Busy but emotional days of Vietnam Ambassador to Slovakia
Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Nguyen Tuan informed about the work of protecting Vietnamese citizens fleeing Ukraine and shared his feelings about compatriotism in times of trouble.
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While being swamped with helping overseas Vietnamese evacuating from Ukraine, Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Nguyen Tuan took some time to give The World & Vietnam Report an interview about these busy but emotional days.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Nguyen Tuan welcomed and arranged accommodation for Vietnamese evacuees from Ukraine to Slovakia. |
According to the Ambassador, before the conflict broke out in Ukraine, the Vietnamese Embassy assigned specific tasks to all the staff, such as making contact points, exchanging information with the relevant departments of Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Viet Nam and Slovakia, and coordinating with the Vietnamese associations in Kosice.
From February 25, when the first wave of displaced people hit neighboring countries, the Embassy has coordinated with Vietnamese associations in Slovakia, especially in Kosice, to keep a close watch on the Slovakia- Ukraine border.
“The Vietnamese associations in Slovakia were very enthusiastic in cooperating, exchanging information, coordinating with the Embassy in helping those who are in need”, said the Ambassador.
The Embassy has also kept close contact with the Slovak Government and especially the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, in order to quickly provide detailed information on entry regulations for the evacuees.
Accordingly, Slovakia authorizes the entry into its territory of all citizens coming from Ukraine, including those who do not meet the usual entry requirements. Any identification of all kinds is accepted even if it is expired or damaged. Regulations on Covid-19 quarantine have been lifted. However, they only allow Ukrainian nationals, their spouses, and children to apply for war refugee status.
At the same time, the Embassy has also planned all possible scenarios. If a citizen has a family member to pick him up, they can go directly to that person's house. If not, they are allowed to stay in refugee camps. The Slovak Government will guarantee accommodation and food here. However, they are encouraging foreign nationals and their companions to repatriate quickly.
Ambassador Nguyen Tuan was emotional when speaking about the state of overseas Vietnamese evacuees.
“Their evacuation journey faced many difficulties. When we met the evacuees, we realized that the biggest difficulty was their passiveness. Nobody can imagine the severity of the conflict”, he said.
Evacuating from a place of residence is leaving behind their households, means of livelihood such as shops, and all of their assets raised over many years. Therefore, people usually choose to stay. They only rushed to evacuate in fear of losing their lives.
Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine also faced many difficulties and could not provide effective support to people in the event of bombs falling or exploding. Therefore, overseas Vietnamese must do everything on their own, including driving their own car under relentless shelling, which is very dangerous.
The Ambassador shared that the most unforgettable moment for him and the Embassy staff was on March 3 when they picked up a family of 27 people that traveled unstoppingly to Slovakia for 5 hours in just 2 cars, one with 9 seats and the other 5 seats.
This group was special because there were children and pregnant women. When deciding to leave, these people can only bring essential items with them because of limited means of transportation. Situations like this are very common these days.
“Seeing the anxiety, confusion and hardships of the people with my own eyes, I was deeply moved and wondered how I could help more people in need”, said the Ambassador.
Ever since the conflict erupted in Ukraine, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has built an effective working mechanism. Leaders of the Ministry have directed the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese to publish an open letter to inform phone numbers of officials from Vietnamese representative missions in charge of citizen protection in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. At the same time, they also inform the regulations and policies for refugees of these countries.
The Ministry has also directed the representative missions to keep close contact with Vietnamese associations and to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country to obtain all necessary information to support the timely evacuation of people.
In recent days, the Vietnamese living in Slovakia have shown solidarity, care, and deep affection for their compatriots. The Vietnamese associations here also welcome people from Ukraine with open arms, which is a solid spiritual support for people in trouble in foreign lands.
This is also a beautiful symbol of the spirit of mutual affection, mutual love for our compatriots wherever they are.
Quang Dao
