Ttntag daughter

A local man is operating a free-of-charge library in Hanoi, satisfying the reading needs of everybody and creating a convenient space for its visitors to communicate in English.

The library, situated on Kim Ma Street in Ba Dinh District, was launched in early 2020 by 40-year-old Nguyen Thanh Trung, who is also called Harry Trung Nguyen.

Trung founded an English training center right above the library and uses income from the English teaching to maintain his free facility, which he named Mia Bookhouse.

The library’s founder enthusiastically welcomes every visitor and assists them in choosing books to read.

Mia Bookhouse now has more than 1,000 English books and a small number of books in German that he has collected during his travel to more than 50 countries.

In addition, books in Vietnamese may also be found there.

“This library model has been cherished by my love for my little daughter Mia,” Trung said, adding that imbuing children with a habit of reading, especially in those under six, will help promote their development of language, creativity, and imagination.

With an aim to make it convenient for children, Trung designed his Mia Bookhouse uniquely, with box-shaped bookshelves and seats being the steps of the wooden staircase connecting the lower and upper parts of the library.

Trung went to Russia and Germany with his family during his childhood and he later visited many other countries.

His love for travel and his long working in the tourism sector have developed in him a habit of collecting English books from every country he visited.

“I especially love children and I pay special attention to learning foreign languages, so I want to create a space for everybody to naturally develop foreign language skills,” Trung shared.

The library is currently open every Saturday and Sunday morning.

It is staffed by teachers who can guide everybody in choice of books and can communicate in English with every visitor, creating a venue for everyone to use or practice their English skills.

Books for children here have been selected carefully to ensure they are attractive, interesting, and useful to them, Trung said, adding that he is directly involved in the selection.

Trung said he initially created this library to provide English books for children, but he later thought it may be extended to people of different ages.

He has therefore added to Mia Bookhouse a lot of books in various fields, such as literature, history, science, economics, and nature, to satisfy the diverse demands of every book enthusiasts.

The man has also collected many famous works that are hard to buy as they were published in limited quantities.

Trung has recently set up his second free library in the capital, on Nguy Nhu Kon Tum Street in Thanh Xuan District.

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Despite being constantly on the move and staying in makeshift accommodations, construction workers in Ho Chi Minh City still move forward and are ready for whatever comes next.

Makeshift shanties erected at a construction site, secluded at a swamp next to the Saigon River, along Ven Ho Trung Tam Street in Thu Duc City, are where Nguyen Van Kiet, a 29-year-old construction worker, and more than a dozen co-workers have called home for the past several weeks.

The site is filled with noise and dust, and piles of construction materials are strewn across the area.

With walls temporarily built from corrugated iron and floors from planks of wood, the shanties, which double as the workers’ living and sleeping space, will be removed as construction nears completion.

These makeshift accommodations lack the basics like a kitchen and toilet.

On the day a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent visited the under-construction site, more than 50 workers rode off on their motorbikes, while the remaining 50 workers trudged back to the ramshackle sheds after a long working day.

Kiet, who hails from An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta, hummed a Vietnamese tune about the life of masons with his phone before taking a night’s rest.

“We masons build people’s houses, but just keep relocating and don’t have a place of our own,” his co-workers cracked a joke based on the lyrics.

Kiet used to work at a footwear factory, but the monthly salary of VND6 million (US$259) was barely enough for him to support his wife and young child.

Six months ago, he ended up in Ho Chi Minh City, where he began work in construction but until now has still struggled to adjust to the new ‘nomadic’ life.

“I couldn’t sleep sound for half a year now,” Kiet said.

As the contractors do not provide the workers with room or board and many of them are with their wives and young children, they cook their own meals and live in unsanitary conditions.

The women also help around with less physically demanding chores on the site.

Construction workers typically try to get as much work done as they can in the morning so they can avoid more strenuous work if the heat gets more intense later in the day.

Though staying on the site spares the workers room rent and allows them extra payment from the contractors, many find the conditions quite tough.

Tram Ngoc, from Tra Vinh Province, also located in the Mekong Delta, said extreme weather conditions can also have an effect on construction workers; scorching heat can add to their exhaustion, while windy conditions can also prove difficult.

