Following the motto “leave no one behind” and ensuring health and safety for everyone, without discriminating against domestic or foreign people, the Vietnamese Party, State and Government have issued guidelines and policies on promptly supporting foreign citizens in Vietnam who are facing difficulties due to the pandemic.
The community has also made practical moves to help international friends. A story went viral in April 2020 when a foreign teacher in Ho Chi Minh City stood at a street corner with a signboard calling for help as he had lost his job and was living in difficulties due to COVID-19. Many people in Ho Chi Minh City reached out to help immediately, causing the foreign man to be “overwhelmed by the compassion and generosity of the Vietnamese people”.
The story shows that the country and people of Vietnam always care for and are willing to help those in need, whoever they are. Over the past two years since COVID-19 broke out, foreigners living and working in Vietnam have received help in various forms, from food donations and medical care to vaccination against COVID-19.
Many foreign patients have been treated wholeheartedly by Vietnamese medical staff, helping them escape from death and return to life. Prominently, Vietnamese doctors saved life of the British male pilot, a critical COVID-19 patient in July 2020, which has been highly appreciated by international friends.
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On September 4, Hanoi’s authorities give 25 sets of gifts to foreign students at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture in Gia Lam District. (Photo: VNA)
During the fourth wave of COVID-19, many provinces and cities across the country have continued to pay strong attention to foreigners. In Ho Chi Minh City, the authorities have met with and visited foreigners living in the city whose livelihood are being affected by the pandemic to provide necessities, gift packages and vaccination against COVID-19.
The city has also launched call centres in five foreign languages at https://bit.ly/SupportForeigner to support foreigners in need.
In Hanoi, many organisations and individuals have provided timely support to foreign students studying at Vietnamese universities. Meanwhile, a programme is being implemented in Binh Thuan Province to present cash and essential goods to dozens of jobless foreigners living in difficulties in the province. Quick response teams have also been set up in localities to provide support to foreigners and share in their difficulties.
These are vivid illustrations of human compassion, the spirit of sharing and mutual support of the Vietnamese people, which provide a source of motivation for the country to battle it out with the pandemic.
