Tieng Viet lovers club - Page 412

jackbl · #**6166** 19-09-2010, 02:07 AM

Migrants on the margins
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A third of 60,000 workers sent abroad every year return worse-off than before.

Nhung decided to migrate to Taiwan in 2004 and become a domestic worker in the hope that she would make enough money to support her family back in rural Hanoi.

The 42-year-old mother of two needed to support her unemployed husband’s medical treatment for diabetes and liver diseases. He physically abused her and their children often and spent the family’s money on gambling and alcohol. But she had to take care of her children, and this job offered a way out.

Two months later, Nhung was back, with her own health problems. Her savings, US$400, were not sufficient to repay loans of more than $700 she’d taken out to meet her pre-migration costs. Nhung and her family were in worse straits now.

“I shared a room with the elderly lady I was looking after her. She slept in the bed, while I slept on the floor next to her... They feared that I would run away; so they seldom let me go out,” she said about her experience abroad.

Nhung’s case is not rare. In fact, many Vietnamese citizens have landed themselves in worse situations after working abroad.

Poor working conditions, being underpaid and cheated by brokers in Vietnam are common experiences that guest workers have gone through.

Not only have they had to work for lower payment than promised, some have even lost the money they paid without being sent abroad.

At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Tuesday (September 14), Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, admitted that many Vietnamese workers had been cheated by illegal labor brokers.

There are also many cases where legal firms have sent workers abroad and washed their hands of any further responsibility, she added.

According to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, only 30 percent of the total 167 labor export firms are operating effectively.

Government statistics show that more than 60,000 workers have been sent to work abroad every year since 2001 on average. Around 500,000 Vietnamese workers are working abroad in 40 countries and territories. Malaysia tops the list with 90,000 Vietnamese guest workers, followed by South Korea with 45,000.

According to a report titled “International labor migration from Vietnam to Asian countries: Process, Experiences and Impact” published in March by the Institute of Social Development Studies, a majority of workers have said that their overall situation improved after working abroad, but a very significant proportion saw no improvement and many reported their lives had taken a turn for the worse.

The report, which examined the experiences of migrant workers from Vietnam who have worked in the four major destination countries and territories: Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, found that this polarization emerges from the variability in pre-migration costs, working conditions, degree and frequency of deception, net earnings, work injuries and the migrants’ overall self-assessment of the impact of migration on themselves and their families.

“In light of the frequent negative migration outcomes uncovered in this survey, we believe that the potential benefits of international labor migration for migrants, their families, communities and Vietnam as a country are seriously compromised,” authors of the report said.

The most negative outcomes included 33 percent of workers abroad being sent home earlier than contracted and an equal proportion failing to pay their pre-departure debt entirely after return. Overall, 41 percent of respondents reported a negative assessment of migration, and 33 percent of migrants felt they had been deceived during the migration process, the report found.

The report said it takes an average of 18 months of working abroad to repay pre-departure debts and most early returnees are saddled with the obligation for a long time after their return.

Tuan, another worker from rural Hanoi, said he had been cheated by a private broker who had promised him a job abroad with a monthly salary of $570 with food expenses covered by the employer.

The broker took $4,700, without providing any invoice or receipt, to cover pre-departure costs and extra-money for incidental costs associated with intermediaries involved in Tuan’s recruitment. Tuan also paid more than $100 for language training which he never received.

Tuan said he realized that he had been a victim of fraud only a few hours before boarding the plane, when the broker presented Tuan with his final contract citing a lower salary and less favorable working conditions than promised. But he had to sign the contract if he wished to migrate.

Growing concerns

At the meeting of the National Assembly (NA)’s Standing Committee on September 14, the Labor Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said her agency had censured violating employment agencies.

“We have inspected and asked these firms to strictly follow laws relating to sending workers abroad and honor their commitments to the workers,” she said.

However, legislators called for the revocation of business licenses of agencies that had committed violations and were not functioning properly.

“Why should we keep those firms who send less than 100 workers abroad every year?” asked Ksor Phuoc, Chairman of the NA’s Ethnic Minorities Committee.

Deputy Le Quang Binh agreed with Phuoc. He said: “It is necessary to revoke the license of those failing to meet criteria [stipulated in the Law for Contracted Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad]. We have to prevent violations like illegal brokering close firms that cheat [workers].”

