Vietnamese’s solidarity in Czech Republic

A Vietnamese cultural day in the Czech Republic. Photo: Vietinfo

Having attached to the community, President of Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic Hoang Dinh Thang said 65.000 Vietnamese granted permanent residence or longterm resident permit, some others hold Czech citizenship.

The Association, founded in 1999, had 30 members and 50 chapters. It supported actively and effectively to Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic as well as contribute to consolidate and strengthen the traditional relationship between two nations.

Feel the warmth of fellow countryman in a distant land

Vietnamese compatriots clubs in the Czech Republic had a role to the tight connection of people inside the community. Particularly, these clubs provided information about Vietnamese culture and customs along with having the homeland’s commemorated activities.

The Nghe Tinh compatriots club is the greatest club in the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic, with 10.000 members. This club arranged sport, social and cultural events, also donated to victims of Central Vietnam’s flood and joined in the Football Championship for ethnic minorities, held by Czech Chamber of Deputies.

People who came from Central Vietnam were successful to create the worth by visitations and helping each other. This compatriot club encourages overseas Vietnamese to overcome the difficulties gradually and afford to the community. Due to member’s sharing, many Vietnamese had stable life in the host country while still maintaining a close bond with the homeland.

On the community’s activities, people referred to the Hai Duong Woman’s art team with non – professional artists. Though they had not been trained, they brought their interesting and passionate performances to Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic. Even people from other provinces of Thai Binh, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong and Hung Yen also hope to join in the team.

Beside the sedulity in work for economic development of Vietnamese in Sapa shopping mall, the overseas Vietnamese’s cultural life in the Czech Republic step-by-step became effervescent with various traditional art such as: Xoan singing, Quan Ho singing, Vi Giam singing, dan bau playing and flute playing…

Being in task with overseas Vietnamese in many years, Chairman of Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese Nguyen Phu Binh was impressed with the results of Vietnamese in Czech Republic in building a united and stable community which integrated to this country’s society while keeping the national identity, connection to the homeland. Especially, overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic was pioneers of Vietnamese community in Europe in general.

A home for Vietnamese community

Deputy Chairwoman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Truong Thi Ngoc Anh appreciated the perse and wholesome activities and the support the Vietnamese fellow of Vietnamese Association when she paid a visit to the Czech Republic in 2018.

Vietnamese in here nurtured and extended the patriotic spirit and national pride, preserved the traditional culture and remained looking at the motherland in spite of living far from home.

Many of Vietnamese chapters in Czech local areas opened and maintain the Vietnamese language class for Vietnamese-origin children. The Vietnamese center of Prague under the Vietnamese Association in Prague was a typical example.

According to its director, over the past 16 years, the center played a sizeable part to teach Vietnamese to children in the Vietnamese community. Along with teaching the children to read and write Vietnamese, the annual course also aims to get the children understand the culture and history of their motherland.

Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic donate money to support flood victims in central Vietnam in 2016. Photo: VOV

At the same time, the Vietnamese community pays a great deal of attention to charitable services in both home and host country.

The Vietnam – Czech House, with the participation of committed overseas Vietnamese, presented gifts which named “Giving happiness, receiving smiles”. It has worked hard to support orphans, disable children, single elderly people in both countries.

Over the past 5 years, the organisation has aided many people who were in difficult situation. Klokanek chapter in Prague, a place for 1 – 14 years old Czech orphans, always received donation from the organisation.

Recently, Ao Dai Compassionate Foundation in Europe (founded in the Czech Republic) launched the spring 2019 charity program to raise fund for the children in National Institute of Hematology and Blood transfusion and Vietnam – Germany hospital in Hanoi. Furthermore, representatives of the Foundation additionally gave over 250 gifts and 150 billion VND (6.45 million USD) as well as presented a house to Dang Thi Cu and her husband Nguyen Kim Te in Gia Binh district (Bac Ninh province), along with 70 gifts to children who were patients in Tan Trieu K hospital.

In the meeting with the organisation, Luong Thanh Nghi, deputy head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs hailed the heartiness of overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic and other European countries to help poor people back home. Their actions showed not only “the good leaves cover up the bad” - a Vietnamese tradition, but also the solidarity in overseas Vietnamese community./.

Translated by Thanh Van