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● Mrs. Han, 32 years old, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnamese
● Lockdown for five months
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Only stayed at home, could not go to the market or other places
● Family members hospitalized due to COVID-19
● This person and her son were infected with COVID and was quarantined for 2 weeks. Her family members were evacuated so another place to let them self-quarantine at home.
● She works at a local eatery and has a low education level.
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● Mrs. Tach, 41 years old, migrant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese
● Ethnic minority: Khmer
● Lockdown for five months
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Only stayed at home, could not go to the market or other places
● Her sister had been hospitalized due to COVID-19
● A poor family
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● Mr. The, 30 years old, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese
● Lockdown for five months
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Only stayed at home, could not go to the market or other places
● Family members hospitalized due to COVID-19, wife and son had come back to the rural areas during lockdown time
● Driver for private company
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● Nguyen Lan (pseudonym), 73 years old, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese
● Lockdown for five months
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Only stayed at home, could not go to the market or other places
● Her husband just died 1 week before interviewing
● She is ill, has many type of disease, could not work, no money for living
● She does not receive any support for living from government, no pension, no husband or
no children
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● Vu Thu Anh (pseudonym), 37 years old, Vietnamese
● Female
● Moving from other city to Ho Chi Minh city and lived there around 16 years already
● Graduated with a master’s in healthcare and social work
● Worked as a healthcare staff for 16 years in a hospital but just changed jobs to become a lecturer at university from August 2020 because of stress and exhaustion due to the increased workload from Covid-19
● Discusses the stress and risks of physical violence healthcare workers face
● Thinks that socialist countries have been more successful at handling Covid-19
● Lockdown for 21 days just in February 2021
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Tracing app implemented
● Only goes to the market once per week now, compared to six times before
● Family members were also on lockdown for 21 days due to COVID-19
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● Vu Duc Huy (pseudonym), 35 years old, Vietnam, Kinh ethnicity, no religion
● Moved from a rural area to Ho Chi Minh City at the end of February 2020 to earn money for supporting his wife and children, who still live in his hometown
● Had a restaurant in his hometown but needed to close it due to the lack of customers during the pandemic
● Working as a hawker, selling fruits on the street with a small motorbike, he is in good health
● Compulsory mask wearing
● He has a handy, connecting internet and tracing app implemented
● Travelled every day around the residential area and market for selling and earn-living
● Family members in good health and still stay in rural area in other province
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● Vo Hoa (pseudonym), 22 years old, Vietnam, Tay Ethnic (minority ethnic)
● Female
● Moving from mountainous area in a province to Ho Chi Minh city for studying and working
● She is a fouth-year student and take part time job as a seller in a clothes shop in Ho Chi Minh city
● Lockdown for 14 days just in July 2020 and she had the memoriable experience about the time to be locked down due to Covid
● Recounts stressful experience she had of being placed in isolation
● Describes impact of Covid-19 on sale of silkworms and explains why the sale of other livestock are not as affected
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Her roomates were also placed in quarantine for 14 days due to COVID-19
● She had to go back home in rural area for 4 months due to Covid, study online (one semester online study)
● No one in her rural hometown was a Covid victim but they take care very well to cope and prevent from Covid
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● Tran Van Dung (pseudonym), 51 years old, Vietnam, Kinh ethnicity, no religion
● Moved from other district to this area and has been living in a rental room for 18 years.
● He and his wife work to support a household of seven people, of which two are elderly, one daughter has a serious illness (thalassemia), and two daughters are students.
● Due to the pandemic, he had to change his job, lost a part time job and lost money – he has had to borrow money with interest.
● Anxious to lose job, he and his wife did not receive financial support from government.
● Work as a cleaner with a low salary, travels every day into the city to work.
● His wife is working and cleaning in a restaurant without signing a labour contract. She also lost her job for two months while the pandemic was serious.
● Opinion on government measures and compulsory mask wearing
● Use of Bluezone internet app
● His mother and daughter often need to visit the hospital, 6 times per year, due to their illnesses and he has to pay a lot for treatment.
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● Tran Thi Phuong (pseudonym), 77 years old, Vietnamese
● Moved from another city to Ho Chi Minh city and has been living there for around 50 years
● Illiterate, three-person family unit including son and granddaughter
● Travels by bike around the residential area to sell peanuts and boiled bananas for a living
● Sales affected by Covid-19 pandemic
● Poverty, day to day/everyday living under the pandemic
● Knowledge of basic measures to prevent infection
● Welfare, support from neighbours, community members
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● Tran Anh Dung (pseudonym), 37 years old, Vietnam , Da Nang city; Kinh Ethnic, no religion
● He is staying in a house with a wife and two children
● Da Nang city – one of three big cities in Vietnam. Da Nang is also famous with the special tourism. Tourism contributed a high part for GDP in Da Nang city.