His bedding and clothing items as well as makeshift ‘bed’ placed atop bricks all got soaked during an unseasonal downpour last week, leaving him struggling to stay dry under the porch of a household nearby the whole night.

“The heat is unpleasant but still bearable. What I dread most is unseasonal downpours that catch us off guard at midnight,” Ngoc said, adding construction materials drenched in rainwater may become unusable for the following day.

“I can’t take on the physically taxing work the next day if I go without sleep during the night.”

Theft is another of his concerns.

Ngoc, who has been on the job for more than 10 years, racked his brain trying to remember how many times he had his phones pinched.

“Thieves sneak in when we are sound asleep on breezy nights,” he said.

“Most masons have lost at least one or two phones.”

Ngoc added five such gadgets at a building site he was working at were stolen at one time, while he once had a phone he had just bought for more than VND3 million ($130) nicked.

“I’ve saved every hard-earned penny,” he said.

“It really hurt.”

Finding joy

Kiet’s ‘housemates’ are Nguyen Quang Hieu, 24, also from An Giang Province, and his 18-year-old wife, Le Thi Thao Nhi.

Hieu and his younger brother took up the construction job from their parents, who have been on the move between work sites in Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbors, Dong Nai and Binh Duong Provinces, over the past 20 years.

The young couple are hard at work to save up for themselves and take care of their baby of less than three months old.

“Our baby is doing fine,” Nhi said.

“I usually put on extra covers to keep my child from the sun or winds.”

After a long working day, what Hieu and others are most eager for is fishing at the swamps nearby, which gives the young men something to do in their spare time and some fish to eat.

Hieu’s wife also goes to the riverbanks overgrown with wild morning glory to pick some for meals.

Despite physically exhausting work and tough living conditions, Hieu and his team always try to find a reason to smile.

Hieu would follow his parents to building sites during his childhood, always moving to other places after construction finished.

The boy, due to such mobility and insufficient livelihood, could not make it to school.

Though unable to write, Hieu can read and loves doing karaoke, which he said helps himself and his co-workers unwind and have some fun during their casual gatherings on the weekend.

The man joked that what he likes most is no one complains about them making noise.

The man recently bought a loudspeaker for VND15 million ($648) by installments.

“I try to refrain from hanging around in order not to spend money,” Hieu shared, pointing to the brand-new device placed in the distance.

“This speaker is quite expensive, but helps alleviate our exhaustion and keep our spirit high.”

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Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked on Monday to take a holy bath in India’s Ganges river, even as the nation racked up the world’s highest tally of new daily coronavirus infections.

With 168,912 new cases, India accounts for one in six of all new infections globally, although the figure is still well below the U.S. peak of nearly 300,000 new cases on Jan. 8.

In the northern city of Haridwar, nearly a million devotees thronged the banks of the Ganges, a river many Hindus consider holy, to participate in the months-long ‘Kumbh Mela’ or pitcher festival.

“The crowd here is surging…the police are continuously appealing to people to maintain social distancing,” police official Sanjay Gunjyal told Reuters at the site.

By mid-morning a million people had taken a dip in the river, believed to wash away one’s sins.

As India’s second wave of infections builds, with fewer than 4% estimated to have been vaccinated among a population of 1.4 billion, experts say the situation could have a long way to go before it starts getting better.

“After cases declined in January-February, we were very comfortable,” said a panel of high court judges in the western state of Gujarat, calling on authorities to take urgent steps to rein in the outbreak.

“Almost everyone forgot that there was ever corona,” added the panel, headed by Chief Justice Vikram Nath.

A full opening of the economy from last year’s crippling lockdown, coupled with the mass religious festivals and political rallies in states heading to elections have fuelled the crisis.

Monday’s new infections carried India past Brazil for a tally of 13.53 million, data compiled by Reuters shows, ranking it the second-most infected country after the United States, with 31.2 million.

Tally feared to double in two months

India’s tally is on course to double in two months, according to estimates based on data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Yet authorities appeared unwilling or unable to stop events that could lead to a calamitous spread of the disease.

