Vietnamese community in Czech Republic look towards homeland

Despite living far away from home, Vietnamese expatriates in the Czech Republic always turn their hearts towards their homeland, particularly with their significant contributions to the nation's COVID-19 pandemic fight.

Vietnamese nationals in the Czech Republic donate to the fund for flood victims in Vietnam's central region.

Since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, the Vietnamese community has moved to uphold the tradition of solidarity and mutual assistance. A prime example of this warm-heartedness can be seen through the act of the community coming together to sew millions of masks and donating hundreds of thousands of kurons to help disadvantaged families affected by the pandemic.

Nguyen Van Son, secretary of the Party cell at the SAPA Trade Centre and Director of the Prague Centre of Vietnamese Language, said along with the strong implementation of pandemic prevention efforts and control work in the host country, the community consistently expressed their strong confidence in pandemic control measures against taken by the Vietnamese Party and Government.

Upon witnessing the difficult times faced by Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic in particular and Vietnam in general, Nguyen Duy Nhien, chairman of the Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic, stated that the central European country has been one of the worst-affected countries. However, Nhien added that Vietnamese expatriates both in the Czech Republic and throughout the world had always showed their love to the country by initiating practical activities.

During each wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic have stayed united in a series of initiatives aimed at giving back to the community.

Notable acts include giving away thousands of homemade face masks and providing hundreds of medical equipment and ventilators to Ho Chi Minh City, the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot, to help tackle the pandemic.

“In the toughest times, we can see the solidarity and love of the Vietnamese people as they offer mutual support to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic,” Nhien said.

He shared that the saddest thing was to witness his friends, many of whom had actively supported Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic during tough times, pass away due to COVID-19.

Each of those painful memories has motivated the Vietnamese Association in the Czech Republic to believe more strongly in its mission of supporting Vietnamese overseas both materially and mentally.

Hearts point toward the homeland

Vietnamese people living in the European nation have always tried their best to study and work, hoping that they will one day be able to return and contribute to their homeland.

Le Anh Hung has been residing and working in the Czech Republic for more than 35 years. Despite facing both ups and downs during his time there, he still remains hopeful that he is still able to do something for his motherland.

Recalling the early days of living and working in the Czech Republic, Hung described that he felt extremely fortunate when being supported and helped by the Vietnamese community to overcome difficulties.

“Therefore, I have to do my utmost to achieve success in study and work, in order to help Vietnamese expatriates as well as contributing to the homeland in the future,” he stressed.

Currently, he and his friends have invested in a number of tourism projects in Vietnam, serving to not only create more jobs for Vietnamese workers, but also to help promote tourism potential in various localities nationwide.

He has also actively participated in a number of activities which are designed to assist flood-hit localities in the central region of Vietnam, whilst also joining hands to call on the Vietnamese community to contribute to the COVID-19 vaccine fund in the homeland.

In June, 2021, the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic contributed VND500 million, equivalent to US$21,760. The funding was channeled through the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Furthermore, in 2020 when the pandemic initially broke out in Vietnam, they also sent medical supplies and also about VND2 billion or US$86,970, to assist flood-hit localities in the central region.