Saigon to me has always been a community of solidarity and integration, where everyone is listened to and supported. Therefore, it is not surprising that officials – who are also children of the city – are becoming more and more connected to their “family”.
Knowing that I often share everyday experiences with friends, just the other day, an acquaintance asked me how to make a passport for my 13-year-old child. They briefly surfed the internet to find out, but they read a lot of mixed old and new information, so they texted me to ask to be sure.
Very quickly, I dialed directly the switchboard of the Immigration Department and immediately received accurate answers. My acquaintance exclaimed in surprise: “Now I know the government too!”. I laughed, feeling joy mixed with pride in my heart. And this isn’t the first time I’ve had this feeling.
2 years ago, near my house was a planned residential area with quite a lot of vacant land. So every afternoon, a group of young people gather to fly kite flutes, the kind that have a high volume and make a loud noise. People around also had headaches and felt very uncomfortable but didn’t know what to do. My husband and I have run to the place a couple of times to give suggestions, but it’s still not there. Feeling so confused, I tried calling the phone number of the ward police to complain. The next day, I was really surprised to see that the noise stopped, even then I thought: It must be just a coincidence. Only when the evil called “noise” disappeared completely in the following days did I breathe a sigh of joy, not forgetting to brag everywhere about this “benefit”.
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| The government took care of people during the recent epidemic season (photo: Son Vinh) |
Last year, when I went to get a citizen ID card, the area police officer asked to become friends on Zalo to facilitate support and inform everyone of the progress. For us, “adding online friends” is a normal thing in the district, but adding… a police officer as a friend is indeed a bit strange and shy.
Since then, every now and then I see him post regulations that need attention, new administrative reforms or warnings about scammers’ tricks on his “diary”, with gentle, careful words. important. Every time I see that news, I always feel joy mixed with a feeling of peace of mind. Turns out, I also have “friends” who are police officers nearby, just a call or a few text messages away.
Or just yesterday, a woman in the jogging group happily updated me on developments related to a project near her house arbitrarily setting up a barrier, not allowing outside residents to pass through. Before Tet, surrounding people were upset and together filed a petition with the district to request a solution. Very quickly, the board in charge conducted an inspection and sent a clear written response, at the same time requesting the other project to return the status quo. She said: “Thanks to that, my daughter was much more leisurely this morning, because she didn’t have to spend time cycling to school on a roundabout route like before.”
These are all small things, but why do we see that life around us is becoming more and more comfortable?
Growing up and growing up in Saigon, every time I am asked to describe the people of my city, the word “close” always comes to mind first. Initially, it was the nature and way of life of the people, but at some point it became a “brand”. Saigon to me has always been a big “home”, a community of solidarity and integration, where everyone is listened to and supported. Therefore, it is not surprising that officials – who are also city people – are increasingly connected to their “family members”, through small but meaningful actions.
Like the time I had to go to the ward, I witnessed a young civil servant enthusiastically instructing a young man how to register temporary residence online for tenants. He was about my father’s age, and had the same clumsy look of an older person who isn’t very tech-savvy. Looking at that civil servant gently showing him step by step, I suddenly felt embarrassed and blushed. I remember just a few days ago, while rushing to go to an appointment with a friend, I got angry with my dad when he asked me to edit a function on his phone that he accidentally deleted. One must have similar experiences to understand how patient and dedicated that officer was.
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| Community fun activities like this always have the silent support of the government… (photo: Quoc Thai) |
I also know that it’s not just me, but more and more people are seeing the benefits, effectiveness, and especially the meaning of these changes. Like when I heard my neighbor talk about the call to the ward police a few days ago. She said: “When he heard her report about the phenomenon of grass burning causing ash pollution in the area near her house, the officer immediately explained the cause of the incident.” The officer also shared that many people have reported to him and that the ward is actively resolving the problem, along with a thank you to my neighbor.
Or even further, during COVID-19, when I heard friends brag that their parents had medical staff come to their home to help with vaccinations due to their old age and weak health. Everyone greatly appreciates and appreciates these actions.
Or like this afternoon, while drinking water with neighbor Mrs. Chin, I suddenly remembered a few things I needed to ask the cadastral officer for house repair purposes. Immediately, she called and put it on speaker for me to hear. The machine rang out with a Western voice: “Yes, I’m listening to Ms. Chin”, followed by a soft voice answering the questions that I was interested in.
I joked: “Mrs. Chin knows you so well!” She looked at me and smiled: “Teo is from Mrs. Sau at the end of the alley.” She has known him since he was little. He studies well and is very polite. But whoever called it was so enthusiastic!
And just like that, every day I love my Saigon more and more. The city seems crowded, to the point of feeling like “lost each other is lost”, but gradually everyone can always live in the warm embrace of the community, where everyone considers themselves as “relatives”.
Le Dung
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Works participating in the writing contest about Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City, theme “My City” should be sent to: Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Newspaper editorial office, 311 Dien Bien Phu, Ward 4, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, outside Envelope clearly state “My City writing contest entry” or send via email: saigon-tphcm@baophunu.org.vn, the title clearly states “My City writing contest entry”.
Prize structure: – 1 special prize worth 70 million VND. – 1 prize for Best Article about women in Ho Chi Minh City worth 30 million VND. In addition, there are also impressive awards voted by the jury for portraits of women, oldest female author, author with the most quality articles… In particular, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s Propaganda Department will consider awarding prizes to good articles every quarter. See detailed information about the contest here: https://www.Yeni/cong-bo-cuoc-thi-viet-thanh-pho-cua-toi-a1503685.html |
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