Overcoming a difficult year
Having just lost her job, the family of 7 of Ms. Le Thi Nga (50 years old) decided not to return home for Tet this year.
Holding her feverish grandchild, Mrs. Nga went in and out to wait for her children. For many months, she and her children had to drive motorbike taxis, apply for jobs as construction workers, carry loads, and receive goods to process at home. Because she did not know how to drive and was old, Mrs. Nga could only work near home and apply for simple seasonal jobs.
Mrs. Nga holds her grandson in her arms, waiting for her son to return (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
The family's income has dropped, so every time she goes to the market, Mrs. Nga has to calculate carefully, buying 5kg of rice at a time to save money for food. The rice is packaged and divided into several days to wait for the market money to be saved, then buy more.
Through a really difficult period, this worker's family still tried to stay in the city, waiting, with no intention of returning to their hometown Vinh Long.
"We celebrate Tet away from home to save money, otherwise my family is afraid we won't have enough money to send the kids to school. This Tet, I asked my siblings in the countryside to help light incense to worship our ancestors and grandparents, which makes me feel less guilty. Now I realize that not having money to eat every day is the thing to worry about, but going back to the countryside can be a more suitable time," Ms. Nga shared.
Last year, Ms. Hoang Thi Dao, a rubber factory worker in Binh Duong, also faced many difficulties. Due to the impact of the global economic recession, she also had less work because the company lacked orders.
Right at that time, in recent years, the joint disease has been persistent, adding to the expenses. Up to now, she has had 7 years of working in Binh Duong, after a few days of car trip from her hometown Hoa Lu (Ninh Binh) with the wish to change her life.
Many workers find it difficult to make a living in the city, and return to their hometowns at the end of the year, leaving many boarding houses in a state of disrepair (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
As a single mother, she had to work many times harder than everyone else. Due to her illness, the company arranged for her to work in light positions that were suitable for her health condition, but also meant a lower income. Taking on the burden of her child's education was too much, so she had to let her child put his dream of going to university on hold to go to work and earn extra money to help his mother.
"Because of lack of money, my child missed out on university. At the beginning of the year, he worked for a paint company, now he works for a security company. Seeing him struggle to make a living, I can't bear it. Next year, I will try to encourage him to return to school," said Ms. Dao.
Due to difficult circumstances, Ms. Dao postponed the joy of Tet reunion with her family, and it has been 7 years since then. The money for the ticket and travel back to her hometown, Ms. Dao calculated, could help her and her children pay for 2 months of rent.
"Because of the difficulties, since I came to Binh Duong to work, I have not had the opportunity to return to the North to celebrate Tet with my family," Ms. Dao said in the same voice.
New Year Wishes
More than a month ago, Ms. Dao was overjoyed when she received a free plane ticket from the union.
After many years apart, she had the opportunity to reunite with her family and fully enjoy the traditional Tet holiday of the nation.
Every year, she celebrates Tet in a cramped rented room, everything is not much different from normal days. Tet 2024, her life has changed from a trip back to her hometown, which gives her more motivation to continue and work harder.
On the flight back home, Ms. Dao brought many hopes for a better new year (Illustration: Ip Thien).
At the age of 50, Ms. Dao hopes to have good health to continue working, to have a salary enough to support herself and her children. She hopes that the company will have more orders, so that workers can work overtime, and their income will not stagnate at the basic salary. From there, her children can continue to go to school, study with peace of mind, and become useful citizens to society.
Looking at the flow of people going back and forth on Tet holiday, seeing the scene of families gathering and reuniting, female worker Le Thi Nga suddenly felt sad. But when she looked at her grandchildren, Mrs. Nga suddenly smiled, as if she had just been given more motivation.
Mrs. Nga's family wishes life would be more stable this year, so that her grandchildren can return to their hometown next year and not "thirst" for the smell of Tet like this year.
"In the new year, I hope to find a job that suits my age and health. Before, we dreamed of having a house to have a warm place to travel, but now as long as the family is healthy and has a stable job, we are happy.
It's just that the economy is difficult at this time, everyone is struggling, not just my family. So we still hope that next year we can apply for a job at another factory, and at the same time find a part-time job to increase our income," Ms. Nga confided.
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