Hanoi residents mount silent protest over home demolitions - sh.itjust.works

> Hanoi (Vietnam) (AFP) – Silent prayer vigils, cautiously worded protest banners and T-shirts pleading for neighbourhoods to be spared – Hanoi residents are showing rare public opposition to a massive redevelopment scheme that could displace hundreds of thousands > Authorities in Vietnam’s capital have been on a demolition blitz, knocking down thousands of homes to make way for bridges and other infrastructure projects as part of a 100-year master plan approved last month. > >One 11,000-hectare area along the Red River – roughly the size of Paris – is slated to become a warren of high-end residential complexes and parks, with roughly 250,000 residents relocated. > >Large-scale protests are rare in Vietnam, where the communist authorities brook little dissent. > >But private grumbling has given way to tentative public opposition as residents fight to save their homes. > >“We have been living in fear, we don’t know when we will be kicked out of our houses. We want our voice to be heard,” said Hoa. > >Her life savings are tied up in a two-storey house in the planned development area, surrounded by ornamental and fruit trees. > >Last week, she joined a vigil at a Buddhist temple where residents prayed for peace – a veiled plea for their homes to be spared. > >Hundreds of Red River area residents have attended similar vigils, organised anonymously in recent weeks and publicised on social media. > >The low-lying region is home to dozens of vibrant communities, some dating back centuries with bustling markets, leafy gardens and traditional burial grounds. > >French-style villas stand to be bulldozed, along with modest Hanoi-style “tube” houses and densely packed low-rises. > >“May the Buddhas of the ten directions hear our earnest plea,” one anonymous user commented on a Facebook group dedicated to the Red River redevelopment. > >“Please help us avoid losing our homes, our land, our ancestral graves.” …