A charity fundraising event to help Ukrainians organized by the Ukrainian community in Hanoi has been canceled by police intervention.
A group of Ukrainians living in Hanoi plans to organize a fair to call attention to the situation in their home country and to raise money for charity to support war victims in Ukraine.
This event is expected to take place on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Chula Fashion House, in Nhat Tan ward, Hanoi. This is a regular venue for art exhibitions and fashion shows in Hanoi.
According to the description, the organizers will sell food, souvenirs and hold auctions to raise funds for charity as well as perform music to serve guests.
However, just one day before the event, the organizers announced that the event had been canceled due to police intervention.
Radio Free Asia contacted a number of Ukrainians living in Hanoi and related to the event to find out more information about the incident.
Julia, a Ukrainian woman, told the RFA messaging app the following:
“We are feeling very sad that we spent so much time and effort preparing for this event. This is expected to be a day where everyone is welcome to learn more about our culture. We have prepared exhibitions, music, food, and souvenirs. All for the purpose of raising funds to send back home to those in need.”
Although said that the fair could not take place due to the intervention of the police, the organizers did not disclose the specific reason used by the authorities to prevent them from organizing the event.
The reporter of RFA station contacted the People’s Committee of Nhat Tan ward to find out why the government did not allow this event to take place, and Ms. Nguyen Duc Thi Hien, the chief officer of the ward’s People’s Committee, asked to come to the ward to work with her superiors. She said she herself did not know anything about this issue.
The reporter then repeatedly called Mr. Do Hong Quang, head of the Nhat Tan ward police to verify the information, but he did not pick up the phone.
When asked how she felt when her efforts to do something to help her people back home could not come true, Julia said:
“We are very disappointed, but we also understand that we are not in our own country. Vietnam has its own rules and views on the situation in Ukraine. There’s nothing we can do to change that. I just hope to receive more support from foreigners and locals here.”
Earlier, Human Rights Watch denounced and condemned the police and security in Hanoi for loosening up many people in order to prevent them from participating in a charity fundraising event at the Ukrainian Embassy.
Vietnam is one of 35 countries that abstained from voting on a resolution just passed at the meeting on March 2 of the United Nations General Assembly which directly condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Translated by Thoibao.de from RFA: https://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/news/vietnamnews/hanoi-police-prevented-the-event-by-ukraine-community-to-call-for-humanitarian-assistance-03182022081334.html
