Casual labour

Most of the Vietnamese immigrants in Germany are involved in casual labour such as selling flowers, footwear and clothes at train stations or opening Asian restaurants. Such small businesses are not enough for them to get rich but can enable them to have a fairly good standard of living.

Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, a 37-year-old lady who manages a Hanoi restaurant in Hamburg said that she is satisfied with her life there and her business is good enough to ensure she has a comfortable life. Huong said, “I have run this restaurant for only three years but my business is as good as I expected. The numbers of regular customers are mostly foreign tourists and Vietnamese people who want to enjoy Vietnamese traditional food.”

Despite living in Germany for more than 15 years, Huong has not yet applied for German citizenship but she has received a permanent residency permit in the same way as many other Vietnamese immigrants did.

Asked about her life in Germany, Huong said, “Living here is better than at home in terms of education and other social welfare as my children are well educated and provided with good quality medical insurance. In addition, the environment here is also good as it is not polluted due to poor hygienic conditions as at home. However, living abroad means that I have to try my utmost to get used to the customs, habits and traditions of the country, which are totally different from my native land.”

Many Vietnamese have decided to settle down in Germany for different reasons.  Tran Van Tien, a 48-year-old man who is the owner of a small food shop in Berlin said that he left Vietnam in 1998 and wanted to live in Germany which, he thinks, is much better than his home country.

“I just followed my father to live here for economic reasons. Many years ago, I had to cope with many difficulties to make a living and now my life is much better as I have had a stable job running my food shop. I am not rich but the amount of money I earn from my business is enough for me to enjoy life as much as I like. Previously, I wished I had a motorbike but now I have a car, something that I never dreamt of before.”

Selling flowers, footwear and clothes are a major occupation for Vietnamese immigrants in Germany. Their incomes through such casual labour are not high but meet their requirements for a stable life.

Pham Thi Hoa, a 55-year-old woman who opened a clothing and handbag shop in Berlin

confided, “I and my cousin opened this shop in 1997. At first, it was difficult to run the shop as I had no money and couldn’t hire business space. At the moment, my business is going smoothly and I can make a profit from that. Every year, I can send a certain amount of money to support my family at home. I face no discrimination here providing that I comply with German laws.”

There is no denying that there remain a lot of Vietnamese people residing illegally in Germany and doing different jobs in Vietnamese markets there. They live here and manage to “exist” but are always looking over shoulder. Tran Thanh Cong, a 32-year-old barber at a market in Berlin said he left his home country five years ago but has still received no legal residency permit.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone as I am afraid that I will be expelled if the police know that I am living here illegally.” Cong said.

Successful Vietnamese in Germany

In reality, the number of successful Vietnamese in Germany is very small, however, they have got on well in Germany.

Professor Tran Quoc Khanh who works for the Institute of Electromechanical Design is a point in case. Mr Khanh has lived in Germany for many years and has carried out a number of research projects on lighting techniques. Recently, he has succeeded in experimenting a project on automatic lighting systems for automobiles and has invented a digital film projector (Digitale Kinocamera) which was provided to a world famous movie studio in Hollywood in the USA. Being considered a successful Vietnamese in Germany, Mr Khanh also presented his own views about his life there. Khanh confided, “I am content with what I have in Germany and I left Vietnam to settle here for my own reasons. At first, I faced a lot of difficulties in adapting myself to the new environment as I had to learn German which is necessary for me to stay abroad. I have to affirm my capabilities abroad by launching initiatives to contribute more to my organization and this is a challenging task for me.”

Despite living in different circumstances, Vietnamese immigrants generally feel satisfied with their life in Germany and always pin their hopes on a better life abroad so that they can help their relatives at home to ease the family burden while making a contribution to the development of the country where they have decided to settle down.