Temporary life
In mid-December, the cold wind from the Thu Bon River blew continuously into the dilapidated house, causing Mr. Nguyen Tan Hong, 73 years old, in Hoi Son village, Duy Nghia commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam to shiver.
Working hard to use cement mortar to temporarily patch the uneven, peeling, and holey wall, Mr. Hong sadly confided:
“My house was built more than 30 years ago and has seriously degraded. However, it is located in the planning area of Duy Nghia Fishing Village Residential Area project, so it cannot be rebuilt or permanently repaired. It is only temporarily repaired and then damaged again, so when it rains, winds, or storms, I have to stay at another house and do not dare to stay at home.”
Mr. Hong said that his family has nearly 600 square meters of land, but cannot divide the land to build a house for his children. Nearly ten people in a family of three generations have to live "temporarily" in a cramped house.
“My three sons are almost 40 years old but they keep delaying and are afraid of getting married, partly because their houses are so dilapidated that they will have no place to live if they get married,” said Mr. Hong.
Mr. Hong's household is among more than 1,300 households affected by the Fishing Village residential area project in Duy Nghia commune, Duy Xuyen district, with a scale of 721 hectares, approved for planning in 2008.
For nearly 15 years, the project has been at a standstill, and road infrastructure has not been invested in, causing countless difficulties for people's lives.
“Without planning, people can build houses, open shops, and do business to earn extra income. But if planning is suspended for too long, no economic sector can develop. If you want to develop, you have to go somewhere else, leaving your old parents behind…” - Nguyen Huy Hoang, 37 years old, in Hoi Son village, left open.
Worried about illegal house construction
Sharing the same fate as the people of Hoi Son village, after 20 years of struggling because the Ky Ha Port Administrative Area project was suspended indefinitely, many households in Trung Toan village, Tam Quang commune, Nui Thanh district have disregarded the risks to build solid illegal houses.
According to local authorities, there are about 10 illegal houses in the suspended planning area, although they have not been divided into plots and issued red books. The rest are level 4 houses, deserted, waiting to collapse...
“The family gave us land to build a house, but the government did not issue a red book. Now we have many children, so we have to build a temporary house. When we asked to install a separate power line, the electricity company required a red book, so even though we have a house, the electricity is still weak,” said Ms. Le Thi Le, in Group 1, Trung Toan village.
Responding to Lao Dong newspaper, Mr. Phan Vinh Tien - Chairman of Tam Quang Commune People's Committee said that the current living conditions of the people are extremely difficult, with a lack of transportation infrastructure and electricity... In particular, many families have large areas of land, many generations of children living together in the same house, but the houses are increasingly degraded, forcing them to build houses (illegally - PV).
“Even though the government knows that the houses are not built according to the law, they still accept the construction so that people can have a house to live in. The people also have a commitment that if the government implements the project in the future, they will not pay compensation, they still accept it,” said Mr. Tien.
