10m2 rooms writhing in the hot sun
Bac Thang Long Industrial Park currently has tens of thousands of workers. Surrounding the industrial park are rows of boarding houses growing close together in small alleys. Many boarding houses were built more than ten years ago, walls are moldy, and corrugated iron roofs are old and degraded over time.
Sitting and having a simple lunch in a room of about 10m2 in Be Tong area, Vinh Thanh commune, Mr. Vu Van Tien (from Nghe An) wiped his sweat and shared: "I came to Hanoi to work as a worker from 2017. My salary is about 8 million VND/month, but the electricity bill is now 3,500 VND/kWh. If I buy more air conditioners or refrigerators, the cost will increase a lot. Every month I also have to send money home to take care of my family, so no matter how hot it is, I try to endure it, I haven't dared to install air conditioners yet.
In the harsh early summer sun, the low-lying rooms are as hot as a boiler. Hot during the day, hot in the evening still cramped in the four narrow walls. The rainy season is leaky, the dry season is suffocating, but because of meager wages, many workers still accept clinging to temporary boarding areas for many years.
Sharing the same row of rented rooms with Mr. Tien, Mr. Pham Doan Nguyen (21 years old) has also lived in this degraded room for more than 2 years. During the day he works at Bac Thang Long Industrial Park, and in the evening he sneaks into a hot room of just over 10m2.
It's just the beginning of summer and the temperature is already close to 38 degrees Celsius. Every time I come home from work and step into the room, I feel suffocated and exhausted because of the heat. But the monthly rent, electricity, water, and food are already too expensive. If you install an air conditioner or refrigerator, the cost of living will increase even higher," Mr. Nguyen said.
Reporters' records at many boarding areas around Bac Thang Long Industrial Park show that most boarding rooms are covered with corrugated iron roofs, located deep in small, messy alleys. Despite prolonged heat, many workers still do not dare to install air conditioners because monthly shopping costs and electricity bills will increase.
Sitting surfing the phone at noon in a rented room in area 2/7, Vinh Thanh commune, Cam Van Chuyen (18 years old, from Thanh Hoa) said: "Although I opened all the doors to catch the wind, the heat-absorbing corrugated iron roof is still hot in the room, we can hardly sleep. We work all week just hoping to rest on the weekend, but it's too hot, so we are always sluggish.
Electricity bill worries weigh heavily on workers far from home
Most of the dormitories serving workers around Bac Thang Long Industrial Park were built more than ten years ago, so they are in a state of degradation. The corridor is just enough for two motorbikes to avoid each other, clothes are hung densely on top. Each room is a cramped space, where all activities from eating, sleeping to cooking are packed on a bed placed close to the wall.
Ms. Lo Thi Hoa (32 years old), a worker at Bac Thang Long Industrial Park, currently lives in a room of more than 10m2 located deep in a small alley in Vinh Thanh commune.
At noon on May 24, on a rare day off after a week of continuous overtime, Ms. Hoa still could not close her eyes. Outside, the sun was scorching hot, inside the room with a low, hot corrugated iron roof, the fan spinning continuously still could not dispel the simmering air blowing down from the roof.
The prolonged heat wave forced the couple to "cry their teeth" to buy an air conditioner priced at about 5 million VND, waiting for workers to come and install it. For many workers here, air conditioners are no longer too luxurious items, but the monthly electricity bill is what makes them hesitate.
Coming to Hanoi to earn a living, my husband and I have to send our 2-year-old son to his paternal grandparents to take care of. Every month we have to save money to send home to raise our child. I miss my child very much, but if I bring him here, no one will look after him," Ms. Hoa confided.
According to Ms. Hoa, working in the factory with air conditioning during the day is still comfortable, but returning to the rented room in the evening, the heat from the corrugated iron roof still swirls down, suffocating. On hot nights, the couple lies restless until late at night, their sleep is restless.
Installing air conditioning will increase electricity bills, and the money sent back to children will also decrease. But it's too hot, there's no other way, so I have to cut back on spending to bear the additional electricity bill," Ms. Hoa said.