Legislators at the meeting called for stricter enforcement of labor export laws, making timely amendments and updates to regulations, and increasing awareness of the risks involved among workers wishing to go abroad.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff

jackbl · #**6167** 19-09-2010, 12:00 PM

Teacher shortage explained: distance, salary, non-teaching assignments
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VietNamNet Bridge – The new school year began one month ago, but many HCM City schools lack enough teachers. At the same time, a lot of education school graduates cannot find jobs and must take positions outside their majors.

TP graduated from the philology faculty at HCM City Pedagogical University, but cannot become a teacher. The city’s authorities have assigned TP to work as a supervisor at a high school.

TP is not alone. A lot of other education school grads have no chance to teach.

According to Van Cong Sang, Head of Personnel for HCM City Education and Training Department, after two phases of recruiting teachers for general schools, 400 teachers have been left redundant. Of these, about 100 teachers have been assigned to work as supervisors or work in school laboratories.

In the past, university graduates always had to take the jobs assigned to them. Now the situation is quite different. “I have applied to teach at schools in Districts 3, 5 or 6. I will not take a job if I am assigned to work in the suburbs,” PPH, a newly graduated teacher, told Tuoi tre newspaper. “I would rather take a job at a private institution than a state-owned school in the suburbs. If I have to travel too far to get the school, the expenses on petrol alone will gobble up a half of my salary.”

The continuing education centre in Tan Binh District needed nine teachers for the new school year. One refused the position, and two others quit. Now the centre has only six new teachers.

Similarly, the HCM City Education and Training Department assigned four teachers to Cu Chi District’s Continuing Education Centre, none have arrived yet.

According to Van Cong Sang, teachers who reside permanently in HCM City will not work at schools located far from the city’s centre. Only teachers from other provinces are not choosy, but some have “local” accents, deemed unsuitable for teaching, therefore, they have been asked to stop teaching.

Many suburban schools complain that they do not have a stable workforce, because nearly all teachers wish to leave after two or three years. The schools in remote areas seriously lack teachers, because they cannot offer attractive wages or working conditions.

Before the new school year began, many teachers left their schools. H, a history teacher, explained that her home is in Tan Phu District and so she must travel a long distance to reach her school in Binh Chanh District. H observed that she must spend too much money on gas, while the lengthy travel does not allow her to have strong enough health to teach.

Inner city schools also complain that they have lost qualified teachers. Many left for private schools with higher wages and other preferences.

Ten years ago, HCM City had many redundant primary school teachers, but in the last two years, they have faced a shortage. As the result, schools must arrange classes with high numbers of students.

Source: Tuoi tre

KangTuo · #**6168** 19-09-2010, 02:33 PM

kana told by a vb that I am like a 'am binh'
cannot find the meaning...

she then say it is similar to 'cô hồn'.... meaning forseaken spirit

anyone know exactly what 'am binh' means?
also wondering why she would say like this....

versasaint · #**6169** 19-09-2010, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KangTuo

kana told by a vb that I am like a 'am binh'
cannot find the meaning...

she then say it is similar to 'cô hồn'.... meaning forseaken spirit

anyone know exactly what 'am binh' means?
also wondering why she would say like this....

maybe vb angry with KT, that's why she curse you as a bad spirit...

old_uncle · #**6170** 19-09-2010, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KangTuo

kana told by a vb that I am like a 'am binh'
cannot find the meaning...

she then say it is similar to 'cô hồn'.... meaning forseaken spirit

anyone know exactly what 'am binh' means?
also wondering why she would say like this....

"âm binh": do you remember when we saw ghost film? There should be a "chief" from the Hell going up to the earth to do something. Accompanying him there are those who wear white clothes, stretching their hands in front of them, and jumping (not walking). Those are "âm binh" - the soldiers of the Hell.

KangTuo · #**6171** 20-09-2010, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KangTuo

anyone know exactly what 'am binh' means?
also wondering why she would say like this....

Quote:

Originally Posted by versasaint

maybe vb angry with KT, that's why she curse you as a bad spirit...

just find out the meaning of 'am binh' from my former number 2 galfriend.

she give example as:
when a guy promise to bring a vb to dinner but never of promise to visit a vb in vn but never go, the vb will curse the guy 'am binh'

that means the gal no happy with the guy then she curse..

jackbl · #**6172** 20-09-2010, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KangTuo

she give example as:
when a guy promise to bring a vb to dinner but never of promise to visit a vb in vn but never go, the vb will curse the guy 'am binh'

that means the gal no happy with the guy then she curse..

