VNExpress-Feb 26
More than 150 overseas Vietnamese families from Cambodia live on fragile rafts atop Tri An Lake in the southern Dong Nai Province, surviving on dwindling fish catches without electricity, clean water or schooling. Working through the night until dawn, 47-year-old Le Van Sanh, his brother, and his two young daughters, 12 and 13 years old, cast their nets across Tri An Lake. Fishing is the primary livelihood for his family, requiring everyone to pitch in. Sanh’s is one of 155 families, mostly Vietnamese returnees from Cambodia, living on the hydroelectric reservoir in the Suoi Co area of Dinh Quan Commune, Dong Nai Province. The majority of these residents have lived for generations on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Upon returning to Vietnam, they sought out vast expanses of water, environments similar to their former homes, to help them easily adapt. Their ancestors were largely impoverished inhabitants of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta who migrated upstream along the Mekong River into Cambodia over a century ago in search of a livelihood.
While many of the families living there returned from Cambodia more than 30 years ago, others are recent arrivals. Having moved to the hamlet just a year ago, they still lack official documents. The desire for stability remains strong among residents, with many of them hoping to eventually resettle on land to build permanent houses and provide their children with easier access to education. Read more at:
