Vietnam - Regional discrimination, a new phenomenon?

VietNamNet Bridge - Home is the root and the pride of everyone. But in today's society it remains a part of people who disparage the people of other regions.

Thanh Hien, from the central province of Nghe An, a student of the Hanoi Foreign Trade University said early this year, Hien and her friend found a good motel in Cau Giay District. When they were about to sign a rent contract, the landlord asked them where did they come from. The two girls answered they were from Nghe An. “Immediately, we got nasty stares and the landlord refused to sign the rent contract," Hien said.

Some people posted small ads seeking for roommates, in which they note that they do not accept roommates from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, without giving any specific reasons.

Trung Quan, a third-year student of the Danang University of Technology, said: "I sometimes encounter discriminatory attitudes of some people who know that I’m a resident of Nghe An because they thought that Nghe An people are aggressive."

Discrimination at industrial parks

Since 2006, at industrial parks in the southern province of Binh Duong, the discrimination against workers from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh has become pretty strong, causing many difficulties for the laborers from these central provinces.

A reader with nickname Kevin Le wrote to VietNamNet: "I am living in Di An District, Binh Duong Province, not far from the Song Than, Dong An, Binh Duong, Linh Trung I, II industrial parks. About two years ago I heard from a friend of mine, who was a team leader in a foreign company in Linh Trung Industrial Park that under the directives from his bosses, he was not allowed to recruit workers from the three provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh. At the same time, I took my younger brother to submit job application in the Song Than Industrial Park and I saw at least two companies haing banners in front of the gates, noting to not recruit male workers from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh."

Another reader with nickname TuanDang wrote: "Actually, people from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh have been boycotted for a long time. And it does not just happen in industrial zones but also in many other sectors."

"Men from Nghe An and Ha Tinh have long been difficult to get work in the South. The only reason is that they are aggressive and disordered. As for women, it is still easy to get job", wrote reader Luucong.

On November 4, Mr. Nguyen Duc Nghia, 20, a resident of Lien Chieu District, Da Nang city was beaten by workers of Lilama 45-3 Company, based in Lien Chieu, when Nghia passed the company from a fishing site.

The local people were very angry. Hundreds of people flocked to the company to surround and try to attack the workers, causing chaos. Local people said these aggressive workers came from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.

Although it is unclear that who are wrong and who are right, this incident once again makes a bad impression of workers from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.

Let's stop this ugly action!

Recently, a male student of the Hanoi University of Technology, who comes from the northern province of Tuyen Quang, had to publicly apologize for discrimination against Thanh Hoa province’s people, on a social networking site.

Earlier, this student set up a website entitled "Association of the people who hate Thanh Hoa’s people." He published defamatory, offensive words against students from Thanh Hoa.

Many Thanh Hoa’s people flocked to the hostels of the Hanoi University of Technology to see the student. Local policemen had to come to protect the student, who then had to apologize to Thanh Hoa’s people and removed the website.

Recently, a video clip titled "Thanh Hoa - My Hometown" was posted on the Internet. The clip was produced by a group of students of the Cinema and Stage University, who come from Thanh Hoa province. The clip shows their love to Thanh Hoa.

After 5 days on youtube, the clip had over 300,000 views. With impressive lyrics and contents, this clip has made those with long-sided look about Thanh Hoa to change their view.

In an interview with an online newspaper about regional discrimination, Major General Le Van Cuong, former Director of the Institute of Strategy and Science of the Ministry of Public Security said: "In the long run, there should be measures to solve this situation. Of course, it is definitely to thoroughly eliminate regional discrimination, but we have to take action so this discrimination will not affect the development of the country and society. To do this, we must start from leaders. This is the shortest road to limit regional distinction."

Huong Ngan

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