Citizen protection in Ukraine: For the best of our countrymen
Vietnamese evacuees from Ukraine, who received support from Vietnamese representative missions, Vietnamese community in neighboring countries, and who returned to Viet Nam from repatriation flights, are the ones who feel the most value of the word "compatriotship".
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| On the repatriation flight from Bucharest (Romania) on 12 March, many children with their parents or relatives were picked up at the airport by their families. (Source: VNA) |
As soon as the situation in Ukraine started to tense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine to have a plan to evacuate Vietnamese citizens in case of an armed conflict threatening their safety.
According to the statistics of the Vietnam Embassy in Ukraine and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, there are about 7,000 Vietnamese in Ukraine, mainly distributed in cities such as Odessa (approximately 3,000), Kharkov (approximately 3,000), Kiev (approximately 800), Kherson (80), Mariupol (100).
Vietnamese in Ukraine mostly have houses and properties in Ukraine. They have had a stable life with a long-term attachment to the country. Hence, this evacuation is unlike the previous ones for the Vietnamese in Libya or Lebanon.
In the first few days after the conflict began on February 24, many people still did not want to leave, partly because their lives were so long tied to Ukraine. They thought that the conflict would not have been too widespread and prolonged. However, after Russia carried out an all-out military campaign in the major cities of Ukraine, Vietnamese people began to evacuate, except for some who decided to stay (mostly to look after their belongings).
Government's full deployment campaign
As soon as the conflict broke out, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted to the Prime Minister to issue Official Dispatch No. 201/CD-TTg dated February 26, 2022 on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities.
Citizen protection has been implemented in many diplomatic ways. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son met the representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Viet Nam, held phone talks with the Romanian Foreign Minister, while Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi met the ministries of foreign affairs of Ukraine and Russia to propose measures to ensure the safety of Vietnamese people's lives and properties in Ukraine, creating a safe corridor for citizens to evacuate.
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (L) held phone talks with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu on March 7. (Source: VNA) |
The Vietnam Embassy in Ukraine coordinated with neighboring associations, embassies and agencies to organize and help people out of the war zone and move to Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Belarus.
Vietnamese Ambassadors in such countries also met with local ministries of foreign affairs and authorities, asking to facilitate the evacuation of Vietnamese and their families from Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam has, meanwhile, contacted relevant authorities in many other countries, the United Nations and international organizations to request assistance.
With close guidance from Viet Nam and proactive preparation, the Vietnamese representative missions have sent officials to the border gates to support Vietnamese from Ukraine in immigration procedures, moving to safe temporary accommodation with food, and essential means of living.
The Vietnam Embassy in Ukraine informed that by March 7, most people in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov had been evacuated from the war-raging zone and moved to neighboring countries. There are currently about 100 people remaining in Mariupol and 50 in Kherson, waiting for a safe corridor to evacuate.
All roads lead to the homeland
For Vietnamese evacuees from Ukraine, whether they choose to move for repatriation flights or go to a new country in EU, they all receive the enthusiastic support from Viet Nam's representative agencies together with the welcoming arms of the Vietnamese community in those countries.
No matter where they are in Hungary, Romania, Poland, Russia, or Slovakia…, they always receive hot meals made with love. They also see their voluntary compatriots standing at the train stations to guide, or the buses riding back and forth to bring them to temporary shelters.
With the determination not to let any evacuees suffer from hunger or cold, the Vietnamese representative missions worked with the local authorities to provide the necessary procedures and documents for people to enter and transit smoothly. They also coordinate with the local Vietnamese associations to pick up, arrange transportation, accommodation, and provide the evacuees with necessities.
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| Vietnamese evacuees from Ukraine have been gathering in tents at Henri Coanda airport since early morning. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Romania) |
Free-of-charge repatriation flights
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed a decision on March 4 on the establishment of the Government’s special working group led by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, addressing the task of protecting life, health and property of Vietnamese people in Ukraine, quickly evacuating them to return home.
On March 7, the working group held its first meeting, in which they discussed the evacuation situation, the repatriation flight organization, the issuance of immigration documents and medical procedures.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had closely coordinated with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Health to plan the deployment of free flights, issuing priority immigration documents and post-entry epidemic prevention and control procedures (exempt from pre-entry testing, 10 days of monitoring at the accommodation if the test is negative within the first 24 hours after entry).
The Vietnamese Embassy in Romania and the Vietnamese Embassy in Poland have actively worked with local authorities, proposed creating favorable conditions, then informed and guided citizens to register for the repatriation flights.
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| The staff of the Embassy of Viet Nam in Poland were at the airport early to support citizens. (Photo: Vietnam Embassy in Poland) |
Before the first flight, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son also had a phone conversation with his Romanian counterpart, proposing assistance in facilitating this flight.
From then to 12 March, after 4 flights from Romania and Poland, including 2 flights fully funded by the Government and 2 flights sponsored by businesses, Viet Nam had safely received over 1,100 countrymen back home from Ukraine.
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| The emotional moment when meeting family at Noi Bai International Airport. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
All flights have been organized thoughtfully and timely with the spirit of solidarity, mutual love, and the sense of compatriotship. The Vietnamese who experienced difficult times through a long distance of cross-border evacuation, and were finally home, understand the utmost meaning of the words "compatriots". That is an invaluable asset they always have wherever they are, in any circumstances.
Trang Tran
