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DAM-L LS: Difficulties at Song Hing resettlement site, VN (fwd)



Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 12:47:24 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200108231947.f7NJlO025401@DaVinci.NetVista.net>
Subject: LS: Difficulties at Song Hing resettlement site, VN

Translated from the Vietnamese.

VNEXPRESS

Vietnam express news
Sunday, Aug. 12, 2001

Difficulties in resettlement site, Song Hinh hydropower

"Trying to harvest bamboo shoots is extremely difficult with lots of 
dangers in the forest.  When the bamboo season is over, resettlers sell 
their cattle for rice.  Headman Oi Duc sold 4 of his cows", said Ma Muong, 
70 years old in Mui village, Ea Trol commune, Song Hinh district, Phu Yen 
province.

Located in the reservoir area of Song Hinh hydropower, since 1998 people in 
Duc and Mui villages, Song Hinh district had to move to the resettlement 
site at the elevation 230m above the sea, 15 km from the town.  Each family 
received VND 15 million. They used this money to build new brick 
houses.  There is also electricity in this resettlement site.  However, 130 
families with 650 people consisting of Ede and Bana ethnic minority groups 
have faced the difficulty of having no land for cultivation.  With a total 
of less than 20 ha of very poor land, resettlers are unable to grow 
anything there.  There are only few small plots of arable land surrounding 
the village.  Some families have to share land that they bought in other 
villages to grow staple foods and subsidiary crops.

In order to survive, resettlers have to go into the forest to collect 
bamboo shoots. Unfortunately, the numbers of bamboo shoots have been 
decreasing, so they have to go further into the deep forest, near border 
with Daklak province.  Older people and women usually go for a day, while 
young men go for several days.  Each day they collect 2-3kg of bamboo 
shoot.  But sometimes they come back without any thing.  The price for 1 kg 
of bamboo is VND 2,000, which they can use to buy 2 cups of rice.

Their houses are connected to the electric grid, but only 50% of the 
families have enough money to pay for it.  There are about 10 TV sets in 
both villages, mainly belonging to bamboo traders, who stay 
temporarily.  According to Ma Nhach, Vice Chairman of the Commune's People 
Committee, there are 45 very poor families in the resettlement site, 98 
people are illiterate.  People's living conditions are 3-4 times worse than 
before their moving.  The problem of poverty and illiteracy has been 
increasing.

(According to Youth)