W.Minh Tuan
I just returned to Vietnam recently, walking on the sidewalk of Le Van Huu street, Hanoi, near Huong Lien Obama BUN CHA noodle shop.
This bun cha restaurant is actually not very good, and if you eat the “Obama Combo” meal set, including fried crab spring rolls, it is very bad for your health, because eating a lot of fried food, especially fried with cooking oil, can easily make you sick and all kinds of diseases.
This bun cha restaurant mainly sees foreigners coming to eat, thanks to the image of US President Obama had been here to seat here, but very few Vietnamese people come to eat. The service of the staff at this Obama buncha noodle shop is also quite sloppy, messy, unkempt, unprofessional, and does not meet international standards, even though there are many international customers coming to eat. (I think the owner of this restaurant should share profits with US President Obama).
When walking on the sidewalk, I saw many people sitting and drinking iced tea on the sidewalk. Then, from afar, I saw a police car coming, and the sound of a street order policeman came from the loudspeaker:
“Please do not sit on the sidewalk, not occupied public space. If the punishment is harsh, you will say it is harsh. If you don’t get fined, you will just sit still all day, occupy public sidewalk. Drinking a cup of tea, sitting all morning encroaching on the sidewalk, don’t you have any shame?”
I think the law enforcement officer is right.
When the people sitting on the sidewalk saw the police car approaching, they immediately lifted their chairs and put them inside the tea bar to wait. When the police car passed, they took out their chairs and placed them on the sidewalk, again sat on their iPhones, surfed the web, and occupied the sidewalk, calmly, as if nothing had happened.
It seems like those people sitting on the sidewalk don’t have jobs, but why do they still live comfortably, have iPhones, use motorbikes, have nice clothes, or chat all day on the sidewalk?
It’s also possible that they’re hang around, brokering something.
But one thing is for sure, that orderly police officer is right: “Drinking a cup of tea, sitting all morning encroaching on the sidewalk, don’t you have any shame?”
In Thong Nhat Park, Hanoi, the largest and most beautiful park in Hanoi, people throw trash haphazardly on the grass, and still carelessly practice sports, play happily, next to the trash.
Under Thong Nhat Park lake, and not only in Thong Nhat Park, but also West Lake and Truc Bach Lake alike,,, there are dead fish floating around. And even though there are signs prohibiting fishing, people still sit, fish, and catch fish.
Thong Nhat Park security guards did not say anything to those illegal fishermen, but just rode their motorbikes around the park. After that, sit down on a bench somewhere, rest, surf the web again, watch iPhone, and still get paid by the State to do security duty-walk around-watch iPhone-surf the web job.
I think that even the illegal fishermen, the useless security guards, and the people who throw away trash, all suffer from the dangerous disease “Embarrassing Nerve Breakdown”, and there seems to be no cure.
How to cure?
A few girls dressed in flowing, graceful ao dai, stood along the lakeside taking pictures under the shade of trees, next to them were dead fish floating, and trash, nylon, cans, plastic bottles,,,, floating along the lake, but the girls didn’t seem to care about that, still smiling brightly and posing for photos.
I arrived in Da Lat at the end of June 2023, Xuan Huong Lake was renovated, rebuilt, built a new road around the lake, built a square with stairs, amazingly beautiful, much more beautiful than 20 years ago.
In the evening, electric lights shimmer magically, people walk by the lake, sit and stroll on the lakeside square of Xuan Huong Lake, crowded with people, children, women, old people, young people, male and female, cheerful, happy,,,.
Large trash cans are placed everywhere. But not many people put trash in the trash can.
On the Xuan Huong lake square, full of trash flying around when the wind blows, but no one cares, people walk around on the trash, eat and drink, brush their butts and stand up, leaving the cans and bags intact at their sitting space. Pack food at their seat, they walk away, leaving trash behind, and not put it in a trash can located nearby.
On this Ho Xuan Huong lake square, there are some very interesting signs such as:
“Each one has a hand,
Da Lat is clean now”
Eat and drink in the right places,
Garbage falls into the right basket.”