Did she said anything on the real meaning of AM BINH???

naemlo · #**6173** 20-09-2010, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KangTuo

that means the gal no happy with the guy then she curse..

Then we guys will be cursing more with these vb

jackbl · #**6174** 20-09-2010, 09:42 AM

For those who wanted to setup businesses in the Mekongs, pls take note....

Electricity still cut in Mekong Delta’s rainy season
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VietNamNet Bridge – Water reservoirs do not have enough water for hydropower plants even though it is the rainy season. Power companies claim they cannot say exactly when electricity supplies will return to normal.

Residents of Tien Giang province have been miserable over the last two weeks, because electricity is cut once every three days. In My Tho City and Cai Be District, electricity is cut every two days, from early morning until 7 pm. However, in some places, power only comes back after 10 pm. This has upset people’s lives.

Luu Thanh Nam, Director of Tien Giang province’s Power Company, confirmed that the company must cut power due to the electricity shortage. Since Tien Giang provincial People’s Committee decided to prioritise state agencies, industrial zones and big enterprises, “small clients”, including small production workshops and households must bear the electric outages.

“Everyday, the electricity cut in Tien Giang province is as high as 50-60MW, or 60 percent of the total electricity output provided to the whole province. Therefore, clients have suffered,” Nam explained.

Nam asserted that his company cannot cut power just for several hours they will have to cut power in many areas. “In general, electricity is cut from 6 am to 7 pm. We still do not know when the supply will return to normal,” Nam added.

In An Giang and Dong Thap provinces, what makes residents tetchy is that power companies do not notify them in advance. Power companies protest that even they do not know the supply schedules.

Director of An Giang Power and Water Company Tran Thanh Hoang explained that his company distributes electricity to the whole province, but he does not know in advance about power cut schedules. Meanwhile, Vo Thanh Duyen, Director of An Giang Power Company calculated that the volume of electricity allocated to the company has dropped by 1/3.

“Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) needs to release an official notice explaining the reasons behind the electricity cuts and inform us of power cuts, so that we can provide information to residents,” Duyen argued.

According to Pham Huu Khai, Director of Dong Thap province’s Power Company, EVN has said that the gas run power plant Nam Con Son is now under maintenance, so the volume of electricity allocated for the province has dropped by 20 percent.

Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Director of Dong Nai provincial Power Company, claimed that the output is still high enough for industrial zones, but the company must cut power for households as requested by Southern Electricity Regulatory Centre.

Pham Hien Thien Ly from Ben Tre provincial Power Company also confirmed that, since the beginning of September, the company must cut 20-40 MW a day as ordered or the power system will fail, causing large-scale power outages.

Deputy Chair of Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Sy Son has asked the provincial power company to restrict power cuts to ensure enough electricity for key enterprises making export products.

Source: Tuoi tre

KangTuo · #**6175** 20-09-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackbl

Did she said anything on the real meaning of AM BINH???

am binh = co hon = con ma = ghost/spirit/souls

jackbl · #**6176** 21-09-2010, 03:21 AM

Study abroad, staying abroad: some facts versus myths
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VietNamNet Bridge – To attract more students, overseas study consultant firms use new tricks to persuade students to go abroad: they encourage students to settle in foreign countries after graduation.

Private companies that promote overseas study cannot ensure that students will be granted visas for working or settling abroad after they finish school. These visas must be approved by the foreign government and these are limited in number. In fact, study visa applicants must show three things: that they are real students, have the ability to pay for school and a plan to return to Vietnam after graduation. If students cannot persuade consulate officers of all three, they will be denied.

This is a statement made by the US Consulate in HCM City. Still, a lot of overseas study consultant firms still work to help students obtain visas.

$50,000 and $35,000

On www.vatgia.com, an advertisement reads: “Do you want to settle in the US? We are seeking students who want to study pharmacy in the US and settle here after three years. The program fee is $50,000.”

Tien Phong reporters, after a lot of efforts to make appointments, came to the office of Hiep A Company, a company specializing in trade and construction. The reporters acted as students wanting to studying abroad and met Phuong Lan, the company’s chair, at the head office located in a small alley on Pho Quang Street in Tan Binh district in HCM City.