People are seen at a fish market, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, April 12, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Thousands of people are attending political rallies in four big states set for elections this month, including two events on Monday in the eastern state of West Bengal, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to speak.

“With 1.2 million active cases, and the daily number reaching 200,000, it’s bizarre to have poll rallies and a full Kumbh Mela,” political commentator Shekhar Gupta said on Twitter.

Officials and experts said authorities had underestimated the resilience of the virus, believing they had beaten it after daily cases fell below 10,000 in early February.

Officials in the worst-hit state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, said they were considering a broader lockdown this week after large closures at the weekend.

“It is necessary to break the cycle (of infections),” said a senior state official who sought anonymity. “We are working on identifying industries and services that need to be exempted.”

The rupee fell to its lowest in nearly eight months and Mumbai’s benchmark index tanked as much as 3.7% in the worst session in more than six weeks.

India’s economy has been limping back to recovery after last year’s hard lockdown caused the deepest contraction in decades.

A recent ultra marathon held in a small Ho Chi Minh City neighborhood has brought a lot of attention to the sport’s growing popularity in the southern metropolis.

The 3rd Ultra Night Marathon is an annual ultra marathon with 30km, 50km, and 80km options organized by the Run For Fun (RFF) Club in District 7’s Phu My Hung New Urban Area.

This latest event began at 8:00 pm on December 29 and ended at 8:00 am the following morning.

All of the event’s 127 slots were filled within 48 hours from when registration opened, according to Do Thanh Vi Ngan, RFF’s president.

“We couldn’t allow more runners to participate because it had already been very difficult to get an official permit for the event approved by local authorities,” Ngan elaborated.

“We had to explain to the Phy My Hung management board that the race was only meant for passionate runners.”

On race night, as participants from several of the city’s running clubs, including Vietrun, SBR, PTR, and “Chay Nhu Rua” (Run Like a Tortoise) lined up at the starting line of the 1.9 kilometer course in Nam Vien Park eager to begin their first of dozens of laps, a feeling of community became contagious.

Originally the marathon was organized as a friendly event to say farewell to an RFF member, Ngan recalled.

“Running at night is really fun and can be addictive,” the club president remarked.

That realization led RFF to decide to host the event on an annual basis.

Nguyen Van Long, a member of VietRun Club, not only won the 80km race but chose to run until he chalked up 102km, besting his own goal of 100km.

A young boy participates in the run. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Do Thi Nguyen, another VietRun member, was the event’s best female runner.

Several participants made the trip from nearby provinces to participate in the fun.

Phuc, a member of RFF Bien Hoa in Dong Nai Province, about 35 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, is one such runner.

He said his family used to think he was ‘possessed by the Devil’ because he spends so much of his free time running. At one point he was so addicted to pounding the sidewalk that his wife burned his running shoes.

“Not many people run in Bien Hoa. Everyone thought there was something strange about me,” Phuc explained.

According to Hanh Linh, a full-time bank employee by day and RFF media guru by night, the club has ties with 18 other running clubs in the southern metropolis, and several more throughout the rest of the country.

“That’s why we had such diverse groups of participants for the event,” Linh stated.

Runners did not have to pay a fee, Linh continued, adding that the only requisite was that they signed up with two other friends.

“We were able to raise tens of millions of dong [VND10 million = US$430] from sponsors and donated all of the money to a children’s heart surgery fund,” Ngan said.

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A student seeks a doctors’ consultation at the National Children’s Hospital after exposure to harmful content on the internet. Photo baotintuc.vn

HÀ NỘI – Doctors and parents are concerned about the impact videos with harmful content are having on children.

H, a Hanoian, recently noticed a change in the mental health of her 15-year-old daughter. She became quiet and preferred using her phone to communicating with anyone. Her studies were also negatively impacted.

H brought her 15-year-old daughter to the National Children’s Hospital for an examination, where doctors said her child was depressed as a result of playing games and watching YouTube channels with negative content.

H’s daughter is just one of many children who have been affected by online content, with some children risking their lives after watching harmful videos.

