside the house, many followers of the Vietnam Evangelical Church (Southern) branch of Kenh Mek village are gathering to prepare for a prayer ceremony.

This is the first time the whole family of 3 generations has returned to their hometown after nearly 20 years of living in the US. When asked about the changes in their hometown, Mr. Siu Dok shared: “Houses are built in a modern, airy style, roads are newly built by the State, connecting traffic infrastructure to each village, the lives of villagers have improved and developed much more than before, children all go to school, have access to technology. Especially, although life is better, people still maintain their own traditional cultural features such as next to brick houses, there are still stilt houses, wood stoves…”.

Police officers talked with Mr. Siu Dok and the pastor of the Vietnam Evangelical Church (South) in Kenh Mek village (Ia Le commune, Chu Puh district, Gia Lai province) about the church's activities.

On this trip back to his hometown, Mr. Siu Dok brought his wife, Mrs. Rmah HPhing (69 years old, originally from Chu Puh district), their children and two grandchildren. When we visited, the men in the village were preparing for the prayer in the front room, while in the kitchen, the women were preparing traditional dishes of the Jrai ethnic group to enjoy together at the end of the ceremony. With only a few weeks in their hometown, Mr. Siu Dok and Rmah HPhing took advantage of every minute to visit relatives and participate in cultural activities imbued with the identity of the Central Highlands.

In the US, Mr. Siu Dok is the pastor of the Montagnard American Alliance CMA Protestant Church, located in Raleigh with 100 followers, mainly Jrai ethnic people in the Central Highlands. This is a church belonging to the Evangelical Missionary Association - CMA (the Evangelical Church of Vietnam in the South and the North both belong to this Association). During nearly a month in Vietnam, Mr. Siu Dok and his family were enthusiastically guided by the authorities and the police force on the procedures for temporary residence registration in the locality, as well as being given the opportunity to participate in religious activities at the Vietnam Evangelical Church (South) in Kenh Mek village. According to Mr. Siu Dok: “True religion will guide people to good and humane things. God teaches believers to love each other, focus on economic development to improve the quality of life, and not cause division.

This is also in line with the leadership of the Vietnamese State. I am very happy that the people in the Vietnamese Evangelical Church in Kenh Mek village are always united, obeying God's words, living a good life, following the religion and strictly abiding by the laws of Vietnam. In the future, when I return to work at the Montagnard American Alliance Church, I will continue to advise the believers here to maintain unity, live in harmony, and help each other in life."

Mrs. Rmah HPhing also shared: “This time I came back because I was sick, so I only visited my neighbors, but I was really happy to see my hometown developing and my children's economic life stable. Praying with the believers in the Vietnam Evangelical Church, I hope for the best and most peaceful things for my hometown and my people.”

In recent years, in Chu Puh district, a number of ethnic minority families, believing in the deception of bad guys about a "paradise" life, "easy work, high salary", "American dream", illegally crossed the border to Cambodia and Thailand in the hope of changing their lives. To be guided, each person had to pay from 20 to 30 million VND to the "brokers", spending days living in a foreign land, doing manual labor such as washing dishes, pruning trees with cheap wages, not enough to cover their living expenses. With the support of local authorities and the police force, since the end of 2023, many families have returned home, been encouraged, given conditions to borrow capital according to the State's policies to stabilize their lives, develop the economy, and live in the loving arms of the village.

Talking about these cases, Mr. Siu Dok said: “There are also some people in the village who ask me for advice on whether they should go or not. I tell them that illegal border crossing is a violation of the law, they have to sell their land and cows to have money to go. Going is not beneficial, but it also harms themselves, losing money and getting sick. In fact, there is no place like home, wherever you are, you have to work to have food and savings.”

Having lived in a foreign land for more than a third of his life, the pastor's eyes sparkle with nostalgia when he mentions his homeland. The times he returns to visit his relatives in Vietnam are very rare because of his advanced age and declining health. "No matter where I live or die, I always have love for my homeland in my heart... I hope that my homeland and village will change positively, that people will have good food and warm clothes, and that the Party and State will create favorable conditions for economic development," Mr. Siu Dok expressed.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/doi-song/niem-hanh-phuc-khi-thay-su-phat-trien-cua-dat-nuoc--i765157/