But not many people care about these cheerful signs. Trash is thrown right next to these cheerful, meaningless signs.
I tried picking up some trash and putting it in the trash, people looked at me but no one said anything, no one followed, and I gave up.
I alone cannot pick up all the trash thrown away by thousands of people at Xuan Huong Lake in this dreamy city of Da Lat.
I think the name Xuan Huong Lake should have one more word GARBAGE next to it, to become the name Xuan Huong Garbage Lake.
And besides those happy signs, there should be one more sign, which can be is:
“Each person has one hand to throw away the trash.
Da Lat is full covered with garbage right away.”
Perhaps this mocking sign would have been more effective?
Da Lat before 1975 didn’t have trash like that.
Did Da Lat people and tourists before 1975 suffer from such a dangerous disease, “Embarrassing Nerve ruptured”?
What should be the treatment for “broken nerves of shame” for some Vietnamese people today?
A police officer told me, “Just give a heavy fine, and keep the harsh fine that make violated people’s eyes open, don’t say much.”
But “heavy fine” is also not a good solution. Because before 1975, there was no need for anyone to impose heavy fines, so why was people’s public consciousness so good?
Before year 1975, why did people not throw trash indiscriminately, did not swear or curse, not scam or rip off tourists, not violate traffic laws, not speed and overtake recklessly, like today?
Treating the dangerous disease “Shattered Nerve Breakdown” is actually not simple.
First, I think leaders should set an example for the people to follow first. Every year, on the first day of the year, the President, the Presidents of Provinces, Cities, Districts and Communes take to the streets to pick up trash for a few minutes, let TV film the images, and let the people follow.
Just once a year on the first day of the year, leaders should try and set an example to see if they can improve the situation of people’s “embarrassing nerves” or not?
Second, there are regulations from the Prime Minister, sent to all State agencies, military, police, ministries, departments, branches, companies, local levels, private companies,,, is “All public and private establishments are responsible for picking up trash and cleaning within the agency and surrounding areas.”
In Japan they do that. I see that at the Tokyo Police Department, there are always employees picking up trash outside the police headquarters, hundreds of meters away.
Thus, picking up trash is not only the responsibility of cleaning company employees, but also the responsibility of companies, state and private offices.
Third, the Government should establish the “Clean – Zero Waste” award, so that every year, the Prime Minister awards certificates of merit to companies, establishments, localities, private individuals and the State agencies that do well of keeping the environment clean, free of waste.
This award is also awarded to individual volunteers who have achievements in picking up a lot of waste and cleaning up the environment.
When I walked around Thong Nhat Park, Hanoi, I saw a lot of garbage thrown on the grass. A young girl, the park’s trash worker, pushed the trash cart past, not picking up the trash.
I asked that young girl:
-Honey, don’t you pick up these trash?
-Yes, no, I have picked it up, but they showed it right away after. If I keep picking it up, people will throw garbages again. If I keep doing that, I won’t be able to pick it all up all day. So I take a break at every 5 o’clock, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.”
I think that girl is so right.
No individual, no waste picker company employee can clean up the entire society’s waste.
There must be the cooperation of the entire society.
Fourth, perhaps some Vietnamese trash picking companies should make an advertising film like the old Hynos toothpaste advertising film by Mr. Vuong Dao Nghia before 1975 as follow:
Please hire Hong Kong actress Jacki Chan to star in this commercial film. A convoy of vehicles carrying garbage from the city headed towards the garbage disposal site. Suddenly, a group of robbers rushed out to attack the convoy. Movie actor Jacki Chan immediately used kungfu martial arts to fight and defeat the robbers. At that time, the garbage trucks were opened and inside were full of rotten garbage. Actor Jacki Chan covered his nose and ran away.
Trash companies, please try making that movie and see how it goes.
Is it possible that thanks to the smell of rotten garbage from this commercial film, this disease of “embarrassing nervous breakdown” can be cured?////