US embassy cable - 03HOCHIMINHCITY949

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000949 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI, PHUM, PGOV, VM, LABOR, HUMANR 
SUBJECT: THE SEA-MY SIDE OF THE SEA GAMES: HCMC CRACKS DOWN ON 
STREET PEOPLE 
 
1.  (SBU) Effective September 30, 2003, Ho Chi Minh City 
authorities will round up and classify all street persons living 
and working in public places around the city as part of a new 
program run by the HCMC Committee on Population, Family, and 
Children.  Street children picked up under the program will be 
sent to state-run social care centers or orphanages, or returned 
to their home provinces.  The program, which is similar to one 
announced for Hanoi, is part of a nationwide GVN effort to crack 
down on street people, beggars, and hustlers, all justified in the 
name of the upcoming Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games).  Local 
street persons, however, appear largely unconcerned about the law 
or its effect on their lives. 
 
2.  (U) Local newspapers announced the passage of Decision 
104/2003/QD-UB "on the management of street people who live by 
begging in public places" in mid-September, to take effect on 
September 30.  According to Tuoi Tre ("Youth") newspaper, the 
program is intended to protect tourists and visitors attending 
December's SEA Games events from being hassled by beggars.  The 
GVN has allocated 4.3 billion VND (approximately US$275,000) to 
the plan, including re-settlement assistance and community 
advocacy programs.  By the end of November 2003, the National 
Committee on Population Family and Children plans to have moved 
100% of "begging and rubbish-collecting children" to social care 
centers and orphanages, and to have assisted in the voluntary 
return home of 70% of children who sell lottery tickets or 
postcards or who shine shoes. 
 
3.  (U) In November 2003, the program will also include an EU- 
funded 6.8 million Euro project to assist street children returned 
home in 36 districts.   The children will receive funding for 
school and vocational training and receive job placement 
assistance.  The project will also give no-interest loans to their 
families for household business development.   The Ministry of 
Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has also submitted a 
34 billion VND/year proposal to eliminate child beggars and 
rubbish collectors by 2006. 
 
4.  (SBU) MOLISA's Survey on Street Children in Hanoi and Ho Chi 
Minh City, July-August 2003, reported that Vietnam has over 21,000 
street children, mostly between 11-15, earning an average of 
15,000-30,000 VND/day ($1-2/day).  The majority have not finished 
school, and 8% have never attended school.  54% of street children 
go home to families in the evening.  A source at DOLISA (HCMC's 
MOLISA) indicated that street children who have a stable home, go 
to school, and who do not work too many hours may be allowed to 
continue their jobs. 
 
5.  (SBU) On September 23, 2003, Poloff interviewed affected 
street people in the main tourist district of HCMC.  A 13-year-old 
boy selling lottery tickets and a 17-year-old shoeshine boy had 
both heard about the new regulations from local newspapers.  The 
shoeshine boy also holds down a construction job three days each 
week, and has all the legal paperwork for the job.  He did not 
expect trouble from the local authorities because of his other job 
and he expected to be able to continue his shoeshine work without 
interference.  The lottery boy, however, was worried about whether 
he and his mother, who sells newspapers on a nearby street, would 
be able to continue working.  He had yet to be approached by local 
authorities, but he has never been to school, so he falls in the 
main target group.  He believes he would be able to run fast 
enough to avoid the police should they try to take him away. 
 
6.  (SBU) An elderly woman who sells lottery tickets from a wooden 
chair also expressed concerns about her livelihood.  She reported 
that harassment had increased in the past few weeks and that she 
had to move her chair several times a day.  She expects to have to 
stop working during the SEA Games because she is "old and cannot 
not run very fast" o escape from the police.  After the SEA Games 
ended, however, she believes that she would be able to sell again. 
 
7.  (SBU) Ms. Ha (protect), a 14-year-old girl selling postcards 
in a major tourist square, had just been released from a social 
care center.  (Note: Ms. Ha is well-known to the ConGen and has 
also appeared in tourist videos about Vietnam.)  She had been 
picked up by police in July and placed in the SOS "orphanage" for 
three months.  Her mother was able to secure her release after 
only 45 days, by paying a 3 million VND "fee" (approximately 
US$200).  Ms. Ha described the orphanage as something akin to a 
juvenile detention center, with bars on the windows, severely 
restricted movement, and regular beatings.  She claimed to eat 
better on the street than in the orphanage.  She has been selling 
postcards for 11 years, both with her mother and independently, 
and speaks near-perfect English.  She attends school for two hours 
each morning to learn "mathematics and history." 
 
8.  (SBU) Ms. Ha echoed earlier sentiments that she would "just 
outrun" the police.  She reported that the police had started 
using plainclothes officers in the area, but that "everyone knows" 
who they were.  Since her detention, Ms. Ha has refused to let 
ethnic Vietnamese take her picture, claiming "they" were using 
pictures to "make up stories."  She still allows Westerners to 
take her photograph.  Ms. Ha expressed no desire to change her 
lifestyle, saying that she liked the freedom and variety, and 
never wanted to go back to an orphanage again. 
 
9.  (SBU) COMMENT: This is not the first program NPFCC has 
proposed to address the problem of street children.  Local press 
reported an almost identical proposal in April 2003, without the 
SEA Games linkage.  That earlier measure, however, did not appear 
to get government support or funding until after it could be tied 
to the issue of "protecting tourists."  Under the circumstances, 
this would appear to be an effort to advance a pre-existing agenda 
under cover of this major sporting event.  DOLISA was originally 
willing to discuss this program, but later cancelled, saying they 
could not discuss things further without going through the local 
branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and having other 
representatives present at the meeting. 
 
YAMAUCHI