January 26 was Kitchen God Day in Vietnam. Once a year, families all across Vietnam buy three fishes (or just one) and then release them in the water. A noble thought, you might think. Generally it is not a good idea to be an animal in Vietnam, so giving freedom to one is something that catches my attention.
Here the fishes are released in the Song Hong river in Hanoi. I observed this phenomenon on a bridge, where I stopped after noticing the Vietnamese are giving another meaning to the word "release".
I asked myself, are they really released or are they murdered?
Throwing a fish off a bridge at this height is more like an execution. They may not survive the impact and to make matters worse, some people don’t look what they are doing and they drop the fish above concrete which is below the bridge in some places. A freefall to death. Often they don't even bother to take the fish out and drop the whole bag. Some bags are well closed and they drift away, and the fishes can't escape. If they are not dead already.
Releasing fish into the river is often combined with another annual ritual. Ash from the home altar goes into a bag and this too is thrown into the river. Sometimes they just throw the ash into the river, sometimes they don't open the bag and drop it all together into the water. Empty plastic bags either go into the river too, they are left behind on the bridge or in a very few cases someone thinks about the environment and takes the bag home.
Plenty of water, but some choose to release the fish above concrete.
Death
There goes a bag with three fishes
One minute later they are still in the bag
Empty bags are left behind if not thrown into the river
Take care of your rubbish. Does not help much.
Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade
Lunch hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem
Visit to Prime Minister Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung
Visit to President Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet
Signings
Arrival al Temple Of Literature
Meeting the children of De Blauwe Lotus
Princess Máxima at Sofitel Metropole