Lan told the reporters-students that she has an office in the US and she cooperates with the US Department of State. Her department has “reserved several seats” in the US and can help people settle there if they want.

“This is a specific training program at a company in southern California that has a close relation with Hiep A. Students will be able to study and work at the same time, so the job will bring income to students,” Lan explained.

Though the advertised package fee is $50,000, Lan told the reporters that they will have to pay only $35,000, including the visa fee, tuition and green card cost.

“The money will be paid two times. You must pay some right now to cover visa expenses, and you must pay the remainder before boarding the plane,” she added.

Loan also promised to obtain green cards for them after four months in the US.

Visas to the US in . . . Singapore?

Meanwhile, other overseas study consultant groups help students obtain the right to settle in the US if students study in a third country. Duc Tu Overseas Study Consultancy Company (DTU), headquartered in HCM City, is now seeking students for a new training program. Students will study nursing in Singapore, but will work and settle in the US.

A company officer said that the program has three phases. At first, students will follow “pre-nursing” (3-12 months) in Singapore. After that, they will be granted visas to the US for the “Direct Nurse” phase and then, upon graduation, the students will be recruited to work for Alliance for five years.

Also according to DTU, learners can extend their contracts when their working period terminates. The package fee is $14,900.

Asia International Talent Resource Investment JSC (AITRI) is also seeking students for a “Direct Nurse” program. The company introduces itself as the only company assigned by American Career, the coordinator of DirectNurse® program of Academic Alliance, to enroll students

According to Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, a senior official of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the US market has demand for foreign workers, but they must meet very strict requirements to enter the US.

Different kinds of US visas are granted to foreign workers. For example, H1A visa is granted to nurses who have degrees recognized in the US and have TOEFL scores of 550.

However, Quynh stressed that, to date, his ministry has not allowed any companies to select nurses for work in the US.

Source: Tien phong

jackbl · #**6177** 21-09-2010, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackbl

Chinese clinics claim cures for all diseases

Chinese clinics: an obvious cheat
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VietNamNet Bridge – Many people have visited traditional Chinese medicine clinics based on false advertisements in newspapers and on websites. The results have been disturbing.

A website posted a big article introducing a traditional Chinese medicine clinic at 108 Tran Phu, Ha Dong District, Hanoi. According to this article, the clinic uses Chinese traditional cures, rare herbs and hi-tech machines, all successfully treating many patients. The article also provided the names, addresses and phone numbers of patients who have recovered after visiting this clinic.

Nguyen Truong Tho, 48, one of the patients who advertised as cured from rheumatism, remarked: “Their medicines were very expensive, from 800,000-1 million dong/small recipe. I paid 23 million dong ($1,300) a month, but I didn’t feel better. I went to a hospital for examination and was diagnosed with a different disease. I was then treated at the hospital and I’ve recovered.”

Tho was annoyed at being called very often by the ad’s readers. “I told them that all the information in that advertisement is wrong,” Tho noted.

When he came to the clinic, he didn’t see the prescription. The Chinese doctor only asked about symptoms and then wrote a prescription in Chinese and gave it to his employee. When asked about the prescription, the staff said that he didn’t need to see it because he would not understand.

Tho also witnessed clinic employees running to hide medicines when health inspectors visited.

Nguyen Thi Mai Oanh was listed in the ad too, but gave the same report. She immediately dissuaded: “Please don’t visit that clinic to be cheated like me. I lost dozens of millions of dong and gained nothing.”

According to Oanh, this clinic used information of patients like her without their permission to make false advertisements.

Many Chinese traditional medicine clinics hired people to advertise for their services. Nguyen Thi Thu, who sells bun cha (vermicelli and grilled chopped meat) at Nghia Tan market, Cau Giay district, Hanoi was hired to “play” a patient to say thank to a Chinese clinic for treating her disease on an advertising clip on Ha Tay Province’s television channel. Thu said that clinic paid her 200,000 ($10) for that clip.

Many patients called or sent emails to local newspapers, complaining that they had been cheated by Chinese traditional medicine clinics.

Tran Thi Tam lost money and also contracted another disease from a Chinese clinic on Giai Phong road, Hanoi.

