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VIETNAM / STATELESSNESS
STORY: VIETNAM / STATELESSNESS
TRT: 3:10
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / VIETNAMESE / NATS
DATELINE: 5 DECEMBER 2010, HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
1. Med shot, motorcycles roaring away from traffic lights
2. Various shots, multinational offices: Manulife, Posco E&C, ANZ Bank
3. Med shot, Tran riding his bicycle
4. Med shot, family eating lunch on the porch of their house
5. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Tran Hoang Phuc: “When we came here we had nothing and I didn’t realize how hard life would be without citizenship. It felt like we were going backwards instead of forwards. I felt very sorry for what my children had to endure.”
6. Med shot, family eating lunch
7. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Sheila De Monteiro, Tran’s daughter:
“When I was at school, I missed out on getting a scholarship to study in Japan because I had no I.D. Card, no nationality, so I was very sad.”
8. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Kosal De Monteiro, Tran’s son:
“When I grew up and wanted to get married, my girlfriend’s parents asked “who are you?” I had no documents, no I.D., no nationality and I couldn’t even get a marriage certificate from the authorities.”
9. Med shot, Tran and his daughter with their citizenship documents
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Vu Anh So, Chief of Mission in Vietnam, UNHCR: “The UNHCR has been working with the Vietnamese government very closely to change the policies and the laws so that people can benefit from the changes and become Vietnamese.”
11. Med shot, Tran at the market showing his document
12. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Ngo Thi Hong Loan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam:
“The most important thing was that we were able to change the laws to help these people. The second thing is that it is helping us have a better society and better security in our country.”
13. Med shot, Tran and a man under the porch looking at identification papers
14. Med shot, Tran, daughter and wife picking pomelos from a tree in their garden
15. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Tran Hoang Phuc:
“I’m very, very happy. I’m old so I’m not worried about myself but my children will have a much brighter future because of the benefits of being Vietnamese.”
16. Wide shot, Tran at the market
17. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Kosal De Monteiro, Tran’s son:
“When I got nationality I was promoted to senior accountant. I got a salary rise so now I have more income for my family, and my children will have a better future.”
18. SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Sheila De Monteiro, Tran’s daughter:
“I’m working now and I can have entitlements such as social and medical insurance. I hope I can also continue my studies, maybe by going to France in the future.”
19. Various shots, market scene
20. Med shot, Vietnamese flag
Ho Chi Minh City is now one of Southeast Asia’s most dynamic urban centers. But in the late 1970’s, it was a place of refugee for thousands of Cambodian refugees.
Cambodian-born Tran Hoang Phuc, a refugee from the Khmer Rouge Regime, has lived on the city’s outskirts for 35 years. His family found safety but in the meantime, they lost their nationality. They were stateless. Without citizenship they faced immense hardships.
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Tran Hoang Phuc: When we came here we had nothing and I didn’t realize how hard life would be without citizenship. It felt like we were going backwards instead of forwards. I felt very sorry for what my children had to endure.”
His children were also affected.
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Sheila De Monteiro, Tran’s daughter:
“When I was at school, I missed out on getting a scholarship to study in Japan because I had no I.D. Card, no nationality, so I was very sad.”
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Kosal De Monteiro, Tran’s son:
“When I grew up and wanted to get married, my girlfriend’s parents asked “Who are you?” I had no documents, no I.D., no nationality. I couldn’t even get a marriage certificate from the authorities.”
For decades they did not know what was going to happen to them until recently when the Vietnamese government introduced groundbreaking reforms.
SOUNDBITE (English) Vu Anh So, Chief of Mission in Vietnam, UNHCR:
“UNHCR has been working with the Vietnamese government very closely to change the policies and the laws so that people can benefit from the changes and become Vietnamese.”
Since July 2010, more than 2,000 Cambodians have been granted citizenship helping to make Vietnam a role model in ending statelessness.
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Ngo Thi Hong Loan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam:
“The most important thing was that we were able to change the laws to help these people. The second thing is that it is helping us have a better society and better security in our country.”
These days Tran advises others, stateless people and new citizens alike, on how improve their situation. For him, citizenship means that he can now apply to own the home he has lived in for years, giving his family a new found security.
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Tran Hoang Phuc:
“I’m very, very happy. I’m old so I’m not worried about myself, but my children will have a much brighter future because of the benefits of being Vietnamese.”
Benefits like jobs and travel abroad.
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Kosal De Monteiro, Tran’s son:
“When I got nationality I was promoted to senior accountant. I got a salary rise so now I have more income for my family, and my children will have a better future.”
SOUNDBITE (Vietnamese) Kosal De Monteiro, Tran’s son:
“I’m working now and I can have entitlements such as social and medical insurance. I hope I can also continue my studies, maybe by going to France in the future.”
Vietnam’s decision to give some refugees citizenship was very much welcomed especially by Tran and his family. It has given them a country to call their own.
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