Preserving the flavor of Vietnamese Tet in Ethiopia

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, from Yet Kieu commune (Gia Loc), living in Ethiopia, wraps banh chung to celebrate the traditional Tet holiday.

In a faraway country in East Africa, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Hai Duong people who come to work always try to preserve the flavor of Vietnamese Tet to somewhat ease their homesickness and introduce traditional Tet culture to the people of the neighboring country.

Banh chung with beef filling

It was interesting to hear Ms. Nguyen Thi Mien, an employee of Shint BTV Vietnam Co., Ltd., who is working at the company's factory located in the Bole Lemi industrial park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, tell about how Hai Duong people celebrate Tet in this faraway land. There are no dong leaves to wrap banh chung here, so Vietnamese people have to use banana leaves. Banana leaves in Ethiopia are quite thick and large, so wrapping the cakes is not too difficult. On January 30 (28th of Tet), which was a Sunday, Ms. Mien took the opportunity to ask Mr. Nguyen Van Dung in Yet Kieu commune (Gia Loc), also from Hai Duong, to go to a Chinese market to buy rice and green beans to wrap the cakes. These ingredients are rare in Ethiopia. Luckily, this year, Mr. Dung was able to buy these ingredients to wrap banh chung.

In Ethiopia, there are no dong leaves or bamboo strips, so Vietnamese people use banana leaves and cloth strings to wrap banh chung.

Mr. Dung said that banana leaves are quite soft, so you have to be very skillful and use the leaves many times to wrap the cake so that it doesn't break when boiled. Vietnamese Chung cakes in Ethiopia are wrapped with beef filling because pork is quite rare and hard to find during Tet. "No matter what the filling is, having Chung cakes makes you feel Vietnamese Tet, feels closer to your homeland," Ms. Mien shared.

Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia, so the largest number of Vietnamese people live here. When the Shint BVT Company Limited factory first started operating, a large number of Hai Duong people were sent to work, sometimes up to 70 people. In addition to the staff and workers of Shint BVT Company Limited, there are also quite a few Hai Duong people who are exported to work here.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong from Nam Sach district has been working in the capital Addis Ababa for 5 years. Ms. Hong said that Ethiopian New Year is in September. According to the regulations here, Vietnamese people do not have a Lunar New Year holiday. Therefore, my brothers and sisters from the same hometown often take advantage of their days off to prepare ingredients for the New Year's Eve feast and can only gather to celebrate the New Year on New Year's Eve. The next day, they have to go back to work as usual. Peanuts are sold a lot here, so Vietnamese people often make peanut candy to treat their friends in Ethiopia.

New Year's Eve feast of Ms. Nguyen Thi Mien in Ethiopia

Fried spring rolls are the most elaborate because the ingredients are harder to find in Vietnam. This dish is also adapted accordingly, for example, a type of Chinese rice noodles is used instead of vermicelli. Wood ear mushrooms and spring roll skins are replaced with other local ingredients. "Despite the lack of ingredients, we still try to prepare familiar dishes during the traditional Tet holiday to worship our ancestors and treat our friends," Ms. Hong shared.

Peach and apricot blossoms are indispensable for Vietnamese Tet, so some skillful women spent a whole week cutting and sewing scraps of fabric from factories into flowers to attach to backdrops or dried trees. Tet is simple like that but is imbued with love for the homeland. "Vietnamese Tet is very special in the eyes of Ethiopians. They said that if they have the chance, they will definitely travel to Vietnam to enjoy the delicious food," said Mr. Dung.

Always towards the Fatherland

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (right) did not forget to take photos to record the Vietnamese Tet atmosphere in Ethiopia to send to her relatives.

For Hai Duong people in Ethiopia, no matter how far away, they always think of their homeland. Mr. Dung shared that in the first days here, he was not used to it so he wanted to call home every day. There were weak sisters who cried every night. During Tet, when relatives in their homeland were reunited, warmly welcoming the new year, brothers and sisters here were also sad, but we determined that wherever we worked, we would try our best to complete the task. The factory operating smoothly, creating jobs for many workers here is also our joy and pride. With work, hunger and poverty will no longer haunt them and the children of the people in Ethiopia will suffer less.

The two words "hometown" are always present in the hearts of every Vietnamese living far from home. In recent times, Hai Duong staff and employees of Shint BVT Co., Ltd. in particular and Vietnamese people living and working in Ethiopia in general have always been united, helping each other to do their jobs well, and have been highly appreciated by friends and Ethiopian people. On the occasion of the New Year of the Tiger, Hai Duong's children in Ethiopia send their best wishes to their relatives, hoping that Hai Duong will develop more and more so that one day in the near future they can return to reunite with their families and continue to contribute to their homeland.

HAI MINH