Nguyen Hung

Only 200 Vietnamese out of 900 have received visas for Australia. Others were rejected because of immigration fears. At WYD, the Vietnamese will be able to testify to a faith lived out amid many difficulties, including those of poverty, misery, and illiteracy.

“We cannot accept this solution imposed by those who hold power in their hands. We cannot remain silent because silence at this point in time means complicity and accepting an injustice,” says the bishop of Vinh Long.

Some 54 ethnic groups are recognised but ethnic Kinh represent 84 per cent of the total. In the highlands, local ethnic minorities have found refuge in the forests to escape exploitation. Now the government has to decide whether to exploit them or try to forge a common path to development. Over the centuries the Church has played an important role.

Despite discrimination by government authorities, priests, men and women religious and lay Catholics share in the important commitment made by Card Pham Minh Man.

The representatives of Vietnamese NGOs point the finger at the central government for not respecting its commitment to ethnic minority development, and at local governments for preventing volunteers from helping those living in poverty. Rural development funds line the pockets of politicians.

The city needs manual labour for its development, but the authorities are not concerned about the problems of labourers coming from other areas. Those who do not have the money can't even get residency documents.

During the Christmas season there were persecutions threats and arrests in the North of the country. Many Christians, Catholic and Protestant, do not dare declare their faith because they are discriminated against in the workplace and threatened by police.

The repression of people with democratic ideals diverse from the Party recommence, with trials and arrests. The US congress has asked for the unconditional release of the condemned. Some weeks ago the president of the Bishops conference had spoken of the bishops intervention in favour of religious freedom and of the governments opposition to his nomination as bishop to Hanoi.

The law is unclear and not really applied. Concepts like multiparty democracy cannot be mentioned. Media censorship is tight.