Some 200 Vietnamese laborers in Lebanon have allegedly been sending distraught emails to local and international agencies to reiterate their request for evacuation assistance from the war-torn nation. According to the workers, their food supplies are running low and they have not received any support from international aid agencies in Beirut. The workers added that their employers have already moved out of the war zone, many of them without paying their workers’ salaries. Most of the Vietnamese workers in Lebanon were employed as domestic workers in Christian and expatriate households while some were working at hotels and restaurants. A Vietnamese volunteer group has rescued three female guest workers from Vietnam from a mountainous area and brought them to a safer area in Beirut. Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has come to the aid of the Vietnamese workers in Lebanon who have registered to return home. They will be transported to Syria from where they can be sent back to Vietnam.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently between Vietnam and South Korea would allow up to 15,000 Vietnamese workers to Korea. The agreement, however, requires workers to pass a Korean language test before going to Korea on three-year labor contracts. Since 2004, close to 13,000 Vietnamese workers have gone to work in Korea.
Deputy President Truong My Hoa and Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Hang have expressed optimism about the benefits of sending workers to the UAE and other Middle East countries. Of late, the UAE has become a popular target among Vietnamese labor export companies. To date, some 3,500 Vietnamese workers have been sent to Dubai to work in construction sites, electronic plants, hotels, etc. Vietnamese laborers can expect a monthly salary of $300 to $400 for manual work in Dubai while for hotel jobs, the monthly rate is between $1,000 and $1,500. The added benefit is that incomes are not taxed in the UAE.
A Hanoi court sentenced Vu Thi Tuyet, 57, director of the Hanoi-based NTT Company, to 42 months in prison for human trafficking while his two accessories, Le Ky Thanh, director of another Hanoi-based company and Hoang Thanh Hang of central Quang Binh province, were put another house arrest for 30 months and 15 months, respectively. According to police investigations, from 1997 and 2003 the trafficking ring had been smuggling people abroad for a fee of $5,500 to $11,500 each. As ringleader, Vu Thi Tuyet had forged exit documents while his two accomplices looked for customers.
Sources: Kap Thanh Long, “Illegal human trafficking ring leader behind bars," Thanh Nien News, 19 July 2006; “Middle East: Promising labour export market," Vietnam Economy, 21 July 2006; “Vietnam signs labour pact with S. Korea," Vietnam News, 26 July 2006; Dang Ngoc Khoa, “Vietnamese laborers in war-torn Lebanon calling out for help," Thanh Nien News, 27 July 2006; Dang Ngoc Khoa, “Three Vietnamese women rescued from Lebanon battle zone," Thanh Nien News, 28 July 2006