● Moving from other province – in rural area to Da Nang City since 3 years. Da Nang is the city which was affected seriously in Vietnam with the high number of death due to Covid (around 35 deaths due to Covid while other cities had a small number just 1-3 people died by Covid)
● Due to impact of Covid-19, he and his wife have lost their jobs 9 months already
● He worked as a tour guide in Da Nang but lost his job and now staying at home and trying to earn living by other jobs such as staff for FPT company, buying Bitcoin, stock
● Compulsory mask wearing, some special ways to control Covid such as using the ticket given by government to limit the time and avoid meeting many people to market
● He has a handy, connecting internet and tracing app (Bluezone) implemented
● He does not buy directly in market but buy food and other things online
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● Phan Huy (pseudonym), 44 years old, Vietnam, Kinh ethnicity, no religion
● Moved from other district (Mekong Delta) to Ho Chi Minh City, and has been living here with a renting room in D district – rural area far from Center - Ho Chi Minh City but cheap price. He has to work to take care his wife and two children.
● Quit previous job at a mechanic factory as employer was unable to pay wages due to lack of business orders
● Now working as a Grab Bike rider and shipper to support his family – the job is easy to be exposed by Covid due to much contact with people
● Compulsory mask wearing but does not use hand sanitizer
● He is connected to the internet but did not know how to connect with Bluezone network
● Travelled every day in city as a shipper and Grab Bike rider
● His interest is just working every day to earn a living
● His mother is old but stay at his hometown with a nephew
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● Nguyen Thi Binh (pseudonym), 56 years old, Vietnamese
● Female, Kinh ethnicity, Buddhist, highest qualification: Grade 7
● Moved from another province to Ho Chi Minh city and has been living there for around 24
years
● Lives in a small rented room of about 15 m2 with her husband, daughter and son.
● Works in a garment factory, low socio-economic status
● Daughter’s highest qualification is 6th grade, also works in the garment factory
● Husband works as a security guard
● No internet access
● Only goes to the market once per week now, compared to six times before
● Family has to borrow money with interest during the pandemic, financial difficulties
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● Nguyen Lan (pseudonym), elderly individual aged 72 years old, Vietnamese
● Moved from another province to Ho Chi Minh city and has lived there for 60 years already, graduated from high school
● Rents a house, where she lives with her husband, who works as a guard. Son died 10 years ago
● Living by the interest from sum of money saving in the bank
● Diagnosed with diabetes 10 years ago, her health is not good, so she could not work anymore just stay at home
● Reflects that she is more susceptible to Covid-19 as an immunocompromised
individual
● Compares Vietnam’s handling of the Covid-19 situation with countries such as America and attributes the former’s success to the involvement of Vietnam’s leaders and cooperation between government and people
● Thinks that witnessing government aid offered to those in quarantine has reassured
people to comply with government’s efforts
● Describes community support efforts from the church and her landlord
● Unable to access financial aid due to quarter leader’s non-assistance
● Compulsory mask wearing
● Have a handphone but does not connect to the internet
● Just stay at home, limit to contact with people
● Only goes to the market once per week now, and has to go to the market in the early
morning compared to three times before
DISCLAIMER
This oral history transcript contains a negative depiction of a people on page 34, which might make for uncomfortable reading. We have chosen to include it, rather than redact it, to avoid the impression that these prejudices do not exist and to keep the originality of this interview.
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● Le Van Ty (pseudonym), elderly 61 years old, Vietnamese, Kinh, Buddhist
● Has been renting at his current area for 18 years
● Due to a combination of old age, illness, and the impacts of Covid-19, he had
to stay at home for two months, losing his job in construction
● Was working as an assistant mason, now currently finds work via his social
network
● Unable to take on jobs using his bike as it is too old to run
● Had to borrow money from friends, repaying them at low interest rates as the
people he borrows from are aware of his poverty
● Despite holding a paper “Ho Khau” (household registration) in Ho Chi Minh
city, he does not have a house and has to rent, resulting in his not receiving
financial support from the government
● Constantly on the lookout for work in order to earn a living and pay rent
● Afraid of being evicted from his place if he is unable to pay rent, particularly
since he relies for work and help on the social network he has established at his current address. This social network would be hard to re-establish elsewhere.
● Compulsory mask wearing
● He had an old and small handy but did not know how to use internet, so did
not connect internet
● He and his daughter did not cook and they often buy meals from shops. During Covid time, he spent time for cooking at home