Tam endured arthritis for several years and had visited many hospitals, to no avail. Reading an advertisement about a Chinese clinic that cured arthritis, she immediately made an appointment.

“The interpreter said I would feel better after taking 7-8 doses. After three days, my nose didn’t run anymore, but afterwards the symptoms returned. On the 10th day, my chest swelled very big and I had to go to hospital.”

Tam paid nearly 5 million dong ($250) to buy eight concoctions from the clinic. “Before taking this medicine, I could walk normally. After the 4th and 5th doses, I felt a lot of pain, but I tried to take all 8 doses. I lost 6 kilos, my body turned white and my limbs rolled up. My family thought I would die. They brought me to the Traditional Medicine Hospital for emergency aid.”

Hung, from HCM City, told Thanh Nien newspaper, “I, my wife and my son visited a Chinese clinic on Kinh Duong Vuong road. We saw a Chinese man who declared himself to be a doctor and an interpreter. After cursory checks-up, they introduced three medicines for 200,000, 180,000 and 160,000 dong per day. We chose the first kind and paid a total of 10 million dong ($500).”

“It is very strange that we have different diseases, but they sold the same medicine for all of us. We paid 200,000 dong ($10) a day and received several pills of different colors that had no name plus some medicinal concoctions.”

Hung explained that, after three days, they felt better, but later their symptoms became more serious. His wife’s breasts became swollen and she had to go to hospital. When they went to the clinic to claim their money back, the Chinese “doctor” agreed to return 50 percent.

Hoang Anh from HCM City was diagnosed with sinusitis at a Chinese clinic on Thanh Thai road in District 10. “When I said I felt painful while urinating, the doctor concluded that I had contracted kidney failure and told me to take medicine for 20 days. He asked me to deposit 500,000 dong and return the next day. But later that day I had read a newspaper article about cheating Chinese clinics, so I returned to reclaim my deposit, but they refused.”

Hoang Anh threatened to report the case to police, and then the clinic paid the deposit.

Unmasking tricks at Chinese clinics

Ha used to work for a Chinese clinic in District 10, HCM City. Ha explained that “They (the Chinese clinic) earned around 30 million dong ($1,800) daily from selling medicines. They opened the clinic just to sell medicines and they sold the same medicines to all patients. All Chinese traditional medicine clinics in HCM City have relations with each other. It is very easy to earn money in Vietnam, so they flocked here to open clinics and sell medicines without invoices.”

According to Ha, these clinics hired models and patients to advertise their services and medicines. Their medicines are produced from similar herbs like those at Vietnamese traditional medicine clinics, but they are sold at very high prices, at least 10 times higher. All Chinese clinics in HCM City buy medicines from the same clinic in District 6.

Ha disclosed how Chinese clinics expand. “After Vietnamese authorities license a Chinese clinic with several Chinese doctors, these people divide up to work with Vietnamese and open new clinics. All operate the same way: one Chinese man, a small room, and several female staff serving as interpreters, nurses and cashiers. After a cursory check-up, they ask patients to buy medicines for 30-40 days or ten days for poor patients. They sell medicines for at least 10 days, worth several million dong. At the clinic where I worked, they always knew beforehand whenever health inspectors would arrive.”

A senior Vietnamese traditional medicine doctor decided to play the role of a patient to expose some Chinese clinics. He noted that there are Chinese clinics in Hanoi, Da Nang, HCM City, Can Tho, etc. but the qualifications of their Chinese doctors are very poor. They only want to sell medicine. He warned that some Chinese clinics mixed Dexamethason in their medicine, which will make some symptoms disappear very quickly, but they will return after a short period of time.

HCM City health inspectors recently inspected some Chinese clinics and detected most clinics of the above-mentioned violations. These clinics were fined from 10-20 million dong.

The city currently has over 1500 traditional medicine clinics, but the local Department of Health doesn’t know how many Chinese doctors operate at these clinics. An official admitted that there are only a small number of Chinese doctors registered with the department. Many others have since come to Vietnam as tourists and practiced medicine illegally.

Local traditional medicine experts proposed to immediately close Chinese clinics where doctors don’t have a traditional medicine practice certificate. “The more authorities impose fines, the more they cheat patients to pay these fees,” an expert warned.

After newspapers reported the chaotic situation at Chinese traditional medicine clinics, the Ministry of Health stepped in and took measures to address the situation.

PV