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BOILING POINT
with tiles and wood costs billions of dong. We can’t afford it.
My husband died 20 years ago. I stayed spouseless to rear
my children. I was very happy with Duong Lam’s recognition
as a national heritage site initially, but actually, we have not
benefited at all. How can they be callous enough to destroy
my house after just two months?”
Khanh is also very discontented that 21 other two-storey
houses have not been demolished, despite being built after
the heritage status was bestowed.
Kieu Hanh, a 52 year old villager, is equally frustrated:
“Duong Lam villagers are not allowed to build their house
high. That means they lose their rights. It is not fair for us.
Who will compensate us?”
Trinh Thi Thuan is another of those who feel disgruntled:
“The management board set up a fee station at the gate of
the village, and began selling tickets to people who want to
enter at VND20,000 each; even people from the surrounding
area who come to worship in Mia Pagoda, or the relatives of
the villagers. We do not know how they use that money, but
when villagers asked for maintenance of the electricity sys-
tem, schools, and roads, the authority refused with the excuse
of not wanting to change the landscape.”
Because of this, the kindergarten in Duong Lam is ex-
tremely overloaded. 90 kids are crammed into a small room.
The principle’s room has even been converted from a toilet.
56 year old Kieu Thi Tinh complained that her ancient
house has deteriorated and is now too dangerous to live in,
but she is not allowed to implement any construction: “Mean-
while, the authority has promised to repair my house many
times, but they have not done any thing. Our living conditions
are so poor.”
Ha Ke Toan is dubious whether the managing board
understands heritage, considering they built a toilet at the
rear of the village’s Temple: “That is not allowed in traditional
culture. Treating people unfairly and not caring about their
interests makes the villagers very angry. We should put the
heritage to tender; the winner will have to contribute a fixed
amount of money to the villagers, and they can then enjoy
the rest. Besides, the authority should support 100 per cent
the cost of building traditional houses for people who decide
to stay; those who want to leave should be provided with land
outside the village to settle down.”
Recently, a meeting was convened with the attendance of
Truong Minh Tien, deputy director of Department of Culture,
Sport, and Tourism; Nguyen Lam Dien, deputy chairman of
Son Tay People’s Committee; and Pham Hung Son, manager
of Duong Lam ancient village management board. Sadly, the
meeting only proved to heighten discord.
Son, who faces strong protest from Duong Lam villag-
ers, explained about the financial transparency of the fees,
something that is inspected annually. He said they are used
for running the operation board, including ticket sellers, tour
guides, guards, and more. The money is also used for training
people about heritage and developing tourism in Duong Lam.
However, there is no money available for improving the living
quality of the villagers.
Addressing the villagers, Tien said: “You have been wait-
ing for ten years; there is no reason that you can not wait
more. This problem takes months or even years to address.”
These defiant words added more fuel to the fire, making the
villagers so angry that they did not leave after the dialogue
closed, but gathered in an increasingly desperate mood. This is
a situation which is a very long was from resolution.
In a meeting on May 21 with local people, Pham Quang
Nghi, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee apologised
Duong Lam villagers for the slow movement of the authority
in addressing the matter, and suggested: “We can not apply
mechanically the same rules, the same policies for different
houses in different area. For ancient houses, we should pre-
serve as much original architecture and material as we can;
for the normal houses, it is necessary to give out a proper type
of architecture, model, and materials for villagers to follow.”