Last October, a nine-year-old boy in Phú Thọ Province swallowed a nail clipper after watching a video on YouTube. Luckily, he received medical help in good time and escaped any long-term harm.

According to Trần Thành Nam, a psychological expert from Hà Nội National University, children do not know always know right from wrong and can be easily swayed by others.

“Many things are repeated over and over, making them think they are correct and should be imitated. It is easy for them to become addicted and make them move away from real life,” he told Tin Tức (News) newspaper.

Adults can have similar problems distinguishing right from wrong when flooded with information which spreads doubt and a lack of trust, Nam said.

Ngô Anh Vinh, Deputy Head of Adolescent Health Department at the same hospital, said his department has treated a number of children for excessive use of social media, such as watching videos that are not age-appropriate and spending too long online.

“When admitted to the hospital, some children showed signs of agitation, anxiety disorders, depression. Due to late detection and the family being unable to control the child’s internet use in the first place, there are many difficulties in the treatment,” he said.

There are a lot of harmful videos online featuring violence or sex that can affect the development of a child and can lead to psychological disorders, he said.

If a child is exposed to such content for a long time, it can affect their social interactions, Vinh added.

It also has an impact on learning because once children are addicted to watching harmful videos, they will feel bored at school, he said.

Mental illnesses such as depression, agitation and behavioural disturbances might occur, he said, adding that the consequences would be very regrettable without timely intervention.

According to experts, the producers of the videos are only focused on increasing views and think little of the consequences of the methods they use to attract viewers.

To be eligible to apply to the YouTube Partner Programme and monetise videos, a channel must have 1,000 subscribers and have earned 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months.

YouTuber Thơ Nguyễn recently uploaded a clip on her TikTok page in which she asked a Kuman Thong doll to give luck to students in their studies. She was later fined for posting superstitious content.

Other YouTubers have also been criticised for misguiding children.

Late last year, Hưng Vlog has uploaded on his channel a clip depicting him stealing money from the piggy bank of his brother and sister.

Despite receiving sanctions from local authorities, Hưng Vlog continues to produce videos with questionable content.

The Hưng Vlog channel with 3 million followers can earn at least VNĐ350 million (US$15,150) per month, according to SocialBlade, an American website that tracks social media statistics and analytics.

A report from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) shows that there are currently 15,000 Vietnamese YouTube channels with advertising revenue and 350 channels with millions of followers.

The country has more than 60 million internet users and is one of the 10 countries with the highest number of Facebook and YouTube users in the world.

Besides the positive aspects of social networks, there are also many risks of exposure to harmful and violent content and children are the most vulnerable.

According to the Department of Child Affairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the national hotline for child protection at 111 received hundreds of calls from parents expressing concerns about their children’s use of the internet while at home during the social distancing period.

Solutions

Psychologist Trần Thanh Nam said Việt Nam needs a more synchronous strategy to handle toxic content.

In addition to the improvement of the legal framework and imposing strict punishment for those who spread harmful content, it is necessary for authorities and agencies to teach children how to use the internet safely, he said.

Students are provided with digital security skills at schools in Hà Nội. Photo baotintuc.vn

According to Hoàng Minh Tiến, Deputy Director of the Authority of Information Security under the MoIC, some cross-border platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and TikTok have implemented solutions to detect and handle harmful information for children and work with Vietnamese authorities when asked to remove negative information.

To tackle content that is inappropriate for children or content depicting abuse of children, the authority is establishing a Child Protection Network in the digital environment with the core the Vietnam Cyber ​​Emergency Response Center – VNCERT, an agency under Tiến’s leadership.

The network involves relevant agencies including the Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Public Security and telecommunications and internet service providers (ISPs).

One of the main tasks is to receive and categorise complaints about inappropriate online content for children.

The complaints can be received via the website of the network, by phone or via email, Tien said.

The MoIC will collaborate with the MoET to introduce a set of standards for identifying harmful content in the teaching of informatics to each age group.

Director of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department of Child Affairs Đặng Hoa Nam said the most effective way to deal with toxic online content is to report it.  — VNS