Manager of 15 years celebrates Tet alone
During Tet, the boarding houses on Tran Thanh Mai Street (Binh Tan District) are quiet, as many workers have returned to their hometowns. However, there are still some people who have to stay in Ho Chi Minh City these days because of their livelihood.
In a small rented room, Mr. Nguyen Van Sang (69 years old, from Tien Giang) quietly ate his first lunch of the new year alone. For the past 15 years, Mr. Sang - the manager of the rented room - has never returned to his hometown to celebrate Tet. The small room of less than 8 square meters filled with water bottles exchanged for tenants, along with a hammock and an old television, is all he has left.
He used to be a bricklayer and was involved in building this boarding house. When he was old and weak, the landlord entrusted him with the management job.
Although his wife is still in the countryside, he still decided to stay and look after the property for the whole boarding house. "When Tet comes, everyone wants to reunite with their relatives, but because of life, I have to stay in Saigon," Mr. Sang confided.
Mr. Sang said that over the years, he has gradually gotten used to “celebrating Tet alone”. Some people from the Western region often return to their hometowns to celebrate Tet, while those from far away provinces in the Central and Northern regions choose to celebrate Tet away from home.
"If I go back to my hometown, there will be no one to look after my rented room, so I have to stay to ensure the safety of the whole boarding house," Mr. Sang shared.
The heart of a mother far from her child
Ms. Nguyen Thi Truong (39 years old, from Nghe An) - a worker who has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for 15 years - also chose to stay in the city to celebrate Tet.
The cost of returning home for the whole family was too great, plus her mother had just had an accident, forcing her to put aside her desire to reunite.
She saved her meager income to raise her two children. Looking at her neighbors packing their bags to go home, she sadly said: "Living far from home, far from my parents, not being able to go home for Tet, I feel very sad. Now I can go home for Tet, but I'm afraid that after Tet, I won't have money to spend when I return to Ho Chi Minh City, so I have to send my parents 3-4 million VND to encourage them. If I stay, Tet will be the same as usual, even emptier."
Like Mr. Sang and Ms. Truong, this Tet, Ms. Thu Mai (from Quang Tri) also had to sadly accept another Tet away from home.
This year, she had hoped to work hard so that her children could visit their grandparents, but earning money has become increasingly difficult. Last summer, she promised her children that she would take them back to their hometown to visit, but the uncertainty of work has left that promise unfulfilled.
"I have broken my promise to you so many times. I love you and my old parents, but what can I do now?", her voice choked.
Ms. Mai works as a seamstress, earning 5 million VND/month. At the factory, people call it a "dead salary" because there is no chance of a raise. She has to take on extra sewing jobs at home, while her husband sells goods on the street, with an unstable income. The money she earns has to be spent on renting a room of 1.5 million VND/month, school fees for her two children, and "a hundred other daily expenses".
“The ticket home is expensive and the Tet gifts are also costly, so my husband and I chose to celebrate Tet away from home. Every time I call and hear my mother ask, “Are you coming home for Tet?”, my heart aches,” said Ms. Mai.
The stories of Mr. Sang, Ms. Truong, and Ms. Mai are authentic pieces of the lives of workers far from home who are living in Ho Chi Minh City. Each person has a different situation and choice, but they all share a deep homesickness and a wish for a peaceful Tet for their families in their hometown.
