The local government in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam faces analogue protests as that in Hanoi when hundreds of Sisters of Vincent Charity Order in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam hold prayer vigils to protest a government plan to change their property into a night club and a hotel.

Ho Chi Minh city - The Sisters of Charity of Vincent de Paul in Ho Chi Minh city (formerly Saigon), Vietnam have just issued news concerning their plan to hold a prayer vigil in front of one of their former day care centers now on the brink of becoming a dance club and a hotel, at the actions of the local government

The reason for the sisters’ decision to take action was due to the fact that their “home” is being converted into an unhealthy entertainment center without their consent; the sisters’ repeated requests for its return have been to no avail.

Praying in front of the building

Lay people join in prayers

Arguing with government officials

According to the sisters, the property at the center of the dispute, located at 32 bis Truong Minh Ky St, has belonged to their order since 1958, a gift from The French Red Cross, and was registered on 4/12/1959. Here, the nuns had opened a day care center until 1975 when the Vietnamese communists came into power and the address changed to 32 bis Nguyen Thi Dieu. The archdiocese of Saigon in an official statement issued on 10/15/1975 (576/VP/75) has agreed to let the local government use the facility as school for kindergarteners called “Mang Non School”

In 1997 the Vietnamese government single-handedly established its ownership of the property in an administrative order (75083/QD-UB) on the ground of “property of absentee- landlord”. The VIP Club was then opened right after the government’s decision.

From 2005 to 2007, the Sisters of Charity of Vincent de Paul have been making numerous requests asking the government to return the property to its rightful owner so that their school can be re-opened; but all their requests went unanswered.

On 11/29/2007 the nuns went to the Office of City’s Construction to file a complaint and requested the government to resolve the issue but they were told to be patient without any action being taken. In the meantime, the property was being rented out to the Office of Railroad System Management, Inc (ORSM I) for a 5-year contract.

It was unofficially reported that ORSMI had planned to renovate the building to make rooms for business offices in the front side while running a brothel / hotel in the back. In desperation, the nuns made an emergency complaint and the archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City also joined the sisters in asking the government to abandon its directive (75083/QD-UB).

The sign advertising the night club was taken down; however, the demolition continued. The nuns decided to take a more assertive action by organizing a prayer vigil on 12/15/2007 which drew about 70 nuns, along with college students and news reporters. Only then did the local public officials signed an agreement to halt their demolition process in a frugal effort to deflate the tension and to minimize the attention from the public. The nuns’s ultimate request of having their facility returned however, was never directly addressed.

The prayer vigil was once again organized by the sisters on 3/17 when about a hundred nuns gathered in front of the Nguyen Thi Dieu address, which later was joined by bystanders, including a Frenchman. To make it easier for the foreign sympathizer to participate, the nuns started to chant their prayers in French. The hunger for justice knew no bound while the police squad car was called to action and plain clothed policemen started to video tape the demonstration.

As of now, there is no sign of the government’s willingness to answer the nuns’ plea. Their request to open a direct dialog with Mr. Nguyen Huu Tin, Deputy of the People’s Committee of the City, has not reveived a response. The only action that the local official agreed to take to calm down the situation was signing a temporary agreement with the nuns to halt the demolition.

Despite having to face a tough road ahead of them, the nuns’ spirit remains high. They also found unexpected supporters among lay people whom they spend most of their lives serving. A lady who lived nearby the disputed property had witnessed their tireless effort, decided to come forward and offered them water and umbrellas. She also made a promise that if the nuns were to re-open a school at the same site, she would become a volunteer cook for them until she dies!