{"id":31900,"date":"2021-09-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/magazines\/even-though-i-was-scared-i-didnt-comply-the-people-of-loc-hung-vegetable-5427\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T21:21:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T20:21:40","slug":"even-though-i-was-scared-i-didnt-comply-the-people-of-loc-hung-vegetable-5427","status":"publish","type":"magazines","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/zh\/magazines\/even-though-i-was-scared-i-didnt-comply-the-people-of-loc-hung-vegetable-5427\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Even though I was scared, I didn’t comply’ – The people of Loc Hung Vegetable Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On 8 January 2019, over 1,000 officers and military forces attacked the mainly Catholic community of Loc Hung Vegetable Garden in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Thousands of residents were forcibly evicted and over 500 homes were destroyed.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our contact tells us that the former residents are struggling in the current lockdown, which has exacerbated their economic challenges. The church is reportedly supplying food to people who are in direst need, but more than two years on, justice has still not been done.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I think they targeted me because of my support for human rights activists like Nguyen Bac Truyen.\u2019 Cao Ha Truc, one of the Loc Hung residents, is searching for a reason why he was particularly targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continues: \u2018As Catholics, the [Loc Hung] residents cannot stand by and not speak up about injustice…They have also long supported former prisoners of conscience and human rights activists who were persecuted.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vietnamese government has a history of cracking down on supporters of activists like Truyen \u2013 a Hoa Hao Buddhist who has provided pro bono legal assistance to victims of land grabs, like the Loc Hung residents, as well as persecuted religious communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truyen is currently serving an 11- year prison sentence on a charge of \u2018carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I went home and everything was gone\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I was sleeping when I heard a lot of noise from police cars…\u2019 Cao Ha Truc explains. \u2018I went outside to look around and see what was happening, and as soon as I stepped out someone put a plastic bag over my head and abducted me\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018They let me go at 2am the next day. I went home and everything was gone \u2013 my house, my garden…\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community was scattered to various places, forced to find new accommodation away from the land they\u2019d lived on for decades. Many adults were severely traumatised, while the forced move made it harder for the children to attend school \u2013 denying them their right to an education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tran Minh-Thi, a teacher, told us that the community had tried to go back and hold a Christmas service on the land in 2019, but they were attacked by police and several people were injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Afterwards we returned to the land to put up a small nativity scene. The police attacked us again, damaging the nativity scene and breaking the statues of Joseph and Mary. This was very upsetting \u2013 the statues meant so much to us and we saw their destruction with our own eyes.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Even though I was scared, I didn\u2019t comply\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuan* is 13 years old. School officials told him that a new school was going to be built on the land of Loc Hung Vegetable Garden, and that if he knew of anyone who objected, he should report them to the authorities. Essentially, as he says, \u2018they asked me to report on my own parents.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuan told us, \u2018I handed back the paper to the official and said I didn\u2019t want to read it. I turned round and left: even though I was scared, I didn\u2019t comply.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuan\u2019s courage is inspiring, but the community is still waiting for justice. Cao Ha Truc said, \u2018Anything that can help to bring awareness, shine a spotlight on the situation of Loc Hung, [is good, and] hopefully [it will be] enough that the authorities will want to sit down and come up with some sort of compromise because [right now] it\u2019s just so painful and dreadful for everyone involved.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray for the community of Loc Hung Vegetable Garden using<\/b>p.4 of the Prayer Diary.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*names changed for security reasons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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