tvc.dsj.org | April 24, 2018 VIETNAMESE
NEWS
17
Vinh, Diocesan Vigil for the Victims of the Formosa Ecological Disaster
Hanoi (AsiaNews) - In response to
the appeal by the Justice and Peace
Commission, the parishes of the Dio-
cese of Vinh, in the province of Nghệ
An, on April 15 organized prayer vigils
for the victims of the ecological disas-
ter caused by the Taiwanese company
Formosa Plastic Group. In addition to
Nghệ An, there are four provinces of
central Vietnam that still report the
visible damage caused by the impos-
ing toxic sewage spill in April 2016: Ha
Tin, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua
Thien-Hue.
The Vietnamese government has ad-
mitted that water pollution has killed
at least 115 tons of sea fish, 140 tons of
farmed fish and 67 tons of clams. How-
ever, experts say that the real figures
are far greater. They do not take into ac-
count the tons of shrimp, calamari and
other types of fish products that have
been lost. The leak of toxic waste left
the fishermen of the coastal provinces
unemployed. The diocese of Vinh was
the one hit harder by the consequences
of the catastrophe.
Despite the threats from local au-
thorities, Father Đặng Hữu Nam or-
ganized at the parish of My Khanh a
peaceful Eucharistic adoration (photo)
to pray in favor of “dispersed families,”
whose members must leave everything
to migrate to the big cities, looking for
work. Father Đặng Hữu Nam is one of
the priests who, in early May 2016, have
been denounced by the Vietnamese
government for organizing protests
against Formosa. The Taiwanese com-
pany has voluntarily paid US $ 500
million to remedy the damage caused
to the environment and its inhabitants,
but the slow and irregular distribution
of funds by the government has caused
protests that continue to be held more
than two years away.
On April 5, as communist authori-
ties intensified the crackdown on dis-
sidents on the anniversary of the
environmental disaster, the court in
Hanoi opened a trial against six activ-
ists from a pro-democracy group called
the Brotherhood for Democracy. They
have been accused of “having conduct-
ed activities aimed at overthrowing the
state.” The well-known human rights
lawyer Nguyễn Văn Đài and the other
five defendants conducted campaigns
for victims of injustice, supported reli-
gious freedom and political prisoners
and their families. In all, the Hanoi
court imposed convictions on activists
for a total of 66 years in prison and 17
years under house arrest.
Despite High Enrolments, Vietnamese Universities Offer Low Quality Education
SAIGON (AsiaNews) – Many Viet-
namese universities and institutes
are unable to guarantee an adequate
education despite rising enrolment of
new students.
The teaching staff, especially faculty
members (giảng viên cơ hữu), tend to
be underqualified and are unable to
meet student needs, this according to
an assessment by Vietnam’s Ministry
of Education and Training.
Government figures show that in
the 2016-2017 academic year, the coun-
try had 235 universities, 170 public
and 65 private. In addition, there are
37 scientific research institutes with
graduate programs.
In 2017, with a total of 184 under-
graduate degrees, Vietnam trained
105,801 students who obtained special-
ist bachelor’s degrees and 15,112 who
earned a PhD.
In that same academic year, Viet-
namese universities had 72,792 lectur-
ers, including 16,514 with a PhD and
43,050 with a master’s degree.
However, according to experts,
Vietnam’s educational system is held
back by old problems: Universities are
unconnected to the job markets.
Teaching tends to focus only on
theory, keeping students away from
the real world, uninterested in what
businesses need. The net effect is that
many new graduates cannot find jobs.
Figures for 2017 show that around
200,000 young graduates with a bach-
elor’s degree remained unemployed.
What is more, most universities
tend to hire recent graduates to meet
teacher shortages. For Prof Châu, this
is a mistake that “has been going on
for 40 years.”
“Many universities organize pro-
grams in a rather arbitrary way,” some
lecturers from Saigon told AsiaNews.
“When rectors or deans can’t find a
lecturer for an undergraduate course,
they remove it from the program. At
the same time, they allow a state lec-
turer to include his or her.”
“The result is that theory prevails
over practice and young teachers use
outdated teaching methods. The edu-
cational system of Vietnamese univer-
sities is affected by several complex
issues, which we have to solve.
“Whilst the government continues
to open universities, colleges, insti-
tutes, there are not enough capable
and prepared lecturers. As a result, the
educational system is becoming weak
and less and less competitive.”
Many students say they have very
little confidence in the country’s educa-
tion system. “We are not happy to go to
class. We do not know what we will do
after finishing our studies.”
“About a hundred senior students
graduated from our program,” be-
moaned some female students. “Most
of them are unemployed or forced to
accept work unrelated to their field of
studies. As for our future, we would
like to get married first and then figure
things out.”
Vietnam Villagers Keep Alive Tradition of Respecting Water
Catechist Gabriel A Kieu is proud of
looking after a jar of Easter water placed
under the altar in his home.
“The jar of Easter water represents
the Risen Christ who is with us,” said
Kieu, an ethnic Se Dang from Kon Dau
Yop village in Kon Tum province in
Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
Villagers carried the jar containing
20 liters of Easter water the five kilome-
ters from Kon Hring parish house to
Kieu’s home after an Easter Vigil Mass
on March 31.
During the open-air ceremony at-
tended by 5,000 people, Father Francis
Xavier Le Tien, pastor of Kon Hring
parish, lowered the Easter candle into
15 terracotta jars of water and raised it
again while he blessed them. Before the
Mass, villagers decorated jars of water
with flowers and colorful ribbons and
placed them on the sanctuary.
“The Risen Christ is the water of life.
We bring water to our villages so that
we can have a better life as He wants
us,” Father Tien told the congregation.
Then worshippers with candles
in hands queued according to their
villages and marched behind Easter
candles and jars of Easter water carried
by young men.
Kieu, 53, said villagers carried the
jars to their villages and put them in
chapels. His village has no chapel so
people put the jar in his home, where
villagers daily gather to say prayers and
attend monthly Masses celebrated by
the parish priest.
The 127-year-old parish with some
10,000 ethic Se Dang and 500 ethnic
Kinh consists of 15 villages. Most make
a meager living by cultivating rice, rub-
ber, coffee and other crops.
Some villages have chapels while
others have no chapel and people have
to gather at family homes for prayer.
Kieu’s wife Thoan said villagers use
blessed water for baptism, blessing new
houses, graves and in other services.
“We esteem Easter water that feeds
Father Francis Xavier Le Tien blesses jars of
water during an Easter Vigil ceremony at Kon
Hring parish ho use on March 31.
our souls while normal water is used for
our material life,” she said.
Kieu said ancestors gave offerings to
the god of water. Before the rainy season
arrived, they cleared grass, trees and
garbage around sources of groundwater
and streams, and replaced old bamboo
pipes.
They killed cattle and had shamans
to offer them to the god of water.
When foreign missionaries intro-
duced Catholicism to villages in the 19th
century, they encouraged villagers to
stop offering cattle to the god of water.
“Instead missionaries blessed sources
of water at New Year and put a cross
at main sources reminding people of
Christ, the water of life,” the catechist
said.
Villagers also took water from sourc-
es on the evening of the recent Easter
Vigil ceremonies.
Kieu, a father of 10, said during the
Vietnam War parish facilities including
the old church were ruined by bombs
and Catholics protected sources of wa-
ter and practiced faith without priests
for years.
In recent years, priests restored the
tradition. They annually bless sources
at New Year and place new crosses at
the sources.
Since 2014 Father Tien has asked vil-
lagers to solemnly carry Easter candles
and water in processions to their villages.
Kieu said the tradition reminds
people of respecting and protecting
sources of water and the environment.