An American expat has found himself in a spot of trouble after he spent a day wading through a brackish canal in Hanoi's Cau Giay District cleaning up rubbish.
Thirty-four-year-old James Joseph Kendall, a teacher and the founder of Facebook group Keep Hanoi Clean, was spotted over the weekend fishing garbage out of a murky canal, reports Thanh Nien. Together with a few other foreign and local members of the group, Kendall spent his Sunday cleaning the water as well as planting trees along the roadside.
According to the expat, who has lived in Hanoi for three years, public reaction to the group's efforts was overwhelmingly positive. Many people stopped to witness the clean-up, while some also joined in.
"Thank you so much to everyone who came out today and helped us pick up trash and plant trees!" Kendall wrote on the group's Facebook page following the clean-up. "We had so much fun! The river and the land looks so much better and there was a lot of support from the local people. Everyone who was there was wanting to get involved and it was heartwarming to receive the help we got from everyone!"
Later, however, Hoang Trung Kien, chairman of Yen Hoa Ward People's Committee, told reporters the ditch had been cleaned a month ago by the government and Kendall did not have permission to organize a clean-up of the canal. The American claims he did not realize he had to request permission to clean up the canal. Netizens have been quick to come to his defense, commenting on the incident both on social media and news websites.
"You must get permission in order to clean up garbage, but you don't need permission to litter," commented Thanh Nien reader Vu Duy. "This foreign man doesn't know the laws in Vietnam."
Another commenter nicknamed Tin Xi wrote: "Have you ever picked up even one piece of trash on the road before? Are you brave enough to wade down into a canal like this western man? Are you not embarrassed? This is the civilized way of life; it's a culture which I don't know when Vietnamese people will have."
While ward officials were clearly perturbed by the unauthorized cleanup, Nguyen Duc Chung, head of Hanoi People’s Committee, visited Kendall yesterday and showered him with praise and handshakes.
Photo via Tuoi Tre.
“On behalf of Hanoi’s leader, we acknowledge the practical act of you and your group for keeping the environment clean and encouraging other people’s awareness”, said Chung at the meeting.
[Photo via DTI News]
